J and C's graduation was one such occasion. Sitting in a restaurant in Norwich, we had been there only a few minutes when a girl approached us. "Excuse me," she said with a smile on her lovely face, "are you by any chance Cat Pollard's parents, Richard and Angie?" I was almost too stunned to reply. Were we so like Cat - or she like us - that a random stranger had recognised us? But no - it was Cat's prayer partner and closest friend Gillian, who had also arrived for graduation the next day. How lovely to meet her.
Then there was the next 'coincidence'. When J and C first arrived at UEA, we went to visit. Going to church on the Sunday, we met a lad who had also done a gap year - at a Christian outdoor education centre in Scotland run by a relative of my closest friend here in Guernsey. Josh ended up becoming Jonny's prayer partner and shared a house with him for two years. He also studied in the School of Environmental Science, albeit different subjects from Cat. So, there he was in her graduating class. And there were his parents - who we did not know, but easily recognised as they eagerly took photos of him - sitting in the row behind us. We wasted no time afterwards in saying hello, discovering more 'mutality' - knowledge and experiences in common, not least in the type of churches we were all attending. (This may sound obvious - but both sets of parents are now taking part in churches which would not be a natural, or even comfortable, choice. But that's another story.)
Divine appointments. Godincidences. I don't know. It just left me with a wonderful feeling of being part of Jesus' family. And why have I written all this? Because, even though in many ways they feel like 'one-offs', they are important. Somehow. And I don't want to forget...
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