Is it a Small World or Just a Coincidence?

There might be billions of people on this planet, but it never ceases to amaze me just how small our world can be sometimes.  Tonight, my fiance and I attended our first session of the Alpha Course, offered at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Oakmont. We plan to be married there in September, and attending the Alpha Course is part of our marriage preparations.

It seems to be a fairly small group this time. I actually took the Alpha Course about a decade or so ago as part of preparations for my oldest child to be  baptized. I recall that being a very large group. This time it was much more intimate.

There were four couples and three teenagers taking the course. Three of the couples were taking the course as part of their marriage preparation. Another was preparing for baptism. Here's where the small world thing comes in. What are the odds that out of the four couples, I went to high school with one of the other women there? Also, my fiance is from Connecticut and is a rabid Boston Red Sox fan. Guess what? There was another man there from Connecticut who is also a rabid Red Sox fan.

I find such coincidences quite remarkable. I mean, what are the odds? I went to Riverview... a teeny, tiny high school. What are the odds that another RHS grad, from MY era, would be preparing to marry in the exact same church at the exact same time? And what are the odds that two people would have grown up in the same small New England state and happen to adore the exact same sports team... and end up in the very same small church group?

I could see if I went to Penn Hills or Plum or some other high school where I would have graduated with hundreds of people. Nope—there were 104 people in my graduating class. And I could see if two of the people were from New York City (huge) and were Yankees fans (commercially popular team). But no.  Small state and a sports team with a much smaller fan base.

Those things make me think it really is a small world. 

What about you? Have you found yourself in a situation where you found yourself thinking, "What a small world....?" I'd love to hear about it!