The Godwink Christmas series has been going on for awhile at Hallmark. For those that don’t remember, a “godwink” is a coincidence where God is trying to nudge you in a certain direction. Last year we had Second Chance, First Love. This year we are given Miracle of Love.

Joy (Katherine Barrell) just graduated with her masters in nursing. Not knowing what to do with her life, she signs up to volunteer at a week-long community service event called Advent in Oshkosh. There she meets Eric (Alberto Frezza), who is trying to become a writer. They spend the week helping a family rebuild their home while falling in love.

The Godwink movies are a perfect blend of religion and secular. They don’t bash you over the head with God but they also don’t discount God’s hand in every day life. I think it’s a nice way to try to bring both Christians and non-Christians together.

As for Miracle of Love, specifically, there is nothing groundbreaking here. The acting is fine. The story is fine. Everything is just fine. Like the other movies, there aren’t any real conflicts. Supposedly, these are based on true stories so there is never a villain or big obstacle to overcome. (Well, OK. Eric does get injured toward the end of the movie. That is the Big Godwink.) It’s just people trying to make good decisions in life. I do like that there is no manufactured conflict. However, it can turn the movie toward the boring side. Since there is little to nothing to overcome and you already know they are going to end up together (what Christmas movie ends where they don’t get together?), there isn’t a lot to get invested in while watching.

Much like last year’s movie, if you are into the “God has a plan for us” mindset, you’ll probably enjoy these movies. For everyone else, there isn’t a lot to keep your interest unless you really want to watch two people dance around whether or not they should date. These movies are basically the equivalent of people watching in the mall except you get to follow them home when they are done shopping.

While Hallmark tends to be on the Christian side of religion, we don’t usually see movies that directly reference God. Even during Christmas. This movie has figured out a way to do it without making it sound religious. Oh, and supposedly this is based on a true story.

Pat (Sam Page) is a single father moving home to Boise from Hawaii. While running errands his first day in town, he runs into his first love, Margie (Brooke D’Orsay). A series of coincidences (or Godwinks) keep bringing them back together.

Yes, in this movie, Pat’s mother, Lois (Michele Scarabelli), calls coincidences ‘Godwinks.’ Meaning that God is trying to nudge you in a certain direction. However, instead of just a “fancy meeting you here” type of coincidence, the writers made it so Margie is constantly losing jewelry and Pat always finds it. The first time, sure. After that, Margie needs to invest in some rubber stoppers for the backs of her earrings and she really should have the charm bracelet resized so it fits her. It’s not as cute as everyone else in the movie thinks it is.

Beyond that, SCFL is fine. I believe this is the second movie in a series of Godwink movies but I don’t think I saw the first. Since this is supposed to be based on a true story, there isn’t any real conflict. Pat has a problem finding a job but at no point does it seem dire. It sounds like he needs a job for the sole reason of making his sons, John (Rhys Slack) and PJ (Knox Hamilton), feel normal in Boise. (Which is a terrible reason for getting a job. Especially if it’s a job you aren’t going to like.) At one point Margie thinks that she might be losing her job but there’s no real reason for her to think she’s getting fired. She comes to the conclusion after people around her start making assumptions.

If you are into the “God has a plan for us” mindset, you’ll probably enjoy all of the A Godwink Christmas movies. It’s not my cup of tea so I would recommend skipping it if you’d rather stay out of the religious arena.