Every so often something extraordinary occurs for our good—strange coincidences that can’t be explained. These signs from God are called Godwinks. In some Hallmark movies Godwinks bring a couple together. You have probably experienced some yourself. Maybe you were looking for a piece of information, and a book falls open to the exact page it’s on. You meet someone in a store who gives you good advice. Whatever the strange happening, it assures you that God has a hand in our lives.

This month as I was traveling to give a talk at an NCEA convention in Dallas, I was apprehensive about being on my own for the event. The plane I took there was filled to capacity. Yet, as I glanced over the man beside me, on his other side was an Ursuline Sister I knew from Gesu parish, a partner of St. Dominic Parish where I had worked. What’s more, she attended my talk. To my mind, this was God offering me support.

Three other Godwinks I find striking occurred to other people.

This week we celebrate the funeral of Sister Marilyn Schiller, a kind, gentle Sister. This made me recall the time she asked a mutual friend, another Sister, to give the eulogy at her father’s funeral. This Sister was reluctant to speak in front of a large group. At the funeral Sister Marilyn’s mother, Louise, seated in a wheelchair, was sobbing so much that during Mass the priest came down to comfort her. As the Sister who was to speak was driving to the church, dreading her talk, to her amazement the license plate on the car in front of her read “4 Louise.” What are the chances of that happening? Nothing like God stepping in to give encouragement!

Once a woman told me that she was at the grave of her infant daughter, grieving. All of a sudden she heard a voice saying, “I will take care of her, and I will take care of you.” The woman looked around. Yes, no one was there. She believes that it was her Blessed Mother comforting her.

One day I called my publisher. When someone picked up, I said, “This is Sister Kathleen. Is this Loyola Press?” “I’m afraid you have the wrong number,” a man replied. He went on, “But this is odd. I was just sitting here wondering if God really existed, and out of the blue I get a call from a Sister!”

That reminds me of one of my other Godwinks. A publisher was making decisions that would jeopardize a project. I returned home after discussing it with our community treasurer. She advised me not to worry but to put it out of my mind. Nevertheless, I sat in my office worrying. The phone rang, and I was offered free time to speak with a psychic. I figured Why not? (An older sister once said I could consider listening to a call like this research.) The woman asked me my birthday. Then she said, “You want to spend your life helping humanity. Don’t worry. Work will always come to you.” Now she could have said I would win a lottery or meet a handsome man, but no. Her words were on target. So God can speak even through a psychic. After all, he spoke to the prophet Balaam through a donkey!

• When have you experienced a Godwink?