When God Winks

Recognizing how and when God speaks to you directly is not instinctive. Though it requires a level of awareness that is within every human being, it may lie dormant throughout our lives without intentionality. What do I mean? I am speaking about intentionality in your everyday life that begins with an open mind to the circumstances surrounding you and acknowledging that there are no coincidences. If living well is your objective, your soul and spirituality cannot be overlooked or undernourished. Looking for the God winks in your life is powerful food for your soul.

How God Winks

God is communicating through answered prayers or little miracles that are direct messages of reassurance to YOU, specifically you. It is His way of letting you know he hears you and is with you always - a God wink. Recognizing a God wink requires us to resist viewing circumstances through an empirical lens of probability. Believe me, I know how instinctive this is. I am a math and science kind of gal, and even if you are not, we have been educated to see things through the order of probability.  But God winks are most evident when we use a spiritual lens. Looking back, I can see when God has winked at me and also when God has used me to wink at someone He puts in my path.

When God Winks at You

It was a tough financial season in our lives. We were living through economic uncertainties while trying to maintain normalcy. We had invited a group to spend the weekend at our lake house months ago when things were not as lean, and now we were burdened by how we would remain hospitable and put food on the table for our guests. We believed the fellowship from the weekend was more important than any debt we would suffer, so we did not cancel and decided we would just figure it out.

We arrived at our lake house the night before so we could grocery shop the next morning and prepare for our guests' arrival. It was late winter when nightfall arrived early. Our house sits off a long gravel driveway, far back from the main road. In the thick darkness, there was an unexpected knock at our door. It was a tall, rugged man with a kind voice. He said, “You have a walnut tree behind your garage. I make things from walnut. I would like to cut your tree down sometime after the thaw.” My husband and I looked at each other a bit bewildered, but agreed that would be fine. Then, as he was turning to leave, the man handed us a check for $1200 dollars! “You can cash it now, I’ll be back in the spring”, and off he rode into the night. I still cannot tell this story without eyes full of tears. 

“That was Jesus,” I said, sobbing to my husband, “He sent a stranger, a carpenter no less, to find us in the middle of nowhere and answer our prayers for provision, to feed our guests”.  We never did see that man again. But one day late that spring, we noticed the walnut tree behind the garage had been stumped and neatly removed without a trace. That carpenter was our wink from God.

When You Are The God Wink

I had just finished reading my devotional that morning before jumping into a car I had scheduled to drive me to work. It was just a few days before Christmas, and the reading had called for reflection on what I could do today, leading up to Christmas, to make room for Christ’s coming. 

It was dark and cool outside, and as I hopped into the car, I thanked the driver for picking me up and remarked how unusually mild it was outside for this time of year. The driver, Diana (not her real name), eagerly chatted about the weather, and we agreed that the days would be getting longer soon. Curious about the date of the winter solstice, I said, “I’ll ask ChatGPT”. To my surprise, Diana remarked, “I feel like ChatGPT is my new best friend! I asked it for help, and it gave me a whole plan”.  Without fully knowing her circumstances, I quipped, “Oh, it’s great for facts but not for friends”.

As I probed further, Diana vulnerably shared that she was trapped in a relationship with a man and did not know what to do. Feeling very alone, she had used ChatGPT for guidance. She said, “I felt heard! It laid out this whole plan for me. I am driving to earn money for my daughter and I to get away.” As I listened to her, my heart was breaking. Holding back tears,  I looked out the window, up toward the dark star-studded sky, and I was suddenly filled with knowing, “God, I know what you want me to do”, I thought.

I proceeded to tell Diana that it was not a coincidence that she had picked me up that morning. There was a reason I was the passenger in her car.  We talked about her safety, her family, her faith, and resources to help her. I asked her permission to pray together in the car, and we did. As we were pulling up to drop me off, Diana spoke with a renewed spirit, “I cannot believe how fast the past 40 minutes have gone”.  Smiling, I invited Diana to stay connected.

Later that day, I learned that she had joined our Well Community emails. (Diana, if you’re reading this, I am still praying for you every day). You never know when you are the wink from God for someone else. 

Take some time to nourish your soul.  Reflect on the circumstances of your life. The times when the unbelievable happened and the times you found yourself nudged to do something; to reach out, to connect. These are the God winks of our lives. They are the richest moments of grace that remind us we are not alone, we are heard, and we are loved. 

With love and Well wishes ❤️

Kelly

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