April 4 – “What a coincidence”

Yesterday I went to Alvin for the funeral for Raymond Norregaard, one of our retired Galveston firefighters.  His grandson Josh is in the department now.  I didn’t know him, but from what I heard, Raymond must have really loved the fire service.  The red Maltese Cross, symbol of the fire service, was embossed on the inside of the casket.  An honor guard stood watch on each side of the casket, and escorted it out of the building.  There a fire truck waited to carry the casket to the cemetery in Pearland.  All in all, a very impressive sight. 

Shortly after I arrived I was surprised by a female voice calling out to me.  I had already spoken to Tanya Ovalle, the only female fire fighter I know from Galveston, and that definitely wasn’t her voice.  I know there is another female, Megan Cortez, I think, but as I understand it she is pregnant with twins.  I haven’t met her yet, but I pray all goes well with that pregnancy.  I turned to investigate the source of the voice, and there stood Donna O’Conner, the very first secretary Seaside ever had.  She was invaluable to me when I first started, and it was tough to see her go when she moved away.  I have often wondered what happened to her.  She had known the Norregaard family for a long time.  What a coincidence. 

And as I looked for a seat in the auditorium, another lady approached me excitedly.  I officiated Vicki Lindsey’s  wedding on the beach a few years back.  She and her husband Joe were from Houston, and I have seen them a time or two at Seaside since then.  She has wanted to be baptized, but hasn’t been able to schedule a good time for them.  Her husband had a strong connection to the Norregaard family as well.  In fact he was a pall bearer.  What a coincidence.  Later Vicki introduced me to a lady she had just given my phone number to a week ago.  Seems her daughter wants to get married on the beach and was looking for a pastor who would do the ceremony.  They couldn’t believe I was actually at the funeral.  What a coincidence.  Oh, and before we left Vicki stopped me and asked if she could be baptized in the Gulf at the upcoming Easter sunrise service.  Definitely not a problem there.  What a coincidence. 

 After the graveside service I fielded some questions about baptism from a few of the honor guard members.  It was one of those “since I have you here” moments.  You know, a “what a coincidence” moment.  The kind where lots of ministry often occurs.  It was great hearing their perspectives and being able to share the things the Bible says about it.  I ended up giving three of the honor guard members a ride back to the funeral home.  Great group of guys.  Chief Mike Wisko, Captains Paul Chide and Tanya Ovalle, Engineer Dan Guidry, firefighters Will Thompson, Rudy Perales, the other guys who stood watch over the casket over the last few days, and of course Raymond’s grandson, Firefighter Josh Norregaard all did an honorable job representing the department.    I was proud to be seen with them. 

After making my way through a really bad wreck on Broadway, I stopped in to talk with Captain Danny Weber about being on the Galveston County Critical Incident Stress Debriefing team.  He told me about another retired firefighter, Joe Peck, who had just been admitted to the hospital.  What a coincidence.  As it happened, I was heading to the hospital to check on Uncle Jerry, so I stopped in and introduced myself to Joe and his wife Sissy.  Very sweet lady, by the way.  She remembered seeing me at a “union event of some kind.”  I kind of gulped and hastily continued the conversation.  She was probably at the Christmas party where I dressed as Santa.  Aaaand, let’s move on.

I did see Uncle Jerry as well, and I talked with his son Jer.  The prognosis is not at all good.  Although Jerry is stable, the neurology team doesn’t expect him to recover any more function than he already has displayed.  The family has a lot of decisions to make.  Find a place to care for him.  What kind of treatment will be involved.  Setting up hospice care.  Tough decisions.  Lots of prayer needed there.    

Long day.  Funeral.  Intensive care.  End of life care decisions.  A pretty dark day.  Wasn’t over yet, though.  I still had a Home Bible Study to teach on the plagues of Egypt.  Plague number nine: darkness.  What a coincidence.

Jeremiah 29:11-14 says, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord”

Father, thank you for being the One Who Controls Coincidence.  Amen.