Godwinks: Open Your Eyes to God’s Amazing Signs
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.
Albert Einstein
As I sat down to write this week, I struggled to pick a topic. I considered writing about Stephen Covey’s classic 7 Habits book, but I wasn’t feeling it. I then thought about what a friend had recently asked me after he saw my church men’s group presentation – “What did you call those special moments, those coincidences… Godwinks?”
God first got my full attention to these beautiful experiences on December 11th, 2014, several months after my wife Kristy passed away. At lunch the following day, I told my best friend about what had happened. In amazement, he shook his head and said, “I know what you are talking about. CBS Sunday Morning had a segment on it. They called them something… I’ll find it.” Within a few hours, he emailed me – “They are called Godwinks! Here is the YouTube link.”
I watched the video in awe, listening to author SQuire Rushnell talk about his book “When God Winks” and some incredible examples of Godwinks. I immediately bought his book and devoured it.
Rushnell defines a Godwink as “1. Not a coincidence but an event or experience so astonishing it must be of divine origin; 2. Another term for answered prayer.” Rushnell urged his readers to reflect on their past, to look for Godwinks that they might not have recognized at the time.
One moment that hit me right away was when the local Methodist minister gave me the “Jesus Calling” daily devotional book less than a week after my wife Kristy passed away. The book’s author had the same name as the college student who had done a terrific job babysitting for us during our stressful summer. I remember commenting about that “coincidence” to the minister and him smiling back at me.
As I dug farther back into my past, I remembered receiving my first big job offer on my birthday during the last few weeks before graduating from college. That job took me back to the Midwest (Chicago), where I quickly met a guy my age who would become my best friend. Within about a year, I would move on to work for his Internet company, where I have happily spent the past 25+ years.
Since learning about Godwinks over eight years ago, I have become obsessed with them. I actively look for signs throughout my day as if on a never-ending treasure hunt. I look for Godwinks in license plate numbers, addresses, and phone numbers; in my daily readings, Bible verses, newsletters, my pastor’s sermons; in conversations with family and friends; in my workday; in nature.
I write down Godwinks in my journal, and there is not enough space here to include them all. But I will note a couple of the most significant examples to me.
Rainbow at the Cemetery
On the third anniversary of my wife’s passing, my kids and I planned to walk around the corner to the cemetery where my wife is buried to spend some time there. It was a rainy fall Saturday – we watched an Iowa Hawkeye football game while waiting for the rain to stop. It reached late in the afternoon when I finally said we had better head over to the cemetery in the rain because it wasn’t letting up. The rain stopped as we stood at her grave, and the sky lightened up. Within a few minutes, a spectacular rainbow appeared through the trees. Thank you, Kristy, for reminding us that you are still looking over us.
Our New Church
After Kristy passed away, our family spent some time at the local Methodist church and later at the Presbyterian church. Looking back, I understand there were reasons for both churches in our lives. But I also know that it was best that we moved on from both of them, especially as the events of 2020 identified that many churches like these two had lost their way. When our church closed for covid in March 2020, we started having our own Sunday school at home and never returned, especially when our Presbyterian pastor started preaching white guilt in the wake of the BLM riots.
In December 2022, I joined my mom and my brother’s family for Christmas Eve service at their new church in Iowa. My mom and brother’s family had stopped attending our local Methodist church in our small town, the one our family had gone to for decades. Instead, they found this growing, vibrant church 20 miles away. That experience was so moving that it nudged me to find a similar church for my family in the Chicago suburbs when we returned home.
A few weeks later, we were back home in Chicago, watching the new “American Underdog” movie, which chronicled the life of NFL Hall-of-Fame quarterback Kurt Warner. I emailed my usual group of friends, recommending that they check out the movie. A thought then came into my mind to also send it to a friend at work (Jim), who I had grown much closer to within the last year. The following morning, I had another thought – what church does Jim attend? I remember Jim saying he started taking his family to a new church. So, I sent another email asking about his church, and he responded later that day, and we were out there for service on Sunday.
This new church has been such a blessing for our family this past year. I have never felt so connected to God/Jesus in church. Almost every service, I now shed powerful, happy tears when singing or listening to another of our pastor’s moving sermons.
While organizing my church men’s group presentation, I considered what led me to this new church. I looked through my emails to my friend Jim, realizing I had watched the Kurt Warner movie right before I asked him about his church. I looked at “The American Underdog” movie poster and saw the leading actor’s name staring out at me – Zachary Levi. Zachary and Levi are the first names of two of Jim’s sons. Their names most likely triggered me to email Jim and led us to this new church.
What Do Godwinks Mean?
These signals from God tell me that I am on the right path and encourage me to keep going in that direction. The appearance of these messages indicates to me that I am paying attention to the essential things in life. These experiences tell me that my antenna is properly tuned to a high vibrational frequency, to the oneness of God. Once I opened my eyes to their existence, I made the leap of faith to start looking for signs. And I saw them everywhere.
I later came across a prayer from author Ben Newman that I now pray every morning:
God, what is my use for your purpose? Please guide me towards that purpose.
Jesus, please show me the signs. I’m open to receiving this if it’s meant to be.
God, thanks for these signs. We all need these miraculous winks from You to remind us that You are always with us, to keep us going in Your way.
What’s Next?
As I said at this post’s opening, I was unsure what to write about this week. And then, I remembered my friend’s recent question about Godwinks and started in that direction.
I went to YouTube and searched for “Godwinks” and watched the first video that came up – an interview of author SQuire Rushnell on CBN’s “The 700 Club” show. In the interview, SQuire tells a Godwinks story about actress Roma Downey who played an angel on the long-running TV series “Touched by an Angel.”
After watching the video and making some notes, I took a break to go run on my treadmill. On my run, I listened to a recent Jon Gordon podcast with author Alex Demczak about sharing your message with the world. I finished my run and listened to the last few minutes of the interview when Alex Demczak started talking about attending a Jon Gordon leadership training seminar. He said, “It was unbelievable. I remember sitting at the table with Roma Downey, the star of ‘Touched by an Angel’ that I watched as a kid…”
I almost laughed out loud as I heard those words. God just gave me another big wink.
What’s next? Write a blog post about Godwinks? Check. Watch some old episodes of “Touched by an Angel,” probably a great show we can watch as a family? Check out “The Bible” show where I see that Roma Downey played Jesus’ mother Mary? Attend a Jon Gordon leadership training seminar somewhere soon? Find out more about Alex Demczak’s service to help people share their stories through a book? Maybe all of these things?
Regardless, I know that God is always with me and encouraging me to keep going forward in the right way, to put my faith in action for His will and glory.
Links:
When God Winks: How the Power of Coincidence Guides Your Life – SQuire Rushnell
Be An Angel: Devotions to Inspire and Encourage Love Along the Way - Roma Downey