In my last post, I talked about a book I read a while back that introduced me to “God Winks” and the idea that some of the things in our lives – namely the things that seem to be coincidences – might be more than they appear to be.  After reading the book, I started to see various events in my own life in a new light and with new possibility.

Part of me wanted to take the logical approach and dismiss the possibility that such coincidences had anything to do with the spiritual realm.  After all, I’m familiar with the notion that our brains work in such a way as to create meaning out of seemingly random events and experiences.  Plus, my religious background has often made it difficult to consider that God would work in such ways, especially across the boundaries of religion.

But I was reminded of a quote that’s attributed to Albert Einstein.  “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

In addition, I’d found myself being emphatically implored by a number of authors and speakers to look for and expect such miracles, as well as be receptive to the intuitive promptings that I receive.

What does all of this have to do with anything?

Well, a few months ago, my wife and I were discussing details about an upcoming family trip to Disneyland.  We needed to get some new luggage, which I wasn’t thrilled about, and I casually mentioned that the last thing I wanted to spend money on as part of this fun trip was luggage.  But alas, luggage shopping we went.

We checked a few different places and ultimately found some decent stuff that was very reasonably priced, but I didn’t want to buy anything without checking out some customer reviews first.  So that night, I hopped online to do some research and, to my surprise, not only were the reviews great, but the retailer’s online price was 30% less than the in-store price.  And shipping was free.  Boom!  Done.

I always like a good deal, so this made me very happy.  As did the rental car that I’d previously secured for our trip, which happened to be about 40% less than all comparable vehicles from other rental agencies.

A couple days later, I had a nagging sense that I needed to check the car agency again.  I didn’t give it much thought at first, because I was more than happy with the car and the rate that I’d locked in.  But after the prompting persisted, I finally checked.

Lo and behold, the price on the particular class of car that I had reserved was now substantially less expensive for the dates we needed.

I found this extremely peculiar for two reasons: The original price was already a steal and the other car classes hadn’t decreased in price.  Peculiar or not, I wasn’t about to pass it up, so I locked in the new price.  Actually, this entire thing was peculiar for a third reason: when I went back and checked prices again later, the price had gone back up.  Curious, for sure, but I had already secured the lower rate so I went to bed with a smile on my face.

The next morning, I was in the shower and I got an overwhelming sense that I needed to start actively looking for “miracles” in my life.  It’s like someone was saying “You’ve been hearing this for long enough, now start doing it.”  Instead of just going through my days in a rote fashion, I needed to do so with acute intention and expectation.

I had the sense that I was at risk of missing out, not necessarily on the things going on in my life themselves, but potentially on the meaning or the realization that something bigger is more intimately involved and that things aren’t as random – and certainly not as humdrum – as I might otherwise think.

I think we can all relate to busy minds that are filled with the incessant chatter of unending thoughts.  If you’re like me, it can be difficult at times to discern what I should pay attention to and what’s just more chatter.  But I’ve been making more of an effort lately to key in and listen.

And something made it very clear that this time I needed to listen.

So I agreed to be more intentionally aware.  To be better about looking for meaning.

And then I got a nudge about the rental car.

I went and found my confirmation, looked at the total price, and smiled with gratitude for the screaming deal that it was.  But for some reason I felt like that wasn’t enough, like there was something more I needed to see.  So after a moment of slightly confused pondering, I decided to pull up the original confirmation and I looked at that total.

A quick attempt at the mental math had me slightly stupefied, so I got the calculator to confirm how much the price had dropped from the first reservation to the second.

And I chuckled.

It was the same amount that we had paid for the two pieces of luggage.  No, not to the penny.  But to the dollar.

Mere coincidence?  A random set of circumstances?  Is my brain now attempting to create meaning out of otherwise unrelated events?

Perhaps.

But perhaps not.

Perhaps it was a God Wink, a small reminder that maybe there’s good reason to live as though everything is a miracle.