--MYSTERIOUS WAYS ~~

--More Than Coincidence ~~

--I called to confirm I'd be babysitting my two-year-old granddaughter, Ella, that afternoon. Though not quite noon, the day was already sweltering. Maybe that was why I'd been feeling light-headed all morning despite the air conditioning.

"Grammy!" Ella shouted. "You and me go to s'pool." That's what she called my neighbor's swimming pool. The request surprised me. Ella never suggested anything, let alone so enthusiastically.

"Ella, you have to ask nicely," my daughter-in-law, Amanda chided.

"We go to s' pool today, peeze!"

"We'll see, sweetie" I said.
I work from home and had a few tasks to complete. I hoped Ella would forget about the pool by the time I got her. Still, I put on my bathing suit underneath my clothes, just in case.

Trying to shake off my brain fog, I finished up my work e-mail. I was on my way to my son's house when I realized I'd forgotten my towel. Ella and I would have to stop back at the house. Maybe then I could convince her to paly with her dollhouse instead.

Ella greeted me, dressed in her swimsuit. Amanda had even applied sun lotion. "Grammy! We go to S' POOL!

Well, that settled it. I'd have to pick up my towel. But what was up with me?

As Ella and I dipped our toes in the water, my phone rang. It was another neighbor.
"Polly, You're all right !?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Your house is on fire!"

The fire department said a gas leak of unknown origin --perhaps methane from an old well--might have been building for some time. That could explain why I'd been feeling so fuzzy-headed and strange lately. When the automatic pilot light for the water tank switched on, an explosion tore through the basement, bringing the first floor down. Now I understood what --or 'WHO'- had made Ella insist on going to the pool. ~~

--"In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." - -[1 Thessalonians 5:18]
--Guideposts/ PA~