When young men and women go OFF TO WAR, it’s those of us left behind who endure terrible uncertainty.

Jane Ellis, a 16-year-old cheerleader in Mount Pleasant, Texas, discovered firsthand that the simple act of PRAYER for those fighting for our country, and those in captivity, can have a POWERFUL OUTCOME.
 
“I heard that young soldiers were taken as Prisoner’s Of War … but I felt helpless … what could I do?
 
Then I had the opportunity to buy a $2.50 bracelet engraved with the name of one of those POW’s …  Col. Leo Thorsness… who was being tortured in a Hanoi prison.
 
From that day on, I wore that bracelet and prayed for him like a family member.
 
After two years, I had my first Godwink.
 
I was thrilled to see on TV that Col. Thorsness had been released! That was amazing proof that God not only HEARD the prayers of a teenage girl, but He ANSWERED them!
 
I thanked God and put the bracelet away in a keepsake box.
 
Fast forward 40 years.
 
My husband John and I were invited to an Astros game. I didn’t want to go, at first. But, so glad I did.
 
Another Godwink happened!
 
The celebrity who was throwing out the first pitch was none other than Col. Leo Thorsness … who, by that time, had received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism!
 
‘That’s my POW,’ I shouted ... jumping up and down. ‘I have to meet him!’
 
John raised his eyebrows, reminding me that Leo would be seated in a high security area. The owner’s box.
 
For the next two innings, I failed to get past security points.
 
Returning to my seat I told John that every guard stopped me. And most were too young to even know what a POW was! I was feeling so disappointed.
 
But, honestly, I UNDERESTIMATED my PRAYERS that were whispered as I was trying to get through security. You see, God had another wink waiting for me.
 
A young Astros marketing representative came through the aisles with a camera crew. I grabbed her and quickly told her my story.
 
She said her grandfather was a POW ... then lifted the badge around her neck, and said, ‘Com’on, this can get us anywhere!’
 
Within a few minutes I was waiting outside the owner's box, and bounding up the steps ... was Col. Thorsness himself!
 
‘YOU had my POW bracelet???’ he asked.
 
‘Yes’, I gasped, ‘I prayed for you every night’.
 
He said, many nights were painful, but on others, strangely, he slept like a baby. ‘Now I know why. You were praying for me,’ he said.
 
I started crying and all I could say was ... ‘You are my hero.’
 
He looked at me, shook his head, and said ...  ‘No. YOU are MY hero.’
 
Col. Thorsness hugged me.
 
THAT was my best Godwink ever.”
 
Jane Ellis

•••
                       
Who could have imagined that Jane’s prayers at 16 would lead her to b divinely aligned with her hero ... 40 years later ... in a stadium of 50 thousand people.
 
The next time you feel like something is happening ... for which you have no control... let your mind go back to Jane Ellis’s story: a helpless young girl, ARMED WITH nothing more than her FAITH and a two-dollar-and-fifty-cent bracelet.
                       
Faith is always rewarded.
 
That incredible story is told in our book Godwinks & Divine Alignment.
 
Let us lift up, and ask for Godwinks, for all veterans … our heroes.
 
Wishes for Winks
SQuire