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“We all need more light today. We need more positivity. We need family and faith, hope and strength — that’s what these stories are about.”
SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuArt, co-founders of the “Godwinks” brands based in Massachusetts, shared those thoughts with Fox News Digital as well as the following true story.
The couple believes the Lord works in mysterious ways. To see how — read on.
On a cool morning some years ago just a few Sundays before Christmas, Chris Wright was driving his family to church in Athens, Georgia, when he noticed a woman walking alone on the side of the highway, carrying a gas can.
That image haunted him. After dropping off his wife and kids, he turned around to see if the woman needed help.
Spotting her still walking on the berm, he pulled his car over, lowered the window and asked the woman if she needed assistance.
The look on her face shifted from fear and worry to surprise and relief.
As he drove her to the gas station, she told him she was so thankful. She was going through a bad patch, she said, with only $5 in her purse. She was worried about buying Christmas presents for her child and putting food on the table.
Wright filled her gas can and drove the woman, TunDe Hector, back to her car.
As he was about to leave, he decided to give her what he had left in his wallet. Handing her $40, he apologized that it couldn’t be more.
“Be nice to someone today.”
She teared up and thanked him. She also silently thanked the Lord for answering her prayers.
She asked Wright, “Can I hug you?”
As he drove away, he felt a surge of gratefulness that he had even a little something to help someone in need so close to the holidays. He also recalled that his mother had always told him that whenever she sent him off to school in the morning, “be nice to someone today.”
When illness hits
Three years after that incident, Wright’s mother was diagnosed with a serious illness.
The hospital said she could go home if she had a nurse’s aide to help her. The aide originally scheduled for the job couldn’t make it, so a substitute arrived.
The substitute aide’s name was TunDe Hector.
From the very beginning, Wright’s mother was drawn to Hector. Her warmth, kindness and gentle care brought comfort during a very difficult time.
When Wright stopped by one day, his mother introduced him to Hector. She said she’d worked as a nurse’s aide on and off for several years but had always dreamed of becoming a nurse.
Then she asked Wright if he attended church. When he said yes and named the church, her face lit up.
“I met a young man from that church,” she said excitedly.
She talked about the time she’d run out of gas weeks before Christmas and was walking along the highway when a man pulled up, said he was taking his family to church when he saw her and circled back. He filled her gas can and gave her money when she really needed it.
Wright gasped and said, “That was me.”
The words flashed through his mind before he said them aloud, “Wow, what are the odds?”
Again, just like before, they hugged.
Beyond their dreams
Over the next few weeks, as Wright’s mother’s health declined, Hector was her rock. The two women formed an unbreakable bond.
When his mother died — on TunDe Hector’s birthday, of all days — Wright and his family wanted to honor the caregiver’s devotion.
They started a GoFundMe campaign, hoping to raise $1,000, to help Hector pursue nursing school. But her story touched so many that the campaign grew beyond their dreams.
When Wright handed her a check for $35,000, Hector nearly collapsed in tears, overwhelmed by the love and generosity surrounding her.
Today, Hector has completed her nursing school training. She learned that her employer was going to pay 100% of her tuition for law school.
Her plan is to specialize in advocating for patients and home health care.
Hector’s impressive journey, stemming from Wright’s act of Christmas kindness, is a reminder that Godwinks are real. They put people in the right place at the right time, guiding individuals to touch the lives of others and be touched in return.
The holiday season is a time to remember that a small act of goodness can ripple through our lives, sometimes in ways we don’t fully understand, and that generosity often returns in the most unexpected ways.
This story appeared in SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuArt’s bestselling book, “Godwinks for Moms,” and is used by permission. To learn more, go to “Godwinks For Moms – True Stories.”
