A God Wink is one of those small yet significant signs from God letting you know He’s there and has your back. A friend of mine, Crystal Gerrald, introduced the term to me and it’s one of those things that as soon as you are introduced, life suddenly makes a little more sense. An “ah-ha” moment, if you will.
I’ve caught glances of God Winks over the last three years since being introduced. It’s one of those things that if you’re not paying attention, you’ll overlook it. And sometimes, you still do while looking directly at it. These are the Winks that make sense later on in your journey. Sometimes years later.
I’d like to share some of my God Wink’s with you since this writing journey began. Some, I saw instantly while others I grew to understand later on.
A year leading up to 2014, I remember telling God the task of me publishing Lulu’s Café was too far out of my reach. I was a nobody, who knew nothing about publishing. Back then, there were no author friends, no editing friends, no proofreading friends, no formatting friends. No one in the industry to give me a helping hand. To show me the right path to get on for this journey, so I kept giving God all of these excuses.
So, how did I figure it all out? Honestly, I couldn’t tell you except that God was all of those publishing friends I needed. He directed me to get on this certain path, avoid this other path, and to walk slowly down another. It didn’t happen overnight, but through a series of God Winks it did happen.
After Lulu’s Café, one story would lead to another and God would show me a Wink and before I knew it, another story emerged from it.
The theme of these Winks were to show me that I really wasn’t special with this storytelling talent, but if I was willing to let God do a work through them, then He would bless it in a way my simple mind couldn’t and still don’t comprehend.
My friend Lynn Edge presented me with one of my God Winks a little over two years ago in the form of a book by Francine Rivers, Redeeming Love. I read this book and on the last page, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, God placed one of His Winks there in two beautiful words. The main characters had named their children Nathan and… wait for it… LYDIA! These are my children’s names, by the way. Why was this so significant to find the names of my children in her book? Because I had just recently sent a query letter to the agent who represents Francine Rivers.
No word came back from this query, something I had grown used to as I pursued several agencies. But later on that summer, about a month after reading the book, I had a missed phone call from an unknown number in Chicago. Can you guess who called me? Yep, the president of Browne & Miller Literary Associates. I called her back and stuttered through the conversation, but Danielle Egan-Miller was kind and gave me a lot of helpful advice and that was basically it.
I took that Wink from God at face value. He’d allowed this highly regarded woman in the industry to give me some sound advice. It helped me down the right path to improve my craft and I was grateful and honored that she took the time to reach out to me. It was quite encouraging. And I thought that was the end of that particular story…
Two years later, it’s become clear that God only showed me a part of that Wink and I know He’s still only revealing a portion of it to me now. I’m eager to see what else He does with it!
And so with that, I’d like to share this part of the Wink with you… I've been back in touch with Danielle recently and as of June 26th, I am now represented by the same agent as Francine Rivers! Yes, you heard me. I’ll be working on a book series, The Carolina Coast Series, with Danielle at Browne & Miller.
So… what do you need to take away from this God Wink? God says to trust in Him with all things. Pay attention, accept His Winks and keep moving forward, not giving up when you feel the path is too long and too difficult to navigate. He’s there. All you have to do is pay attention, even though that sometimes takes a lot of patience. The “hurry up and wait” can feel too extensive and frustrating sometimes, but don’t give up.
Most of you know one of my favorite sayings is…
She turned her can’ts into cans and her dreams into plans.
I encourage you all to throw the word can’t out of your vocabulary and start going after your dreams with a plan. Allow God to navigate you even when you feel lost. Surely, I’ve felt like I was wandering without direction most of this writing journey so far, but I know who’s got me.