I am not sure which one of the many “Godwinks” to share as I feel there have been so many in in my life. Here is what I am sure of… Every Godwink was proceeded by a “God Whisper. “
From the time I was a child to this ripe age of 73, my life has been filled with Whispers and Winks, and throughout my life I wasn’t always good at listening to the God Whispers that often led me to the God Winks.
Let me explain. At times I can be impulsive and impatient, which explains why I didn’t always heed to the direction from the God Whisper, and as you can well Imagine, following my own impulses often led me into situations of concern. In those moments I would look up to the proverbial heaven, and that’s when our Dear Lord would give me the Godwink confirming, “Yes, you are in somewhat of a mess AND we got this and more importantly I got you!” I learned that for every not so great decision I made, God would provide opportunities for me to realign my life in accordance with God’s plan. Over the years I am doing much better with hearing and following the God Whispers.
I read somewhere that when Jesus picked his disciples, they were not qualified, but after picking each one of them, he qualified them to do the work of God. I feel much the same way. I was never qualified or never earned many of the roles that I was blessed with in my life, whether it be personal or professional.
One of the most impactful Godwinks I was so blessed to receive occurred when my children were very young. I was given the opportunity to teach the STEP parenting program here at First Presbyterian. In fact Debbie Palmer was instrumental with making that happen. It was a double hitter, a God Whisper and a Godwink. It was a blessing because while I was the teacher I learned so much from the participants in the groups.
I will always remember the words from a young parent named Joe. He shared his story about what he did when bedtime came and his daughters just didn’t want to go to bed. He shared that he would say, “You had a great day, and I understand you just don’t want it to end!” Every member of our group dropped their jaws and went home and used these words with their own children.
The skills I fashioned through these trainings I carried into my professional career from being a teacher and then a school principal. God was preparing me and qualifying me to do his work. I learned to be more attentive and present in each moment with the Godwinks. I learned to trust that the Godwink confirmed God’s constant presence in my life.
I feel like the best way to sum this up is to say I feel like I’m just a piece of conduit, and God‘s grace and energy flows through me into these present moments with wherever I am and with whatever I’m doing. God’s Whispers and Winks are always present, I just need to be present with God.
