“There is no such thing as chance, and what seems to us merest accident springs from the deepest source of destiny,” says German poet Friedrich von Schiller. From a surprise encounter at an airport to an act of kindness that leads to an incredible connection, these stories remind us that what might seem like chance is truly part of a bigger plan.
1. The Detour
After Kathy Burgess went through a rough year, including losing her close friend to breast cancer, Kathy decided it was time for a chance of scenery. She, her husband, and two sons packed up the car for a cross-country road trip. However, they only got two days into their journey when white smoke began to billow from the engine. Their car was towed to a nearby mechanic. As they hopped out of the tow truck, Kathy spotted a playground at the fast-food restaurant next door. “I’ll take the kids there for a diversion,” she told her husband.
2. The Dream
Cynthia A. Ladd was packing for a camping trip, but she couldn’t get her dream from the night before out of her head. It felt so urgent and powerful. In it she’d seen a woman. She was about 70 years old, with white hair, smile lines and kind blue eyes. “He needs to move on,” the woman said. “My son needs to let me go.” Cynthia felt like she had to deliver the message. But who was the woman’s son? And how in the world would she find him?
Read how Cynthia’s dream connected her to a man not just once, but twice.
3. Connecting Flight
Mary-Ann Kordoski was going to miss her flight. She’d just learned that her 44-year-old daughter, Laurie, had died from a heroin overdose. Mary-Ann was desperate to get to her family in New York. After her original flight was delayed, she learned there was another flight to New York leaving in five minutes. She stood at the departures board, unable to find her flight, overwhelmed and heartbroken. Suddenly a man approached her. He looked familiar. “Hi, Mary-Ann!” he said. “It’s me, Eric. From the prayer group?”
See how Mary-Ann’s chance encounter helped her in a way she didn’t expect.
4. The Tiny Hat
When Mandy Haynes tried her first attempt at knitting, she ended up making a hat that was too small for anyone, even a baby. She laughed at her mistake and brought the tiny hat to her work at a children’s hospital the next day to show her coworkers. Mandy stuck the hat in her desk drawer and forgot about it. Until a few days later when a four-year-old girl came in for an echocardiogram. She was wearing a knit cap to cover the hair loss from her leukemia treatment and clutched a baby doll in her arms…
5. Pay It Forward
In 1971, Annette Burkart was struggling to make ends meet and couldn’t afford a haircut. Her friend from church, Bette, gave her a gift card to her favorite salon. “It’s nothing,” Bette said. “Just pay it forward one day.” Annette’s promise stuck with her, but she wasn’t sure how she would do it. Years later, Annette finally got the chance.
See how Annette’s act of kindness revealed a surprising connection.
