Amanda

Six months before Carlee and I went to prison, her friend Alissa visited our home and mentioned

that her friend Amanda had just been sentenced to two years in prison for a DUI.

Several months later Carlee was in prison camp talking with a group of women when the name

Amanda suddenly came to her mind.

She asked one of the women if she knew someone by that name.

The woman replied, “You were just talking to her.”

Amanda was sitting nearby.

Later that same day Carlee met her, and they quickly became close friends. Over the next ten

months they spent much of their time together.

Eventually Carlee was transferred to another facility—and Amanda was transferred there as well.

Looking back, the moment when Alissa casually mentioned Amanda months earlier suddenly

carried new meaning.

The Spirit had spoken about something before it happened.

It reminded me that sometimes God reveals things ahead of time so that when they occur we will

recognize His hand in them.

The encounter wasn’t random.

It was another moment in the unfolding story of how our lives intersect according to a purpose

we cannot always see beforehand.