One of the treats of our trip to Wales (amongst many!) was seeing an otter. Dave & Hilly had told us of their joy of seeing one the last time they were there, by their bench (as they called it) by the River Wye. Dave had uttered a simple prayer - 'Well, Lord, now would be a nice time to see an otter...' - and what do you know? They did!
It seemed too much to hope that we would be able to share the same experience with them - in the same place. I mean, what are the odds on that?! (I used to be a betting man in my youth - and let me tell you, it's very, very unlikely, when you take into account that otters don't run by timetables etc as we humans do...!) So, on our first evening at the caravan site we took a walk by the river...got as far as the bench...saw some birds...but no otters. We ambled back slowly, a little disappointed, if I'm honest...but a river is a river, and there was still hope...we were about halfway back when I saw the otter. A very quick glimpse, mind...but I was the only one who'd seen it. But it was only a few seconds...Then Dave saw it on the rocks further back! Our gazes were turned there instantly...but too late...it was gone! We lingered in hope by the river...and we were not disappointed! The otter came back to where I'd first seen him - popped his head up (we all had a clear view!) as if to say 'who are you guys?' - and then being satisfied with his curiosity, disappeared for the last time. Believe me - joy is best shared! Seeing it on my own was one thing - but for ALL of us to see it...well, you can't beat that!
After that, I was determined to try & see the otter again. Each evening & morning I would take a walk...and yes, Petra & I were rewarded with getting up at 6.00am (!!) to go down by the river - not only for the beauty of the misty morning...but at Dave & Hilly's bench, we saw the otter downstream - this time he was clearly fishing for his breakfast...diving up & down like a roller-coaster in the river... We didn't see him catch anything, but we did enjoy the beauty of watching him.
As I said earlier - what are the odds of that?! Not just once - but twice! I have only seen an otter 3 times in my life before that - and one of them was a sea otter in Scotland! But I do believe that God gives good gifts, and part of this is being in the right place at the right time. You just can't plan that kind of thing - it doesn't work that way. But I can trust God's character - that is far more reliable.
I know some people might think, 'well, nice story...but it's a bit of a coincidence, that's all...' I gave up believing in coincidences a while ago - now, for me, there's only God-incidences ;-)
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