God Wink | Questioning the Answers

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.

Early last year, I read a book called When God Winks at You, a book about how God uses the power of coincidence to communicate with us. The author refers to significant yet seemingly coincidental events that happen in our lives as “God Winks.” And although it may be easy to insist that such events are simply random coincidences, a number of the stories shared throughout the book are so over the top that it would be hard to not at least consider that something bigger is at play.

As I read through the book, I reflected on my own life and began to identify several things from throughout the years that could easily be dubbed as God Winks. Unfortunately, most of them were from many years ago, which made me reflect on what might’ve changed.

Was it my attitude? Expectation? Awareness? All of these things?

Regardless, I started to feel like I was missing out. I didn’t want my God Winks to be limited to the “glory days” of my younger years. I’m happy to say that a few interesting things have happened since reading the book and pondering all of this. I want to talk about one of them.

A couple months ago, it was time for me to clean out the pool and get it ready for summer. But before I continue, let me back up. My family lives in a 100-year-old house that we bought from a widow who had lived here for 45 years. She and her husband raised their seven kids here, so there’s lots of history and over the years we’ve come across reminders of that history.

photo credit: Vintage Skeleton Key (license)

Not long after we moved in, we were overhauling the front yard. While we were digging and planting, we came across an old-school key buried in the dirt. My wife brought it inside and attempted to clean it. It was so rusted that it was almost hard to recognize what it was, but it was still really cool.

It remained on display on the windowsill until one day I made the brilliant decision to use it to try to lock one of the old doors in our house. The brittle, rusted key snapped right in half. And my marriage was never the same.

Okay, so my poor judgment call didn’t actually wreak havoc on my marriage, but it was a bummer. My wife has often commented since then about how she misses the key. We both do. And even though we could easily buy one from an antique store or elsewhere, it just wouldn’t be the same.

Back to the present.

We’re relatively new pool owners and it was my first time cleaning the pool of the slimy sludge that collects over the fall and winter, so I wasn’t sure of the smartest and most effective way to tackle the job. It started out as a complete pain – a messy, stinky one – and I was fighting against thoughts that we shouldn’t have ever even bought a pool in the first place.

Then my wife came outside, saw that I was struggling, and casually suggested that I use the shop vac. Ah right, the wet/dry vac. Perfect! (Yes, sometimes the obvious escapes me.)

I got the shop vac out and as I was emptying it and getting it ready, I heard a rattling sound inside the hose. I shook the hose and watched a couple small nails fall out, which was no surprise. But the rattle persisted, so I shook the hose again. And what fell out next was perplexing.

An old-school key.

I was stunned.

At first I thought maybe it was plastic. You know, something that came from a kid’s toy.

Part of me knew that wasn’t likely, but I had a desperate need for an explanation. In the split second that followed, an entire internal debate took place around whether or not it was a feasible explanation.

Silencing the internal voices, I reached down and picked up the key.

Lo and behold, it was real.

Not plastic. Not a toy.

Not dirty or rusted or scratched or chipped.

Not something I’d ever laid eyes on before.

And certainly not something I would’ve casually vacuumed up without realizing it.

The thing is, I’ve shaken the hose out many times before. Quite recently, in fact. So the key couldn’t have been in there for long.

We’ve lived here longer than 10 years and it’s hard to imagine that this key has been here all along, hiding out in an area I’ve vacuumed many times before, only to just recently wind up in the path of the shop vac. Sure, I guess it’s possible. And the logical part of me wants to say that even though that explanation seems rather unlikely, it’s more likely than some kind of cosmic, divine nudge of encouragement.

But on the other hand, the entire point of the God Winks book is to wake us up to the fact that things like this actually do happen.

The author of the book makes it clear that these “coincidences” we experience transcend all boundaries of culture, time, faith, and religion. Not only are they clear indicators that the small details of our lives matter, but that God is intimately involved, if only we’d open ourselves up to the possibility.

As someone who has worn the label of “Christian” for the better part of my life, I’ve certainly experienced many incredible things that could fall into the “God Wink” category. But as years went on, the innocence and purity of my faith grew tainted.

As various beliefs about the nature of God and about who and what God truly values began to form and take root, my faith wound up contained to a rather small box, one that I naturally assumed God was living in as well.

It was a box that really didn’t leave room for events that seemed trivial or trite when compared to the things that I believed truly mattered to God, like the eternal state of someone’s soul.

The notion that God was living in the same box as me is ridiculous, of course. Thankfully, in the last couple years, that box has been obliterated (rather painfully, I might add). As a result, I’m open to seeing God show up in ways I might not have in very a long time.

So with this mysterious incident involving the key, it seems I have a choice. I can try to find a logical solution and hold onto it. Or I can simply be open to the fact that maybe something bigger and more mysterious did happen.

Maybe it wasn’t merely a random coincidence.

I’m not sure what to make of it, but for now, I’m choosing to see it as a reminder to let go and trust, because sometimes the things we hope to have or to experience show up in the most unexpected places.

And in ways that defy logic and expectation.

Luggage, Rental Cars, and God Winks

More Than a Coincidence?