My husband, an Eagle Scout, and still a boy at heart when it comes to skipping stones across water, could not resist the chance to hone his skills on a recent walk with friends on the beautiful campus of Furman University.

Having found the perfect stone, he detoured from the walking trail to the lakeside with our friend, Chad. As his stone skipped joyously ONE big time before it met its watery demise into its new residence at the bottom of the lake, Chad discovered something far more interesting.

Our reason for being there.

Although Chad spends his workdays in selfless service to others as a fireman and has seen his fair share of emergencies and life threatening situations, he did not expect to find one at the water’s edge. But there he found a turtle wedged securely between two rocks in a race against time for his life.

Clearly, he had been there for a while. His shell was dry and seemed to be on the verge of cracking in the hot sun. Desperately kicking his tiny feet, still he could not budge. He was going nowhere. Disaster seemed imminent and the likelihood of a Good Samaritan finding him was dismal.

But that was exactly what happened.

Carefully, Chad dislodged the turtle and we watched him swim away – to rejoin his family and friends and his stature in life in the lake.

In the scheme of things, it seems to be a rather trivial event – except if you are seeking the Divine all the time. Then the synchronicity of events in everyday life is unmistakable.

Later my husband and I begin to play one of our games that remind us again and again of how important it is to be conscious and pay attention to the incredible connectivity of all our lives – human, animal, reptile and otherwise. That particular South Carolinian turtle was saved by four friends who did not all know each other two years ago.

Four people who began their lives somewhere between 67 and 33 years ago – one in Ohio, one in North Carolina, one in Mississippi and one in Virginia. Yet through the Divine, somehow all our lives intersected, we became friends and the turtle was the beneficiary of our Spring walk.

The whole incident could have passed us by without even a remembrance. But when we are conscious and when we pay attention, The Divine and the The Divine Spark within us all can be celebrated at moments like these. Recognized and feted with consciousness. With love.

With deep gratitude for those who show up unexpectedly and right in the nick of time to free us from somewhere between a rock and a hard place.