God Winks

Webster's defines a wink as the shutting of one eye briefly as a signal.  It's kind of a joke in our family that I can only wink one eye, but not the other.  There have been had a handful of times around our family dinner table where the kids and Mat will each demonstrate their winking skills and then laugh at me as I try.  What can I say?  Our family excels in sarcasm and teasing, but that's no surprise to anyone who has met us...especially my husband and oldest son.  With all that being said though, I think of winking as a sign of endearment.  Since we began first dating, Mat and I have used winking at each other, albeit with my left eye only, to let one another know we are thinking about each other.  We often wink at each other across the room, over the dinner table, or in a situation where we know the other might be uncomfortable.  It's a gesture of affection, friendship, and even love in my mind. 

When I began seeing a therapist recently (which is a hard thing for me to even say, but that's a whole other blog post), and was sharing with her just how desperate I was feeling to hear and feel the voice of God, she told me about a book called When God Winks at You.  I was intrigued as she shared with me that it was full of short everyday circumstances where God often "winks" at us through what we might think of as a coincidence.  Because I have been doing a lot of reading and journaling, that I ranked of higher importance, I have not yet read this book, but there is a whole God Wink Series, by Squire Rushnell, that I really look forward to checking out in the very near future! 

This past week though, I experienced what is a total "God Wink" in my book, and I just had to share.  Not too long ago, I don't think I would have necessarily recognized God's hand in this, but he was certainly all over it, in my opinion.  Last Thursday, Mat and I went out to dinner along with our three children and one neighbor child.  We'd had a big thunder storm roll through late that afternoon, leaving us without power for awhile, we were stir crazy, not too motivated to make dinner, and just felt like doing something easy.  We took all the kids and went to a local pizza place.  It was so crowded though that there was quite a wait, but there were four open spots at the bar.  We plopped the kiddos on stools at the counter, and Mat and I stood behind them.  We really did have a great time....everyone was happy, we were laughing, being affectionate, and I mean really...when there is pizza, wine, and family it's a good trio of happiness, even if you are squished in a crowded restaurant!  I did happen to notice a man at the end of the counter who was by himself and appeared to be waiting on a to-go order.  He was standing, and I remember thinking poor guy has been there a long time, his food must really be taking forever.  That's all I remember though until a server came and let us know that a man who had left recently had paid for our entire meal.  He had given her his business card, as it pertained to their discussion apparently, and then she passed it on to us.  We had never experienced anything like this before, and we were both just really honored that he had done this.  I may have even shed a few happy tears right then and there...maybe.  ;)  I mean, really....to choose a group of 6 to pay for their meal and drinks is a pretty loving act in my book! 

Because we had his business card, I took the opportunity to email him the next day and just thank him for his act of kindness and briefly share with him how much it meant to us.  He responded the following day and completely out of the blue shared with me that he had recently retired from the sheriff's office after 28 years as a detective, most spent on sexual assault cases.  So this is where that part of me for a second thinks "wow, that's a crazy coincidence", and then my heart feels that little flutter and I know it's God's way of winking at me letting me know he sees me, he believes me, and he loves and cares for me.  This man could have not responded at all, or he could have just said a simple "you're welcome," or really anything at all, but for some reason he felt the need to share that with me and that when he saw my family and I that night that he felt like it was something he needed to do.  Those feelings happen to us for a reason, and I am so thankful he listened to that feeling last Thursday, because besides the obvious joy of a free meal, he really brought God's voice to life for me.