{"id":22022,"date":"2025-12-09T17:32:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T22:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=22022"},"modified":"2025-12-09T17:32:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T22:32:10","slug":"how-god-continues-to-wink-at-christmas-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2025\/12\/how-god-continues-to-wink-at-christmas-time.html","title":{"rendered":"How God Continues to \u201cWink\u201d at Christmas Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A \u201cGod wink<\/a>\u201d refers to a seemingly coincidental moment that leads to some sort of fortuitous or hopeful conclusion, as if God is just slightly revealing Himself. The term was coined by SQuire Rushnell with the help of his wife, Louise, and spawned not only a new term, but a new brand for the couple, who have released numerous books and shows sharing stories of hopeful coincidences that seem to reveal the hand of God in the day-to-day activities of humanity.<\/p>\n

The Christmas season is made for such heartwarming stories, with the Rushnells\u2019 new book, Godwinks for Moms <\/em>sharing a seemingly miraculous story of amazing Christmas coincidences with Fox News. <\/em>The story began with a man named Chris Wright in 2014 who was driving his family to their church in Athens, Georgia. Along the way, Wright spotted a woman walking along the side of the road, holding a gas can. So, he dropped his wife and children off at church and went back to see if the woman needed any help. \u201cI have to go back. I have to help her,\u201d Wright’s wife, Carmen, told CBS News<\/em><\/a> years later.<\/p>\n

The woman was TunDe Hector. She\u2019d hit hard times. This close to Christmas, she only had $5 in her wallet and no idea how she\u2019d get presents for her children. Moved by her story, Wright filled up her empty gas can and gave her all he had in his wallet: $40. Though in his mind it wasn\u2019t much, Hector was extremely grateful and hugged him. After he\u2019d driven off, Wright was reminded of a daily admonition he\u2019d received from his mother: \u201cbe nice to someone today.”<\/p>\n

Little did the two know, but this would not be their last interaction. Three years later, Wright\u2019s sick mother, Judy, needed a substitute nurse\u2019s aide as she was ailing from Parkinson\u2019s. TunDe Hector was called in to help Judy and the two hit it off. When Wright came to see his mother while Hector was there, he didn\u2019t immediately recognize the woman he\u2019d given Christmas money to, nor did she recognize him. But when she heard what church he attended, it sparked a memory. \u201cI met a young man from that church,\u201d she said, regaling Chris with a story of a man who gave her Christmas money three years ago.<\/p>\n

When the realization struck Wright that she was referring to him, he was thunderstruck. The two shared a second hug and stayed connected as Hector continued to care for Wright\u2019s ailing mother. Two weeks after Wright and Hector were reintroduced, Judy passed away. Wright decided to start a YouCaring page to fund Hector\u2019s dream of someday attending nursing school. The story of how they met, however, touched more people than he\u2019d realized. The fund had a goal of $1,000 but raised $35,000. \u201cI don’t know why God chose our two families,” Carmen said. “But she’s family. It’s like she’s known us forever.\u201d Today, Hector has completed nursing school and is receiving 100% tuition paid from her employer to attend law school and advocate for home health patients.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A \u201cGod wink\u201d refers to a seemingly coincidental moment that leads to some sort of fortuitous or hopeful conclusion, as if God is just slightly revealing Himself. The term was coined by SQuire Rushnell with the help of his wife, Louise, and spawned not only a new term, but a new brand for the couple,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":22025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiring-messages"],"yoast_head":"\nHow God Continues to \u201cWink\u201d at Christmas Time<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Christmas \u201cGodwink\u201d reconnected two families years after a small act of kindness\u2014reminding us that God\u2019s hand is in every coincidence.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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