When God Winks

The American Heritage Dictionary defines a coincidence as "A sequence of events that although accidental seems to have been planned or arranged". 

I believe that God is the one that plans and arranges those things in our lives - both in the past and in the day-to-day that we live in now. I recently read a little book entitled, "When God Winks" by SQuire Rushnell. He calls these times in our lives "God Winks". He defines these times as "a personal signal or message, directly from a higher power." He says, "they are clear signposts on the path of life, revealing that each of us is guided by a powerful force".

These "God Winks" happen for a reason and that is to let us know that we are not alone. Rushnell likens it to a time when we were kids and were sitting at a dinner table with the grownups. You looked up and saw a parent or maybe a grandparent smiling at you -- and they winked.  That was a reassuring message of love that said, "Hey, kid, I'm thinking about you. You're OK. Hang in there."

Simply put, "God Winks" are messages of reassurance that come to us when we most need it.

I love the idea of "God Winks" in my life. I can look back over my life and see many times that I have experienced them, some of which I did not even recognize at the time. Recently I have been experiencing a number of them in my life.

Let me tell you more......

For years, I have wanted to go on a mission trip and have looked into the possibility of going on a medical mission trip on a couple of different occasions, but it has just never seemed to work out. As I began to hear about an upcoming mission trip to Brazil, I felt that the Lord was impressing upon me that I needed to go on this trip - that it was time. My daughter, Faith, and son-in-law, Chad, are planning to go on this trip, but neither of them had said a word to me about it, other than the fact that they were planning to go.

As I was walking out of church a couple of Sundays ago, I was walking next to a sweet friend and I commented that I loved her necklace she was wearing. She said, "Oh, thank you. I got it in Brazil!" As she said that, I felt a little nudge in my heart. Wink # 1 (-;

Walt and I went out to lunch with Faith and Chad on this particular Sunday, and while we were in the restroom washing our hands, I asked if all the "spots" were already filled for the Brazil trip. Faith said, "I don't think so, why --DO YOU WANT TO GO???" I told her I had been thinking about it and that I felt the Lord might be leading me in that direction. She said, "Oh, that would be awesome!" Wink #2 (-;

As we walked to our seats in the restaurant, Faith saw some friends from Brazil seated in the booth right beside us and she introduced me to them. After talking to them for just a few minutes, I could just sense in my spirit that these were some of the sweetest people in the world. Wink # 3 (-;

We sat down at our table and we started talking about Brazil and the possibility of my going. Faith shared that they were having 1 (and maybe 2) dentists go on the trip -- and then she suddenly remembered that I AM A DENTAL HYGIENIST!!!   Wink # 4 (-;

As I began praying about whether I would go on this trip, of course the biggest obstacle (apart from the funding) would be the time off from work. I was unsure whether any of my employees were already planning to be off during the same time period. When I got back to my office on Monday, I checked the scheduling calendar and, not only was no one off during those dates, but it fell over a period of time that my office was already going to be closed for several of the days. I would only have to miss 3 days of work!  Wink # 5  (-;

When I mentioned to my boss that I was praying about going on a mission trip to Brazil, he volunteered cases of sample size toothpaste that he needed to get rid of because we d0 not use it in our office and do not have the space to store it. I now have a huge box of toothpaste samples in my possession that, Lord willing, will end up somewhere in a little village in Brazil! Wink #6 (-;

I began checking online to see what immunizations I would be required to have before making the trip.  After obtaining the information, my boss suggested that I call a local doctor that used to work next door to us.  I told him that I was pretty sure that you had to go to a special place to get the travel immunizations for missions.  I decided that I would check and  as I flipped to the doctor's business card in my Rolodex, across the bottom were written the words "Travel Immunizations and Vaccines"! I called and spoke with the Office Manager and he said that whatever immunizations that I needed they would not charge me anything to administer the vaccines -- and would only charge me for the "vaccine" itself!

Wink # 7 (-;

As many of you know, my husband has been out of work for over a year, so needless to say we do not have the extra money to fund my trip. My first thoughts were, there is no way that I can afford to do this. This past week, it was confirmed that our team would be able to work the concession booth in the Family Section of two of the major NASCAR races that we have locally here in May. Anyone that works the booth will be raising money toward their trip, so Walt and I both signed up to work those days. (He is working to help raise money for my expenses, too.) 

Wink # 8 (-;

My most immediate need was to secure a passport because you are looking at a girl that has never been out of the U.S! I went to the post office and got an application and discovered that the passport cost $75.00, plus $25.00 to execute it and $15.00 for the passport photos - for a grand total of $115.00. Right now, there is not $115.00 extra dollars in the budget, so I began praying that God would provide the money for my passport if I was supposed to go on this trip. (I went ahead and scheduled my appointment for yesterday.) This past Monday, I received a birthday card from a very special family member and when I opened it up, inside the card was---you guessed it --a check for $115.00!!! I called her the next morning to tell her how God had used her to answer a prayer in my life. She said that she had no idea why she made the check for $115.00, that she fully intended to make it for $100.00, but that somehow she had written it for $115.00 before she knew it! She didn't know WHY she did that! I know why she did, because God took hold of her hand and had her write the exact amount that I needed!! Isn't God awesome!!  Wink # 9 (-;

I know many in this world would call these things coincidences, but I much prefer to think of them as "God Winks" in my life. 

I believe they are direct and personal messages from God reassuring me that He is thinking about me.

I like to think of them as clear messages of reassurance that no matter how uncertain my life may seem right now, He is moving me toward certainty. They are reminders that I am never alone. A signpost from heaven that I am on the right track.

A reassuring message of love that says, "Hey, kid, I'm thinking about you. You're OK. Hang in there."

How about you?  Can you look back and see any "coincidences" in your own life?

Is it possible that they weren't coincidences at all and maybe "God Winks"??

How has God "winked" at you recently?

As you look back over your life, I believe that you will see many times, at various turning points in your life, when God has clearly "winked" at you!

I would love for you to share some of your stories about the "God Winks" in your life.

The next time a coincidence pops up in your life, I hope you'll start to wonder ----Was that a "God Wink"?