For years now, I occasionally have these uncanny “coincidences,” sheer inexplicable synchronicities I call “God winking.” Let me tell you about the most recent one and you’ll know what I mean.
So one recent Saturday afternoon I was standing in the hall talking to my classmates at Union Presbyterian Seminary during our 15-minute break. Someone remarked about my Bob Marley shirt and we chatted about the late musician for a bit.
“I’m old enough that I saw Bob Marley in concert,” I said.
The Marley fans were impressed.
“It was 1978.Berkeley, California. Greek Amphitheater. He was with Peter Tosh,” I added.
Then I told them how the band ran onto stage and people in the audience of hundreds threw marijuana joints at them. I looked up and realized that Marley and Tosh and the band had also thrown joints back. There were two incredible arches of joints flying through the air.
“It was amazing for this East Coast girl who had never seen such a thing at a public concert,” I exclaimed.
As I was telling this story, I remember thinking: Wish I knew what date it was. I was certain of the year because it was the summer I became a journalist.
After my seminary classes, I stopped at a nearby mall to drop off my phone at the Apple store for some repair work. While I waited, I thought I’d go sit in the car and start the assigned reading for next week’s class. But I got turned around and walked into Macy’s, which was nowhere near my car. I turned around to walk out and saw a t-shirt on a rack nearby. I went closer and realized it was a Bob Marley shirt. I don’t collect these shirts, but this one caught my attention because it said “One Love Peace Tour.”
I thought: I’m pretty sure that was the name of the tour I saw in California. I walked closer and saw on the front of the shirt: “1978.”
Oh my God. Now I was excited. Could it be? I turned the shirt around to the back and found it listed the cities where the tour stopped. On July 21, it said, “Berkeley, Ca.”
So now–about two hours after I had that discussion about the concert–I knew the very date I had seen Marley! Of course, I bought the shirt. And as if that wasn’t enough of a blessing and a “wink,” the shirt was half price.
I take these kinds of “coincidences,” as God’s way of showing off (LOL) and saying, “You see what I can do, girl. You ain’t got nothing to worry about.”
I like to think it also means I’m on the right path.