God Winks and Signs

God Winks and Signs

Have you ever heard of a “God wink”?  God winks are little things that seem to happen randomly, but some believers feel they are signals or winks from God to give them direction or reassurance.  Some will brush these things off them as coincidental or synchronicity. Others will see them as signs.  

There is a movie where the two main characters, who are brothers, are sitting on a couch having a conversation late at night. The older brother is a minister, who has tragically lost his wife. He is struggling with anger and doubt. The younger brother, who is helping him with his two children asks him if he believes that God is looking out for them – because he is feeling afraid because of suspicious lights in the sky.

His brother responds this way, “People break down into two groups. When they experience something lucky, group number one sees it as more than luck, more than coincidence. They see it as a sign, evidence, that there is someone up there, watching out for them. Group number two sees it as just pure luck. Just a happy turn of chance. I'm sure the people in group number two are looking at those fourteen lights in a very suspicious way. For them, the situation is a fifty-fifty. Could be bad, could be good. But deep down, they feel that whatever happens, they're on their own. And that fills them with fear. Yeah, there are those people. But there's a whole lot of people in group number one. When they see those fourteen lights, they're looking at a miracle. And deep down, they feel that whatever's going to happen, there will be someone there to help them. And that fills them with hope. See, what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, that sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky? Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences?”― M. Night Shyamalan

That scene is from a movie called Signs. But, that quote struck a nerve in me. Because as a believer I should know that God is looking out for me. I want my children to know that as well. But I do have times when I feel alone or afraid.  

In Romans 8:31 (NIV) it tells us, What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Recently, I was reminded of a time when I needed God’s direction and help to find a place that would feel like home for me and my children. That day, God answered my prayers in a way others might describe as a God wink.

I had been divorced almost a year and a half. My children and I had been living with my parents. During the divorce our home was sold. So I very much wanted a place that would feel like home to my children and yet be affordable.

We had gone and looked at quite a few places and we just couldn’t find one that was a good fit. The area was too far from school or the house was too expensive or required too much clean up.

One place our realtor took us, the current renter answered the door very intoxicated. I am pretty sure what he was smoking wasn’t legal. There were alcohol bottles bigger than any I have ever seen strewn all over the entryway and kitchen – all clearly visible from the doorway. This was a party house. It reeked.

The realtor said, okay just keep in mind this will be”… and before she got the words “cleaned up” out… all three of us said, “No!”

I didn’t want to even see any more homes. I felt hopeless and discouraged. I wondered if we would ever find a place that would feel like home again.

I remembered a place I had looked at briefly, but it was being painted, so I couldn’t see much of it when I went to look at it a week earlier. But I remembered liking what I had seen. So I asked the realtor if we could go see that one. While we were all looking at it, I started praying silently that God would give me clarity. The kids seemed to really like it. It was in a sweet neighborhood, very family friendly. It was clean and had a great backyard for our dogs. The inside had the right amount of bedrooms and granite kitchen counters. It was small, but we were a smaller family now.

At our home we had to sell, I had cardinals that would wake me up every morning. They were noisy, but beautiful. Something about that popped in my mind as we were walking through the house. Maybe it was the sound they made, because while they are lovely to look at; they do not have a pretty song. But when we opened the front door, there in the tree in the front yard of the rent house, in the dead of winter,  were at least 15 cardinals!

My daughter, son and I all looked at each other in surprise. My daughter, grabbed my arm and said, “Oh my gosh mom! Can you believe that! There are so many!”

I looked at her and said, “This is the house.” And she and my son both smiled and said, “Yes it is!” Now you may be thinking; it was a coincidence. But for me, for us, it was God was saying, “This is your new home.”

We lived for almost three years in our little home and we never saw another cardinal until the day we were moving out.

So I ask you, “What kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, that sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky? Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences?”  

Job 42:2 (NIV) “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”