Holy Coincidences: Not Just Birthday Cake

In our latest Coffee Pods episode, we explored the beautiful tapestry of faith that weaves through family relationships, unexpected encounters, and everyday moments that reveal God's presence in our lives.

The conversation began with a special surprise guest—Lisa's mother, Lynn, joining shortly after Lisa's birthday celebration. This natural transition into family dynamics opened a fascinating discussion about how faith impacts family relationships, even when not everyone shares the same beliefs. Lynn shared insights about her husband, who though not explicitly a Christian believer, demonstrates remarkable servant-heartedness that reflects Christian values. This led to a profound reflection on how we sometimes create unnecessary barriers between ourselves and those whose faith journey looks different from our own. Kris shared his experience with his late father, who maintained a curiosity about faith despite his doubts, and how their relationship improved when Kris stopped trying to "convert" him and instead embraced curiosity about his father's perspective. There's something profoundly liberating about recognizing that God loves people where they are, not where we think they should be.

The podcast took an extraordinary turn when Kris recounted two remarkable encounters that had occurred in the preceding days. The first involved an unexpected reunion with his former college football team captain after almost 40 years. This chance meeting at a church in Switzerland became a moment of spiritual significance as they reconnected not just as former teammates but as fellow believers whose paths had diverged and mysteriously converged again. Their two-hour conversation outside the church felt timeless, as if they were simultaneously present in both 1985 and today—a beautiful illustration of how our past shapes but doesn't define our present. The second encounter described was equally powerful—a seemingly ordinary evening church service in Grindelwald that transformed into something extraordinary when a young Spanish visitor was unexpectedly joined by a Spanish-speaking choir from Mexico. The subsequent discovery that the visitor had rekindled his faith at Taizé, the very monastery Kris had once called home, revealed how God orchestrates connections that transcend coincidence.

These stories illuminated what might be the central message of the episode: healing and faith are journeys full of unexpected moments of divine intervention. As Lisa aptly noted, we often focus on structured ministry opportunities, but some of the most profound healing happens in these surprise encounters that God arranges. The genuine excitement in Kris's voice as he shared these stories conveyed something that theological arguments often miss—the sheer joy of seeing God work in real-time. Perhaps this is what evangelism should truly be: not forcing others to "try our brownie recipe" because we insist it's the best, but joyfully sharing the genuine encounters with God that have transformed our lives. The episode concluded with a beautiful metaphor of every day being like a birthday—an opportunity for new birth, new possibilities, and celebration of the life we have in Christ. This Coffee Pods conversation reminds us that while the world offers complexity and strife, the Prince of Peace continues to call us to rebirth and renewal in ways both ordinary and extraordinary.

Listen to the full episode here.