For the last twenty years, I have wondered about a particular coincidence. Twenty years ago, as I travelled highway 94 from West Bend, Wisconsin to Ann Arbor, Michigan to interview for a middle school principalship, I was struck by the names of the towns I drove by.

Hartford, Michigan -- That is also the name of the city where my husband was currently working in Wisconsin.

Lawrence, Michigan -- Lawrence was my father's first name.

Decatur, Michigan -- Decatur, Illinois is my husband's hometown.

Paw Paw, Michigan -- My first job offer came from the high school in Paw Paw, Illinois.

Jackson, Michigan -- Our last name is Jackson.

Coincidence or a message? I admit I saw it as a coincidence until later that day after my interview. We were walking around Ann Arbor, browsing the stores. I found an antique ring that exactly matched an antique brooch I purchased years earlier, black cameo surrounded by seed pearls. I had been looking for a ring to match that brooch since its purchase. Another coincidence? I wondered.

Later as we were walking the campus of the University of Michigan, I found a paperback book left lying on a bench. The book? ATLAS SCHRUGGED, one of my all time favorites. I felt the universe was aligned in my favor that day. And as it turned out, I was offered the job and we've loved calling Ann Arbor home ever since. Coincidence? Fate? A sign? I wonder.

Are there days and times when we are more in tune with our environment and pick up on such occurrences more easily? I wonder.

Most recently I had reason to wonder about this again. I had breakfasted with friends who offer a blessing before eating. While I consider myself spiritual, I am not religious but out of respect, I hold their hands and silently wait while one or the other prays, many times including me in the prayer. On this day our conversation touched on church, my going or not, the size and spectacle of the new age churches. I happened to be rereading STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND at the time, which while classic science fiction, is also a treatise on belief and belief systems and how man chooses to worship. This same evening, Roger and I headed to our favorite jazz club only to find that the musicians were featuring the music from their new CD, "Swinging in the Praise". Each song was a jazzed up version of a gospel or traditional hymn, many of which I remembered from my childhood. And lastly, a quick perusal of my Eons page that evening revealed that in more than one group, threre was a dialog dealing with God, belief, and faith. Serendipity? Random coincidence? Ordered universe? It gives cause to wonder.