Cucumbers and Other "Coincidences"

Matthew 7:11 “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! (NIV)“Oh, how I wish we could find some fresh cucumbers,” I lamented to my husband at the grocery store last weekend, sorely disappointed with their produce selection. It was too late to visit the Farmer’s Market and the young woman selling fresh corn on the side of the road reported theirs wouldn’t be ready until the following week. I repeated my mantra of craving that afternoon. “I'm so hungry for fresh cucumbers.”

Riding our golf cart that evening, I spotted a strategically placed table at the end of a driveway. I couldn’t believe my eyes. “No way,” I turned to Nick, pointing it out. “There are the cucumbers I wanted! I didn’t even have to pray this time, only wish for them.”

As we slowed down, the homeowner called out from her garage “They’re free! Please take some.” I complied, filling my skirt with the vegetables. Nick just shook his head.

“God sure spoils you.”

Does He? Would our big God care about my little craving for cucumbers? Does He care about his children’s wants and desires, as well as their needs?

Ten years of single motherhood before I met Nick taught me that He does. Newly widowed in 2012, I learned to surrender to God, depending on Him for everything, praying with childlike faith as He met my needs. His provision often came in unusual ways or places: In the people he brought into my life as mentors, the jobs he led me to, even in thrift store finds or curbside treasures. Time after time, prayer after prayer, God provided. Then of course, He brought me the greatest gift of all in Nick, blessing me with more than I asked for or imagined, validating He delights in meeting our heart’s desires.

Despite all God has done for me in the last thirteen years, His faithfulness in fulfilling both needs and wants, He somehow still manages to surprise me.

A couple weeks ago, I made the decision to decorate the tables at our writer’s conference next year with vintage books, loving the idea of piles of vintage books tied together with twine. Maybe a teacup filled with flowers or a teapot on top of each stack. Never mind that I didn’t own vintage books. Or teacups. Or teapots. I blithely assured my husband God would provide the vintage books long before I needed them next June.

On Monday, I searched four thrift stores on that quest, but to no avail. Perplexed, I pondered God’s history of provision; in big things like a place of employment that allowed me to bring my homeschooled daughters to work, another where I could freely share my faith, the perfect starter car for a teen daughter, and the beautiful home my husband and I now own. I thought about all the little things too: a footstool for a daughter’s recovery from foot surgery, dress shoes I needed for a new job, a dozen bibles for a planned bible study, even a vintage wooden prayer box when I began a prayer program at my workplace. I’d been so certain God would provide the vintage books, I couldn’t understand why I hadn’t discovered a single one in my four-store search.

That very afternoon, a Facebook Marketplace ad caught my attention: Vintage books, $1 each, it advertised, along with a photo of two shelves filled with books. I felt that now-familiar tingle at the back of my neck, the one that signals to me God is involved.

How do I know when something is from God and not just coincidence? Because the answers to my prayers are so personal, I recognize Him in the response. I may not have consciously prayed for cucumbers, but I’d certainly made my desire clear that day. I didn’t need a vintage wooden prayer box when I began a prayer program but finding the box right after I’d planned the program validated that I'd been following the Holy Spirit’s lead. When twelve people in my new bible study lacked a bible, I found twelve of them on a shelf in Goodwill the week I needed them, when I’d never seen that many bibles there before or since.

Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” I’d certainly been seeking a relationship with God after my spouse died in 2012. I’ve been following Him ever since. God knows me intimately, and because His Holy Spirit now indwells in me, I recognize His work.

So, how did I know the Facebook ad was part of God's work? For one thing, I don't check Facebook Marketplace. The ad popped up in my feed just as I was wondering about the lack of vintage books at those thrift stores I'd visited. For another, the first books I found were perfect for decorating writer’s tables: the vintage dictionary and thesaurus and a handbook for newspaper writers (that included a code of ethics for journalists… remember ethics?)


Then there were children's readers that would make perfect table decorations, including several from my own childhood.

There were the bonus books the seller gave me for a quarter, damaged beyond repair but perfect for a junk journal/prayer journal activity we are offering as a workshop next year.

Isn't all this just coincidence? That I just happened to find books perfect for our writer's conference tables in two shelves of vintage books for sale? I would concede the possibility of mere coincidence if it wasn't for these books I discovered among them.

Books were my best friends in the Catholic elementary school where I was often bullied as "the poor girl." I discovered this very edition of "Five Little Peppers and How They Grew" in that small Catholic school library, the Whitman edition I would check out repeatedly in 5th and 6th grade. God knows what finding that particular book in that same edition would mean to me.

I didn't own many books as a teen, but I'd save my babysitting money to purchase small paperbacks like these. I remember at least four of them from the small wooden bookshelf in my bedroom.

A ledger identical to the one my mother used to keep track of her art sales? Her favorite cookbook? Coincidence? What about the newer bird books for my bird-watching husband? Why were these two new books shelved amongst vintage ones?

And if those books weren't proof enough of a divine providence? It wasn't long ago my husband Nick, who isn't a big reader, mentioned he'd read war correspondent Ernie Pyle's book. Out of print, hardcover editions were more than $40 on Amazon or eBay, so I didn't purchase it. The discovery of that very book sealed it for me.

God cares. He delights in delighting His children. He cares about our writer's conference, and He cares about His son Nick and daughter Mary.

He does, indeed, care about a craving for cucumbers. Or vintage books.




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    Nick and Mary Portzen

    Nick and Mary Portzen coordinate an annual Christian Writers Conference in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where they live. They are co-authors of the book "Soul Mates: Path to a Praying Partnership." Nick is a retired business owner and Mary is the author of seven previous books under the name Mary Potter Kenyon.