Coincidentally

You just gotta love people who are real. You also gotta wonder about when coincidences happen if that's what they really are.

I had to work today. Not a big deal, but I normally don't work on a Saturday. Lifelong childhood instilled religious reasons aside, it's also the weekend, and well, that's my time. They have me Monday-Friday. But a patriarch member of the church had died and the funeral was today and a member of staff needed to be on hand for coffee, lights, locks, and faithful servitude with a smile. And since the funeral arrangements were made almost last-minute and there was no one else to do it, I was their man.

A few days before this; before knowing I would have to work today, I was talking to the woman who heads up the flower ministry. They take the flower arrangements from the church services and rearrange them into vases to give to sick members or to those in hospitals and can't come to church. I was telling her that this was my week with my kids and I was ready for the weekend off with them. Not that we were going to do anything special. It was merely time spent together. So she must have remembered this conversation today when I saw her.

After the funeral service, the benevolence committee was going to serve the family of the deceased some dinner. I made the coffee and put out a bowl of chilled bottled water to go with that dinner. You see, the room where the family was being served supper is the same room that the flower lady uses to make the vases to be delivered. That meant that after the dinner, I had to tear that setup down and set up her tables. It's no big deal. I do it every week. I usually have it done on Friday for her to have her decorations and accessories on the tables ready to go to work on Sunday. But with this funeral and all, it couldn't be done until after the family had eaten today.

And speaking of food, one of the thoughts in my head was of supper for my kids. I was thinking of what I had to cook when I got home. I still need to go food shopping, so there wasn't much that came to mind to cook. I was thinking of how easy it would be to just stop and pick up pizza on the way home. I consulted my checkbook and it said, "Not if you want gas for the rest of the week." I resigned myself to cooking.

The family was finishing up, so I texted this woman to let her know that she could come in and start her setup. By the time she got there, I had rolled away the extra tables and had put the chairs away. All she had to do was set her stuff up.

What I did today is part of my job. Granted, it was my off day, and there was the incentive of overtime pay, but still, it is part of what I do there. It was nothing that I wouldn't normally do for anyone.

I deal with members of this church every day. There are those that I enjoy interacting with and there are those that, whenever I see them coming in, I suddenly remember that there's something I have to do on the other side of the building. After nearly 5 years there, I think I can sense who's genuine and who's fake. This sense isn't just work specific either. I tend to think I have that knack naturally in any circumstance. Specifically, at work, there are those who compliment my work and say I'm appreciated and truly mean it. Then there are those who say the same thing, then say things contrary to other people, some of who aren't so secretive and conniving and let what they hear be known to me. It's these contrary people that I try to avoid. This flower lady is not one of those people.

As we were both finishing up about the same time, I heard her call my name. She was walking towards me, hand stretched out, palming what obviously a folded up bill. She quickly gave it to me and said, "Get your kids some pizza on your way home." I looked at the bill she had given me. It was $20. I had not mentioned anything about what I had been thinking about earlier. She had no clue that I was not looking forward to cooking after being at work all day. She didn't know about my thoughts of pizza nor of my earlier conversation with my checkbook.

I asked her if she was reading my mind. She just shook her head "no" while I told her about wanting to get pizza for mine and my kids' supper. Was this a mere coincidence that a genuine person was connected with my thoughts of the lack of money and of wanting pizza pies? Why did she specifically mention pizza? It could be that she remembered that I had my kids. She could have just thought I might not want to cook after being at work for the day. Deductive reasoning would say that getting a pizza would alleviate the undesirable act of cooking and cleanup at home.

Coincidence? Could be. What isn't a coincidence is the acquisition of genuine people in my life. Kindness begets likewise. More than once I was told by the flower lady that the sweet little old lady left behind by her husband's passing appreciated me being there today. I was told that the family appreciated me being there.

Coincidentally, I was merely doing my job.