God Winks

Christmas is a religious holiday as well as a commercial holiday. The word “holiday” draws its meaning from “holy day.” For Christians all over the world, Christmas means more than shopping, holiday parties and sending cards to people we have neither seen nor heard from in a year. For Christians, the season of Advent and Christmas means the birth of the savior.

My faith is the core, the center of my life. No, I’m not going to preach to you. I am sharing my feelings which run very deep in my soul. Tonight our church presents “Lessons and Carols.” Lessons of the season from various authors and scripture readings as well as traditional Christmas carols entertain and inspire the audience. I thoroughly enjoy both the music and the messages.

I am reading tonight from James W. Moore’s “What Do You Want for Christmas?” My segment relates to Mary. “Mary was just a teenage girl from a poor family who lives in an obscure village in a tiny nation, which itself was subject to a despised foreign power. Then one day, out of the blue, an angel came to Mary with a message from the Lord: “Do not be afraid, Mary for you have found favor with God. And behold you will conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great. He will be the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the world.” And all of this was going to happen without Mary’s ever having been with a man.

Just imagine going out to lunch with the girls and telling them a story like this. How many of your friends would immediately think you flipped? Who would pull out their cell phone and start calling for the straight jacket and the reservation in the padded room? Who would start asking you to be honest and tell them the father’s name?

We are so skeptical and critical in our modern society that the automatic response would be total disbelief. Granted, to my knowledge and belief, there has only been one virgin mother. We are so closed to miracles and little “winks from God” that we tend to close off all possibilities. I believe “God winks” at us on a regular basis. We call it coincidence or accidental meetings or even luck, but I am convinced God speaks loud and clear even today. The problem with the sophisticated modern world is that we are so wrapped up in ourselves and taking personal credit for all of the wonderful unexpected events that we fail to give credit where credit is due.

Thankfully for the world, Mary did believe. She possessed real faith, real hope and real trust. Fortunately, Joseph her fiancée, also believed and trusted her: after his own angel visited him, he believed her. Mary willingly listened to God’s word, obeyed God’s will, and trusted her future to His plan. This entire situation put her in an extremely awkward and complicated set of circumstances. Even then, gossips probably had a field day at her expense.

None of us will ever be in Mary’s situation, but we are certainly able to open our minds and hearts to seek wisdom. We can and should ask for guidance and listen for the answer. Being a very strong, independent and self-reliant person, the act of relinquishing control has been a struggle for me. Wisdom and sage counsel comes from many sources. Open your mind to research, seek guidance, listen with an open mind and take appropriate action.

At times, I admit to saying to that still small voice, “No, that can not happen. That’s impossible.” When I finally relinquish and accept the wink from God, the result proves to be wonderful beyond my wildest expectations. I’m not egotistical, but at times I am quite single minded. I’m working on opening myself to wise counsel and listening for the times when God winks at me.

The second of Andy Andrews 7 Decisions from “The Travelers Gift” is seeking wisdom. I promise to open my mind to seek wise counsel, listen fully and intently for the answer and take action. God still winks and speaks. Our job is to listen and follow the guidance.

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