Exacto Moments

Exacto Moments — Woven by God

2014 | San Pablo, California

One afternoon in 2014, during our break at the dialysis clinic, I went to confession at St. Paul Church in San Pablo.

The line was long, and some of us were worried we might not finish before Mass began. I remembered the woman standing directly in front of me, although we never spoke.

After confession, I returned to work. Around 5:30 PM, I left the clinic and headed home. I planned to stop in Pinole to buy some pillows, but somehow I took the wrong exit and ended up near Hilltop Mall.

Since Walmart was nearby, I decided to look for pillows there.

As I approached the pillow section, I recognized a woman arranging merchandise. To my surprise, she was the same woman from the confession line just hours earlier!

I approached her and said, “We met at church earlier.”

When I introduced myself as a member of Couples for Christ, her face lit up.

“Kuya, I was Singles for Christ in the Philippines!”

She told me she had been searching for a Catholic community since coming to America but couldn’t find one. Someone had invited her to a non-Catholic prayer group the following week, and she was considering attending.

Then she said something I have never forgotten.

“Kuya, you are God-sent! Imagine, if I change religion, I won’t be able to go to confession anymore.”

She had been praying to find a Catholic community.

“And now I found you here. This is my answered prayer.”

I was amazed. Earlier that afternoon, we were simply two strangers waiting for confession. Now we were standing in Walmart, talking about her search for a spiritual home.

A few days later, I learned about a Christian Life Program in Hercules. I called her and introduced her to the local Singles for Christ community.

Looking back, I still wonder what would have happened if I had taken the exit I originally intended.

I went to confession that afternoon seeking God’s mercy, never imagining that I would later meet someone longing to remain close to the sacraments and her Catholic faith.

I thought I had taken the wrong exit. But that unexpected turn became an opportunity to help answer someone’s prayer.

Sometimes God leads us to the right person through what seems to be the wrong road.

And that, for me, was another Exacto Moment.