Lots of time on the internet and the phone, ensuring that all the right connections of Public Transport were available, ought to have ensured that the appointment could be kept on time. I thought so too. However, wait till you read what really happened.
New Bike
I have been considering getting a new ebike for around three years now, and the time had really come to do something about it. Knowing the address where the bike was available, set me to find out how to get there. As there was no direct route, I set about finding the best connections.
Connections
Bus 902 would take me from home to where it crossed the path of bus 811. Great! Looks very simple. There were 11 minutes from when the 902 would get to where I could get the 811. Not too long to stand and wait. The schedule was to be at the bus stop to catch the 902 at 12:26.
Actual Schedule
At 12:23 I was at the bus stop and checked the GPS there to find out how far away the bus was. It told me that “The next bus will arrive in 14 min. The following bus will arrive in 18 minutes.” It was a shock. This would barely give me time to get to the 811, if indeed we would get to that stop in time.
As there wasn’t anything I could do about the situation, I just stood there and waited. It came to my mind that if I could take a taxi and catch another bus on a parrallel road about two kilometres away, I might get to my appointment on time. However, no taxi came within sight.
Finally the bus came. I spoke to the driver and he told me that the bus immediately behind him had had problems and was running very late. I expressed my concern of not being able to catch the next bus, 811.
The Surprise
We came to the stop where I should have got off, and the driver allerted me that the 811 was just turning in front of us. The buses would share the next three stops only. How would I get onto 811?
Then the 811 stopped at a stop we did not have to stop at. However, the bus driver did stop and urged me to quickly get onto the 811. As I got off the bus, the 811 started to pull away. I hesitated, but the driver urged me on and tooted his horn twice, very loudly. The 811 stopped to see what the matter was, and saw me running the best I could. I got onto the 811.
Then it dawned on me! The 811 was also late. It should have been gone several minutes earlier, but here it was, late to be here at the time that the bus I was on, came to this point. Who organised that? Was that simply a ‘co-incidence’?
Lesson
By now you know that I very rarely encounter a “co-incident”. Knowing that God is interested in my welfare, (and yours too), I know that he has a hand in everything that happens to me. Often he actively prepares it. Check again Ps.23 “The Lord is my Shepherd, I’ll not want” (or be wanting anything).
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Not Just Writing 