A triangle view of distant effects.

       "Oh, that's pretty!" - Actually, the view was awesome, but that's what first went through my mind. And then it turned into something more.

       I was driving downstream towards Wallace from a job near Burke, Idaho. There's a big peak named Striped up on the divide southwest of Wallace that comes in and out of view a few times as you negotiate the turns down out of the canyon. It's formed at a split in the main watershed between the St. Joe and the Coeur d'Alene river drainages and is basically a big, arching fin, the steep, rugged northeast face embracing the land below.

       I've seen Striped Peak from this road many times. It's such a grand sight that I anticipate the viewpoints and always turn my attention to the mountain when driving through here. What makes this occasion stand out is that, besides a fresh dusting of snow, simultaneously upon seeing and precisely when I thought, 'Oh that's pretty', the announcer on the radio was saying how God's love is akin to a big mountain, whos' ridges wrap around the surrounding land and protect it.

       My mind spins and jumps ship; if there are no coincidences in the Christian walk, did I just witness an example of God's sovereignty and man's free will? The experiences in life and the reasoning in one's mind should eventually, like a compass finding north, settle on the true way; the one that gets us unlost. This centering of one's inner bearing is crucial; intimate. Only you know how you truly believe.

       I began to wonder what series of events had to happen for that moment in time to occur: my turning the corner and seeing the peak just as the DJ was speaking of the very thing I was beholding.

       First, the DJ's part. What led to the selection of this statement, this bit of encouragement I so desperately needed to hear that day, from that distant voice? Was it chosen from a variety of prewritten pieces, picked at random for the day, or was it spontaneous on his part, a product of his own experiences in life?

       And what about the timing? I was listening to Moody Radio, a large enough station with all the usual broadcasting demands of timing, etc. What I heard was a small blurb inserted between regular programs and major news stories; probably a filler piece if time allowed.

       And what of my part? Had I not been working up the canyon I would not normally drive this way. I had not intended to be up where I was at that moment; it was a last minute decision to catch up on some work. I had about an hour window between an early morning men's meeting and a writers group I rarely seem to make. And I don't always have the radio on in my truck (I like my own company).

        Sometimes we're given clues that God exists outside our admission.. and understanding.