大象传媒

I have a rare name. I鈥檝e only met听one听other Sheridan, and the number of Voysey鈥檚 in the phone book has always been slim. I鈥檓 told the chances of my first and last names appearing randomly together are incredibly small.

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So you can imagine my surprise when I discovered that on January 2 this year, my name had appeared in a national newspaper crossword puzzle, both names, not just together but听intersecting鈥�42 down, 45 across. This was too random to be a coincidence. It had to听mean听something!听

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I sent the author of the crossword an email. I knew she sometimes slipped the names of writers she liked into her puzzles, and I started fancying the idea she鈥檇 been so moved by one of my books she鈥檇 included me. For fun, I also asked my social media friends what they made of it.

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The social crowd got comical, suggesting I was being headhunted by MI5, or鈥攁s 52 across with 53 down showed鈥擨 was destined to meet a man named听Alyiosis听in听York. More seriously, one person thought this was a message from God saying he saw me and valued me, and another, that I was at a crossroads but ready for something new.听听

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As history鈥檚 thinkers have noted, us humans are meaning-seekers. We ask听Why has this happened, and听What does it mean. Add to that our need to feel valued, and our curiosity about the future, it鈥檚 not surprising I found those last two answers attractive. Maybe God did see me and had plans for me. Or maybe I was reading too much into a random event.

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Jesus鈥� disciples had lots of听Why has this happened,听What does it mean听questions. He鈥檇 often whisk them off for an away day to get perspective. On one occasion he told them not to celebrate their successes alone, but celebrate that their names were written in the book of life鈥攖heir names in heaven鈥檚 book in God鈥檚 handwriting. God saw them and had plans for them.听

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I heard back from the crossword author鈥攁nd in a crushing blow she confessed she鈥檇 never heard of me! It seems my name appearing in that crossword was simply a random event. Never mind. I鈥檓 told my name is written on another page. And thank God, this time it鈥檚 on purpose.听

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