Coincidentally . . .

You've heard it said, no doubt, that there are no coincidences. Everything happens for a reason. Sometimes it takes a long time before we see the grand design, but I believe it's true - there are no coincidences.

Here are the series of "coincidental" events required for Ed and I to meet (again), fall madly in love, and marry:

1. 1976 The Best of Friends. Ed and I became good friends in Clearfield High's madrical choir (Madres) our Senior year. Ed sang high tenor in the group although his incredible range also enabled him to sing as low as the basses. We were sweet on each other then - until a certain incident at the high school musical that Spring . . . well, that's another story.

2. 1996 A Dramatic Career Change. Ed quits his Managerial position with WalMart and is hired as the Director of School Relations for Dixie State College. In his capacity as college recruiter, he met yearly with my best friend, Lorri Naegle, who is a councelor at Taylorsville High School.

3. Revelations During one of Ed's recruiting tours, Lorri told Ed that I had moved to St. George and he should look me up. She wrote my married name ( Cheryl Zimmer) and phone number on the back of one of her business cards and gave it to Ed, who put it in his desk drawer at work and promptly forgot about it. After all, he was a happily married man at the time and looking up an old girlfriend just didn't seem quite appropriate. So the card just sat in his desk drawer for years and years collecting dust, and from time to time he would see it when he opened the drawer to grab a refill for his automatic stapler, or some-such thing, and with his dazzling memory for names, mentally noted the name "Zimmer".

4. March 2005 A Doubly Rewarding Awards Ceremony. My daughter, Nicole, was selected as the Sterling Scholar runner up for Art at Pine View High School. Guess who announced the winners at the Awards Ceremony? You guessed it - Mr. Edwin F. Rogers, Jr. Eddie announced: "Nicole Dianne Zimmer, daughter of Cheryl and Willie Zimmer." Even as he spoke the words, Ed recognized my name - took special note of Nikki, and after the program sought her out of the crowd. "Is your mom here?" he asked. Nikki pointed me out to him. That was the first meeting 30 years after high school - thanks to Ed and his marvelous memory for names and faces. We hugged and chatted briefly that evening, then went our separate ways.

5. December 2005 Some Enchanted Evening! I was singing in a choir called Lieto. "Coincidentally," Lieto's Christmas performance was held the same night Ed was performing in The Nutcracker and, astonishingly enough, in the same building. We both were mingling in the foyer after our performances and caught a glimpse of each other "across a crowded room." Ed was standing there, a breathtaking vision in his tux with tails - I was dressed in my formal-length white and black gown and wearing a delicate strand of pearls that had once belonged to my Grandmother. How picturesque the two of us must have looked together! I was so happy to see him again - I flew to his side. Alas, this meeting was also too brief due to prior commitments for the evening. But the memory of that chance meeting and that gorgeous, oh-so-single man stayed in my mind.

6. January 2006 Inspiration hits hard! I was sitting quietly at my desk in the SkyWest Payroll Dept. working diligently when a sudden, urgent thought hit me. "You MUST call Ed Rogers," it insisted. Without a moments hesitation I grabbed my phone book and my cell phone, dialed the number for Dixie State College and headed out the door. Ed was, thankfully, in his office and apparently happy to hear from me. We talked for 30 minutes before I realized that I really should get back to work. As we said our goodbyes Ed commented, "We should go to lunch sometime." My heart sank. "Sometime." It sounded like mere politeness, and I feared "sometime" would never come. "Yes, we should do that," I replied, trying to sound more cheerful than I felt. "Well, don't go before we set a date," he continued - and my heart soared! We made a lunch date for that very Thursday - and the rest, as they say, is history!

And now, dear reader, I ask you. That extraordinary chain of events - were they coincidental? If one link had been missing . . . would we have found each other? I believe a loving Heavenly Father knew how much we needed each other - knew that we could lift each other from the depths of despair - knew what a beautiful partnership we could form together, and set in motion the chain of events that allowed us to find each other some 30 years after our friendship was initiated - this incredibly complex chain of events that will ultimately lead to an eternal bond of love and devotion.