Friday, February 20, 2009. Today was a really busy day.  The March Horizons was delivered and Beth, Melanie, Julie and Gerald and I all pitched in and got it done and to the post office by noon. I was out of the post office by 1:40pm.  I decided to stop at Publix on the way home and was driving by one I’ve only been in twice.  Then a series of synchronistic events began to unfold.

First, since I was unfamiliar with the store layout, I was wandering around looking to get my bearings when a helpful clerk pointed me in the right direction.  Then I ended up spending a lot longer in the store than it should have taken, only because i had to hunt for the right aisles for my items.  Periodically I’d pass the same woman in a red jacket and I’d joke with her, “are you following me?”  We’d laugh and I’d continue my hunt for hidden goods.

So, synchronistically I ended up right behind her at the check out counter.  And we joked “you again?” and chatted about the tabloid headlines.  Then she joked “I might have gotten too much to carry today.” The bagger said he’d help her out to her car, and she said she was walking.  I asked where she had to carry them to and she replied, “to Wickham Road”.  We were on 192.  I said “that’s a long walk with 4 bags of groceries.”  She just laughed and replied in her Jamaican accent, “Oh, you do what you’ve got to do”.

I thought, “that’s a great attitude to have.”  She was my age or a little older.  She was fairly heavy. Her car was in the shop, she said.  I told her I’d be glad to give her a ride.  She accepted and we made our way out to the car. Since I’d just done the mailing, my little Toyota Prius was filled to the brim with magazines, mailing sacks, post office bins and cases of canned cat food I’d just picked up at PetSmart.  It took a moment to rearrange everything but we made room and were on our way. The car was full of magazines with the cover to the left on them.  I didn’t think until later how freakish it might have appeared 🙂

Now the dashboard of my car is also a makeshift altar.  I have a dashmat onto which I have velcroed several holy cards of Jesus and Blessed Mother and I have a small photo of Sai Baba there, as well as two sets of prayer malas/beads.  Almost immediately she asked what church I went to and I braced myself *smile* I told her Unity Church of Melbourne.

She told me she was born and raised a Seven Day Adventist and I remarked that was a very disciplined tradition, and we talked about the value of having a disciplined upbringing.  We had similar views on what kids should know by the time they graduate, and how they could be taught a little more respect.   It was a good conversation.  No one tried to convert anyone else.  We talked about the views we had in common.

We talked about synchronicity and how Spirit puts people together for a time, for a reason.  We talked about me deciding to go into the unfamiliar store, and taking so much time as I looked for my items, and ending up right behind her and offering her a ride.  It was a fun break to my day.  It was an unexpected encounter that lightened up the end of a stressful week.  It was a real blessing to me.

She lived 4 miles from Publix.  She was going to walk 4 miles home with 4 big bags of groceries. I didn’t think until later, why wasn’t she shopping at Walmart less than a mile away from her home?  We were clearly supposed to have that encounter.

Cool beans.