God does things sometimes just to show Himself.  Just to show off. Just to let you know that His power is a subtle as it is mighty. Just to let you know that your love for inside jokes actually came from Him.  He likes to wink at you through what this world would have you believe is a “coincidence.” He loves that. And I love that about Him.

Last year I was asked to speak at a Senior Graduation breakfast and God was so clear about what I should say to them.  Tell them how to run their race. . . A good race. . . A holy race. . . To run the road that leads to my peace. . . To let ME be their race director. . . To stay the course through hard things . He was insistent upon that being the topic.

I was glad for it when the event rolled around. Because it would be my first talk since my daughter moved to heaven. I was weak, heartbroken, vulnerable, and afraid to speak for the first time in my life.  I was in a place that no one wants to speak from.  I’d rather speak from a place of strength.

But I could talk about the marathon and the lessons God teaches us through that.  I had been there in a way that had become part of who I am.  The morning of the breakfast I felt unsure of what might happen. Would I break down and let my grief filled tears spill out over young and hopeful  graduates? Would I be filled with too much anxiety to get out of the car and be the only speaker that made it 10 feet from the church but never entered?

As I was asking myself these questions , my Facebook memories popped up and there it was: that wink from God that said ” you got this kiddo.”  I had forgotten but on that same day 5 years earlier I had run the OKC marathon in horrible conditions. It actually hailed on us at Mile 24. And God delivered me to that finish line just like He would deliver me to the last line of the speech. How charming of Him.  And how encouraging to me.

That was so awesome! It was almost as awesome as this morning when both of those memories popped up on the day I am driving home from escorting my sister in Christ, Michelle through her own holy marathon. I couldn’t have planned it. I didn’t realize it. I’m shocked by that and not surprised by it at all.  Because He is SO like that and I love Him so.

I’m confident that I’m not the only child He reveals himself to in this way. When you come upon the unreal, the hard to believe, and the amazingly coincidental- – I beg you to look a little deeper because He’s probably winking at you. And you don’t want to miss that, Trust me.