A Divine Appointment at the Dentist

Struggling with my calling as a writer, God met me in a wonderful way...

Recently, God arranged a divine appointment to confirm a calling in me. I wasn’t expecting it. But I knew it was God as soon as the conversation started.

I was struggling with my calling to write a book about the life of my son, Benjamin, the grief and hope of mothering a special needs child, and suffering the loss of him. Although I questioned the purpose of my book and some of the writing I was doing each week, I knew our story needed to be told. Our story could be the hope that someone who was going through the same journey we had faced needed to hear.

But today I had a dental appointment.

No one likes going to the dentist, but it must be done.

So off I went.

As I sat in the dental chair, the dentist and his assistant waited for the freezing to take hold. We chatted briefly, and when asked what I was doing this weekend, I told them I was heading off on a writing retreat at a monastery to work on the editing of my book.

Everyone loves hearing about the monastery!

They asked what the book was about, and as I told the assistant about our story, she started to cry, then told me she has a non-verbal daughter with special needs. She is feeling very overwhelmed with everything the diagnosis and treatment entail. Tears shimmered in our eyes.

I hugged her, and with tears in our eyes, we knew we shared the experience of heartache. She knew I understood. We exchanged numbers and promised to meet again to talk more. We shared photos of our kids.

We’ll talk about grief, we’ll talk about diagnosis, we’ll discuss treatments, we’ll share our hearts, our broken dreams, our dashed hopes. Coincidentally, today is the fifth anniversary of the day we buried our son’s ashes.

But we’ll also talk about the triumphs, the tiny successes that exemplify joy and hope. We’ll laugh about things our special kids say and do. We’ll share the love of being a parent to a very special child, a gift from God. Even though the package isn’t what we originally hoped for, it is the best gift we could ever be given.

Thank you, Lord, for confirming the calling to have our story written. This is why I write. This is the woman who needs to hear the words of our journey. This is the family that needs the hope only Jesus can bring to a broken dream. “You are the God who sees me.” Genesis 16:13 NLT

Our meeting today was no accident. Some may call it a coincidence, but I believe it was a divine appointment—a divine meeting to give hope to a young mother and clarity to an old writer.

“You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.” Psalm 139:5 NLT

Only God knew we needed to meet today, at the unlikeliest of places, the dentist’s office. You never know where God will show up in your day, providing opportunities for divine appointments. He sees you. He knows you. He loves you.

That book is now complete and will be launched on March 1, 2026. See details below. Here is a picture of the book cover. “Speechless - A Mother’s Memoir of Caregiving” by Kathleen Knapp.

Have you ever experienced a divine appointment? Please share with us in the comments.