Before we met, my wonderful wife Louise was married, mother of two, living in California. She loved entertaining her neighborhood bible study group with wacky voices, everyone from Katharine Hepburn to Joan Rivers. When her husband suddenly lost his job and the bills were piling up, one of her neighbors made a suggestion with wide-eyed enthusiasm: “With all your funny voices, why don’t you go down to a comedy club and perform?” Louise later told me that she stared back at her friend—as if the cheese had slipped off her cracker. The woman then bet her 50 bucks she didn’t have the courage to do it. (Shrugs) She needed the money. When she got to the sleazy comedy club and stood in the wings, scared to death, she uttered a prayer. On the other hand, maybe it was a plea—for the rapture to begin. Her name was called, and she shook all the way to the stage. But here’s something I want to point out, when you step out in faith, that’s when God can do his work. And YOU can receive His godwinks.

Unbeknownst to Louise, in the audience that night were Star Search scouts who were there to see the act that followed her. But they liked her, and within weeks she went from housewife to national TV. Isn’t that incredible? But wait, there was another godwink about to unfold. Watching on Star Search on TV was Donna Summer. She loved Louise, and before long my future wife was catapulted onto stages in Vegas as the opening act for the Diva of Disco. Wow!

Epilogue: Louise DuArt performed with Donna Summer for four years, with Tim Conway for eight seasons, and has been Mrs. SQuire Rushnell for nearly a decade

Louise may have still been entertaining the ladies of the neighborhood, had it not been for mustering the courage to do something she never thought she could. Why don’t you try that, step out in faith—try doing something you’ve always wanted to do, but never had the courage. I’ll just bet that God will wink at you. And when He does, be sure to send us your story. I’m SQuire Rushnell. Good wishes and godwinks.