2021-07-08
SQuire Rushnell - SQuire Rushnell's Godwink Stories

Visit SQuire Rushnell's "Godwink Stories" on Beliefnet.

Best-selling author and storyteller SQuire Rushnell—yes, that’s a capital Q— recently launched his popular Godwink Stories™ on Beliefnet. Look for his twice-weekly video vignettes that will lift your heart and make you smile, each Monday and Wednesday! 

See SQuire discuss God winks on "Good Morning America." He was interviewed by anchor Robin Roberts, who was given SQuire's book, When God Winks, while going through her ordeal with breast cancer. Roberts said reading about Godwinks helped her through.

If you enjoy Godwinks on Good Morning America, please let them know by e-mailing them.

GODWINKS™ has become a part of our pop culture vernacular. SQuire defines a "godwink" as what some people would call a coincidence, an answered prayer, or simply an experience where you'd say, "Wow, what are the odds of that?"

He encourages us to pay attention to the many ways in which God winks at us every day—leading us to where we need to be in life, connecting us with the right people and opportunities at the right time. Some people call it synchronicity.

SQuire has authored three best-selling books in the series: When GOD Winks: How The Power of Coincidence Guides Your Life, When GOD Winks On Love, When GOD Winks At You. The fourth, which was just published, is When GOD Winks on New Beginnings.

With his wife, comedic impressionist and TV host Louise DuArt, he also co-authored Couples Who Pray: The Most Intimate Act Between a Man and a Woman. Their love story is one of his favorite GODWINK™ stories!

We caught up with SQuire to talk about the power of Godwinks and how he came to understand them in his own life.

What exactly is a GODWINK?

SQuire Rushnell: A godwink is what some people would call a coincidence, an answered prayer, or simply an experience where you'd say, "Wow, what are the odds of that?" It is a synchronicity so astonishing, or a message of some sort that is so clear, it has to come from God!

How can GODWINKS help us?

They let us know we are not alone. In times of uncertainty what we desire more than anything else is certainty. We want to know that our families are safe, that we won't get downsized, or that we'll have enough in the checking account to make it through the month. We crave certainty when we get a scary medical report. And we long for certainty in our relationships. It's during times of uncertainty that we especially need to get connected to our faith. We need to believe that our lives are not random, like twigs floating on a stream to destinations unknown. Instead, we need to know that we all have a greater purpose, that someone really is up there watching over us, and we're always on an incredible GPS…what I call God's Positioning System™…never alone. To me, the best thing about godwinks is that they are tangible signposts along our way, giving us hope, replacing uncertainty with a genuine feeling of certainty that everything is going to be okay!

What is the basis of your faith?

I was raised in a God-respecting Christian family in a small farm community in Northern New York State, rooted in my faith right from childhood. But it fully blossomed when my son was born in cardiac arrest 25 years ago. His lungs had become clogged in the womb. As he lay in a hospital incubator with wires and tubes coming from his small body, I studied the gauge on the respirator indicating that he was breathing only 5% on his own—the machine was doing the rest. I pledged to God that I would pray for him around the clock and pleaded for Him to save my son.

That must have been frightening…

I witnessed an extraordinary miracle…a powerful godwink! During the 39th hour of my son's life, at 5:30 AM, his body began to shake. It was a seizure, said the nurse, rushing to get a doctor. I then watched in amazement as his tiny quivering body began to cast off the blockage in his lungs, sending a dark substance through a transparent tube. I stared at the respirator gauge. It was dropping. He was breathing more and more on his own. By the time he was 48 hours old, the respirator gauge had dropped to 50%, meaning that he was breathing 50% by himself! Doctors confirmed he would survive. They called him "the miracle baby."

My son was subsequently diagnosed with brain damage, unable to read or write, yet today he's a sweet, engaging young man who has a wonderful singing voice and musical memory. He's a joy. From the day of my son's birth, I truly began a deeper relationship with God.

How has your faith grown over the years?

My walk with the Lord has only grown stronger since I met and married my wonderful wife Louise DuArt. Getting into the habit of praying together, even for five minutes a day, produced so many incredible blessings and godwinks in our lives that we felt compelled to share that gift with others in our book Couples Who Pray. But Louise also taught me the treasure that can be uncovered through daily reading of a far more important book, the Bible. For us—and for anyone seeking proof of God's existence—the ancient scriptures unfold a remarkably harmonious blueprint for our lives.

How come your name has a capital Q?

When I worked at ABC—for 20 years—I always signed my name on personal notes as simply "SQ." One summer my daughter, home from college, helped me out typing letters. She observed a distinction from the way she'd always seen my name. "Hey, Dad, this little 'q' looks funny," she said. "Why don't we make it a capital 'Q,' then you'll have a logo!" I replied in the manner of any self-respecting father: "Whatever you want, honey." And ever since, SQuire has been spelled with a capital "Q."

You say life is a jigsaw puzzle, but how can we trust that all the pieces will fit together?

Here's the thing about jigsaw puzzles—if you keep at it, the puzzle will eventually come together. Why do you believe that? Because you saw the picture on the box! By the same token, when the picture of your life is seen from above, all put together, it also will all make sense. It will all fit. And the closer we get to that perspective—by getting closer to God—the more our faith will grow in the promise that there is a grand plan for each of our lives, and that every piece fits perfectly together.

Can you explain how we can chart our future by mapping the Godwinks we've experienced?

I think of "godwink mapping" as taking an archeological expedition into own lives, digging up the godwinks that we've overlooked, forgotten, or ignored. As I explain in my books, the best way to dredge up past godwinks from your memory is to look to your turning points, those crossroads when your life's path took a whole new direction—you lost someone you love or something you valued; you got a new job, a new relationship, or a new home. I'm convinced that there was always a signpost at every turning point. They were there to provide you with reassurance, that everything was going to be okay—that you're never alone. You will come to realize that there has been a map of signposts all along your way, saying, "Hey kid…hang in there. You're on track." Just open your eyes and acknowledge them as concrete signs of encouragement, directly from above, especially for you.

Can you explain GODWINK links?

We've all had the experience of an unexpected phone call from someone we were just thinking of, but hadn't thought about in years. Or, we've run into someone on the street who completely changed the direction of our life. Yet we rarely ask, "What caused that person to call me at that moment?" or, "What caused that person to be at the same place I was, at just the right time?" I call these people "Godwink Links." Proving, of course, that we indeed are all on a glorious GPS—God's Positioning System™—and that through awesome, mysterious connections, divine alignments are moving us through life.

How does acting on wishes and dreams foster GODWINKS?

Wishes and dreams were placed in your heart by a powerful force—your Maker. When you were a child, you really believed that every wish you uttered into a star-filled sky would come true. Remember when you said, "I wish I may, I wish I might...?" Then someone said, "Grow up!" Maybe they called you a dreamer and made it sound like a bad word. It's never too late for you to rekindle your childlike acceptance of wishes and dreams. A redundant message in my book is this: You must not sit by the side of the road on your baggage and expect your destiny to come to you. You must get up, leave your baggage behind, and start heading for what you believe to be your destiny.

What do you mean by "Step out in faith"?

When you step out in faith, God can then divinely align you, by unfolding godwinks along your path.

He expects you to use your free will to aim for your destiny. Those are your hands on the steering wheel, most of the way. So just look for the signs—just as you would on the interstate highway—reassuring you that you're on the right path.

What is one of the greatest delights of sharing GODWINK STORIES™?

It gives me great joy to know that the word "godwinks"—divinely placed into my consciousness—has now entered into our language. Like most people, I had always sensed that there was no coincidence to coincidence. I just did not know what to call it. The best thing I've come to understand is that, more than a name for the experience, godwinks help people to feel a tangible connection with God…providing them with concrete stepping stones to build a lasting relationship with the Almighty.

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