Do you believe in signs, coincidences, God? Let me tell you a true story.
Three days before our ten-year anniversary, my husband came home and suggested maybe we should move to a smaller community. I could not believe it! I was raised in Kilgore, Texas (population 9000) and had always wanted to raise our family in a smaller place.
I got up the next morning and told him I would stay home with our two young girls if we moved. We could afford it if we got a smaller place.
I started thinking about where I would want to live. I immediately thought of Fredericksburg and the B&B, Texas Two-Step. I called Gastehaus Schmidt to get the owner, Anne’s last name. I wanted to send her a note to see if she would be interested in selling her place, even though we probably could not afford it. I also asked Gastehaus Schmidt if they knew of any guest houses or B&B’s that were for sale. They said no, but Anne is giving her place away in an essay contest.
My husband went out of town to a conference in New Orleans, which happens to be Anne’s home town. I was so excited. All of these coincidence's could not be coincidence!!!
Now how does this relate to my ten-year anniversary? On November 12, 1988, my future husband and I were spending the weekend in Fredericksburg. We went shopping and bought a wedding dress in the bridal shop (which is now “The Secret Garden”). We decided that weekend while we were in Fredericksburg to get married.
Looking back over this story ten years later it is apparent that God was working in our lives. God knew that a "coincidence" would get my attention.
First of all, we had bought a wedding dress in 1988, before we were even engaged. When I called my grandmother to tell her, she said, "When are you going to get a ring?" Quentin and I went the next day to a jewelry store in San Antonio and bought an engagement ring. This strengthened my connection to Fredericksburg.
Second, Quentin's sister and I had just gotten in a big fight about how to raise our kids. She insisted that we did not understand how the big schools worked and that your child could be labeled, good or bad, and that label would follow them throughout their school career. She was a teacher and had experienced this phenomena with students she had taught. God nudged us to consider a smaller school for our kids. The San Antonio high school had 4,000 students. The school was much too large to provide the kind of environment we wanted for our girls. It was basically a small city that allowed a lot of bad behaviors and activities to go on under the radar. Quentin suggested a small town. Those were the only words I needed to hear to get me started in a new direction.
Our favorite place to stay in Fredericksburg was Texas Two-Step. It was a gasthaus that had provided us with a lot of good memories. If we could buy it, then we could supplement Quentin's salary by running a B&B. What is an Essay contest????
Again, God pulls us in with his ingenius plan!!!!!
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