Gospel Song Brings Pastor and Stranger Together — Kidney Donation Reveals Life-Saving Discovery

'We all need more light today. We need more positivity. We need family and faith, hope and strength — that's what these stories are all about,' say SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuArt, co-founders of the Godwinks brand. They shared this account to illustrate what they call a 'Godwink' — a coincidence that feels like a divine sign.

A few years ago in Kannapolis, North Carolina, Pastor Tim Jones hosted a church open house the Saturday before the holidays. As guests arrived, the Gaither Vocal Band's song 'Sow Mercy' — written by Reba Rambo and Dony McGuire — played over the speakers. The melody attracted a stranger waiting in his car: Don Herbert, who stepped inside because the tune was his favorite.

The two men struck up a brief conversation at a 'Meet the Pastor' table and quickly bonded over gospel music. They parted ways, unaware that their short exchange would begin a chain of events that ultimately saved two lives.

Two weeks later, Herbert received devastating news at Duke University Hospital: he urgently needed a kidney transplant. Tests of family and close friends failed to produce a match. Desperate, Herbert's wife Belinda posted an appeal on Facebook seeking a donor.

Pastor Jones happened to see the post online. Though he did not initially recognize the couple, he felt moved to volunteer and contacted the transplant center. Despite being told the odds were slim, Jones was tested — and the first 'Godwink' arrived: his blood was a perfect match.

After several weeks of medical evaluations the surgeons confirmed what seemed astonishing: Jones was a one-in-20,000 perfect match for Herbert. The two men and their wives, Sherry and Belinda, planned for the transplant and grew close through the process.

On surgery day, what doctors expected to be a relatively brief donor procedure stretched from two hours into seven. When they prepared to move Herbert into the transplant operation, the surgical team explained why the delay had occurred. During Jones's operation they discovered a dangerous aneurysm in a renal artery — a concealed, ticking threat that could have ruptured at any time. If it had burst during surgery or afterward, the outcome could have been fatal.

'Tim, you saved Don’s life — but in the process, you saved your own,' a surgeon later reflected.

Both men recovered and, by Christmas that year, were still humbled by the sequence of unlikely events: a shared song, a social-media plea, an improbable match and a surgical discovery that likely prevented a tragedy. The couple found added meaning in the lyric from 'Sow Mercy': 'If you’ve ever reached out to help a friend, the hand you help may lift you up again.' For them, the story is an example of how small acts of kindness can yield unexpected blessings.

This account appears in SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuArt's book The Godwink Effect and is published here with the authors' permission. Their latest book is Godwinks For Moms – True Stories.