On this day in 1863, George Meade had been in command of the Army of the Potomac for all of 2 days.
On the day he assumed command, Lee's Army of Northern Virginia began to concentrate near the town of Gettysburg. Meade could do nothing but watch and wait. He knew that Gettysburg was growing in importance but still hoped to fight a defensive battle along a little waterway in northern Maryland called Pipe Creek.
On June 30 he issued the Pipe Creek Circular. Had things unfolded differently, today the towns of Middleburg and Union Mills might be the ones crammed with visitors and souvenir shops and Gettysburg would be the quiet town people passed on their way to the great battlefield in Maryland. Events, of course, finally controlled the plans of both commanders, and "The Great Battle" took place not in Maryland but in Pennsylvania. But it was close. Some wag has suggested that a historical marker should be erected somewhere along Pipe Creek reading, "On this spot, July 1-3, 1863, nothing happened."
Today nothing seems predictable in America. Especially politically. But we know that our God still reigns. He still controls the destinies of nations. His plans will come to fruition. As in the nation, so in our lives. God sometimes works in ways we can't anticipate or understand. When he does something different than what you expected, learn to celebrate the unseen hand of God -- and thank him for it.