Providence

 As a little boy he lived on a farm in a simple house with no frills. Water was carried in from a pump. The "bathroom" was only accessible by walking across the yard.  A pot belly stove provided heat and a cooking surface.
  His mama was preparing a meal when she noticed the fire had died down. She grabbed a can of kerosene and splashed some onto the coals. The fire leaped to life and followed the stream of kerosene back up to the can which exploded. That little boy's life was altered in a split second as his younger brother died in the house. His mama succumbed to the infection from her painful burns weeks later. His infant brother, no longer able to nurse, died when he was switched to cow's milk.
  He was sent to live with his grandmother and was raised with his uncles. They became more like brothers. His father was able to find new love, remarried,  and moved on.....without him.

  She was conceived out of wedlock which was unacceptable and shameful during that period of time. To cover her tracks, her mother left her with a neighbor lady to be raised from infancy on. She would visit her from time to time, but when asked about whose beautiful little girl she had with her, she would say she was that girl those folks down the road were raising. Her mother found love, married, and moved on....

  While fishing with his uncles one afternoon, he noticed a long legged girl running barefoot through the field near the stream. He recognized her as that girl the neighbors were raising. He looked at his uncles and said "See that girl there? I'm gonna marry her one day."  Throughout the remainder of their childhood they shared the same fields, the same stream, the same school. When they became older they shared a love, they married, and moved on ......to make a family of their own.

  Had they never encountered those terrible childhood tragedies,  they may have never even met, but God had a plan for their lives....a plan that two generations later included.....me.