Plot summary

Joy Fickett and Eric Fellman will discover the term Godwink - what may seem like a coincidence really being the cosmos' way of directing life - from someone soon to enter their lives, they having to decide how to interpret and act upon these signs if at all. In the approach to Christmas, they are both at a crossroads in life. Joy has returned home to Columbus having graduated earlier than expected with a Masters degree in Nursing. While there is pressure at least to be at home for Christmas and eventually to marry Danny, her boyfriend of five years, she is uncertain about what her future holds, she currently thinking about working overseas for Nurses International, somewhat like her now deceased mother did before her, which would be somewhat incongruous to the plans Danny has mapped out for them. Much to especially his mother's chagrin, Eric, in Minneapolis, is trying to navigate a career change, from one in the Ministry for which he was told he was not well suited, to a job as a news writer, he only having experience at an entry job level. Having attended seminars for the program in their respective hometowns, they both apply and are accepted for two week fellowships for Community Cares' "Advent in Oshkosh" program, that program, for two weeks before Christmas, to do work in Oshkosh in their respective fields - Joy to work in the community health clinic, Eric to write for the organization's newsletter about the Oshkosh program - while concurrently doing general work for a family in need, in this case the Romeros who lost everything in a house fire, the program which has built them a new house which they hope to be ready to move in for Christmas. As Joy and Eric progress through the program, they both get a clearer view of what exactly they want for their professional futures and how to achieve it, while it meshing with what is happening in their personal lives, namely that they are falling in love with each other. They have to figure out if these Godwinks are directing them to this joint life, or if they will revert to the pressure they've faced not only to return home by Christmas for good, but for Eric to find work more closely related to pure "service", and for Joy to marry Danny.—Huggo