As a musician, time and timing have been integral parts of my life for well over 40 years, and when I earned my degrees and embarked on the professional world, a series of disappointments forced me to contemplate my role as a musician and my  place in the big picture of life. I began seeking answers to profound questions, which included, “Why am I here?” and “How may I serve?” It was during that time that I was introduced to the books of self-help gurus Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra. I was starving for insight and information, so I devoured their words. Dr. Chopra’s works resonated with me because of my interest in health and healing, and he claimed that it was possible for one to heal himself and/or maintain perfect health in mind, body and spirit. As a child, I had witnessed the miraculous healing of my sister from leukemia, and as an adult, I myself was able to maintain perfect physical health. When I first started teaching, I contracted sniffles occasionally, but as an aspiring musician, I simply did not have the time to be sick or the luxury to take time off from my work. I was determined to stay healthy so I never missed a performing opportunity and was always at the top of my game as a flutist. Once I set those intentions and priorities, I was not plagued with sickness, and staying healthy was practically effortless. In those early days, I can remember telling my friends that I did not fear illness because my dad was a deacon, and his connection to the divine alone would keep me healthy. To this day, my unwavering faith and healthy mindset have kept me in a state of perfect health, and I have never taken a “sick day.” My love of music serves as my connection to God, which keeps my physical body at a high vibrational frequency – a concept I explore in my book, Mirror of the Soul.

Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra were the best of friends and would often lecture together. After having read over a dozen of Dr. Dyer’s books, the one idea that most resonated with me was that there are no accidents in this life. Every encounter we have is divinely orchestrated and shows up right “on time.” He often spoke of synchronicity, a term coined by Carl Jung, which refers to the “simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection.” When one is able to let go or “go with the flow,” one becomes aware of the synchronicities, which magically show up in one’s life. Squire Rushnell refers to these coincidences as “God winks.” I have observed many such coincidences on my path, which have always shown up at the perfect time and have always indicated to me that I am on the right track.

In early August, my husband and I were invited to the high school graduation party of one of the best flute students I have ever had. I was eager to attend because she would be heading off to the College of William and Mary in the fall, and I wanted to wish her my best before she left our area. It was a small party, but as we ate our dinner, we were fortunate to sit with a nice lady that worked for Interfaith Philadelphia. My husband and I are shy by nature, and we didn’t know anyone at this party, but we were completely comfortable engaging in conversation with this woman. One of the students she was mentoring had been enrolled in the high school program at the Art Institute of Philadelphia in preparation for a career in the commercial arts, so she had many questions about our school – a school I had worked at since the summer of 2004. I was stunned that this coincidence was revealed early on in our conversation. She then mentioned that her husband was from Scranton, PA and was pleasantly surprised to learn that I grew up in Wilkes-Barre – only 20 minutes from Scranton. Her husband was a businessman and had worked in finance like my husband, Jay, and she and her daughter were teachers like myself. She asked if we had children of our own, but we said that we had only met on eHarmony five years ago and had just celebrated our third wedding anniversary. Coincidentally, her son had also met his wife on eHarmony, so she was curious about the dating site questionnaires and the actual matching process. When we finished eating, we were all grateful for the delightful conversation with complete strangers because none of us knew anyone else at the party. When one is “in the flow,” he/she is drawn to the perfect people at the perfect time. The God winks we received at that party made a potentially awkward encounter absolutely enjoyable and completely comfortable.

I have written many times about how I met my husband, the mirror of my soul, just as my book, Mirror of the Soul, was going into production, but I have never mentioned the many reasons why I thought he was the perfect match for me. I had been searching for love for years but had never managed to really connect with anyone and had never fallen in love. Coincidentally, Jay had never been in love either. When I enrolled in eHarmony for the fifth time, I prayed to God that I would recognize my “one.” I was so skeptical of the process that I asked for undeniable signs from above that I just wouldn’t be able to ignore. Jay and I were introduced online in March of 2015 and, at first, only exchanged emails. When we began speaking on the phone, our conversations flowed very easily and lasted for a few hours.

We actually met in person on 11 April 2015, and shortly thereafter I discovered that Jay’s given name was Joseph, and he was Joseph, III. My brother was also Joseph, III, so there are a lot of Joe Cools in our family, including our baby nephew, AJ, whose middle name is also Joseph. Jay and I are both first-born children and he has a younger brother named Christopher, and I have a younger sister named Christa. Had Christa been born a boy, my parents intended to name her Christopher. Christa and Jay’s brother, Chris, were not just the youngest siblings, but both had been plagued with life-threatening illnesses, and both nearly died several times. When my sister was going through treatment, I remember a woman had once told my dad that children whose names honored Christ, seemed to have many crosses to bear in their lives. Jay and I were raised in families that could understand and appreciate the value of perfect health, and our parents have had more than their fair share of worry and fear. We are both haunted by the doctor visits, hospital stays and treatments our siblings endured, and those life experiences have forever changed us.

Jay worked in center-city Philadelphia for several years and took me to one of his favorite bars for dinner on our second date. Neither one of us drink, so we often joke that the bars aren’t making any money by serving us soda with our food. As we were sitting in that bar and perusing the menu, I happened to remark that the atmosphere reminded me of my grandparents’ bar in Wilkes-Barre. Jay then told me that his grandparents also owned a bar in Mahanoy City, PA for decades. It was sold after his grandparents passed, but my uncle is currently running my grandparents’ bar, North End Tavern, which is celebrating its 70^th year in business in December of 2020. These overwhelming coincidences were just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the obvious God winks I received. The attraction was there from the beginning, and I was completely reassured by my faith that he was my soul mate – my miracle sent from above. We got engaged in September of 2016, and my husband tells me all the time that he never believed in soul mates until he met me. Like attracts like, and we are drawn to our divine mirrors in divine perfect timing.

The coincidences that my husband and I share are very dramatic and overwhelmingly obvious, but I am also drawn to other people that seem to share similar life experiences. When my sister got married 15 years ago, it was a very emotional day for my family. Any milestone Christa reaches reminds us of how grateful we are to God for healing my sister and that her cross resulted in resurrection. Christa’s most astounding miracle was the birth of her son, AJ, on 1 February 2019 after having suffered four miscarriages and a series of failed fertility treatments. AJ was conceived naturally with grace from above, is a precious gift from God and, in my humble opinion, a perfect baby! The cantor that sang at my sister’s wedding was a member of my parents’ church. She has the voice of an angel and has since gotten married and had two children of her own. I reconnected with her on Facebook a few years ago, and I discovered that her son, Ben, was diagnosed with Wilms’ tumor when he was only three years old. When I friended her, he was in the midst of a relapse, and all of her prayer warriors were flooding Heaven with healing prayers of love. When I saw pictures of such a young child that had lost all of his hair from cancer treatments, I was immediately transported back to seeing my baby sister in that condition. I remember my Mom having to walk the floors with Christa as she screamed in agony, “My knees, my knees.” I remember hearing the high-pitched shrieks as I sat in the oncologist’s waiting room while Christa got her monthly spinal taps and her weekly finger sticks (blood tests). I’ll never forget the mantra she chanted for years, “No more needles, Mommy.” My heart ached for Ben and his family as they dealt with all of the anxiety and uncertainty a childhood cancer diagnosis brings. Ben loves superheroes, and was actually featured in a story on the Today show (https://www.today.com/parents/we-re-changed-forever-boy-cancer-receives-support-superhero-drawings-t101761?cid=sm_fbn). Ben’s mom, Sara, is a staunch advocate for childhood cancer awareness and promotes “superheroes for Benny,” an online community of emotional and spiritual support. Thank God, Ben is currently in remission, but his family has immense fear and trepidation before each scan he receives.

Approximately two weeks ago, I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed and saw one of Sara’s posts about another Wilms’ warrior that had also relapsed. This little boy’s name is Nathan. He was diagnosed when he was only three years old as well, and now he is seven and has relapsed three times. Two weeks prior to his scans, he was playing baseball for his little league team with all his little friends, and now his family was facing yet another surgery. Since Nathan is from my hometown, I was curious if our families had met each other at some point. After speaking with my dad, I discovered that Nathan and his infant siblings had been baptized by my dad because my dad had worked with Nathan’s grandfather and had become close with him and his family. I had met Nathan’s grandfather when my dad retired as the Director of  Luzerne County Human Services. At the time, I had been visiting my family for the Christmas holiday, and my dad was scheduled to retire just after the new year. My dad never looked forward to retirement and always joked that he would “die with his bootstraps on.” I volunteered to pack up his office because it was filled with awards he had earned throughout his career and mementoes people had given him. The entire process took me approximately three hours, and I was in tears when I finished because my father had saved everything we had ever made in school for him. His stash represented the tokens we created at every stage of our development, and he had thus stored all his memories in his heart and in his office. I was overwhelmed with the enormity of who my father is and his amazing accomplishments on behalf of others. My dad’s secretary told me that their friend and coworker would drive me home. That friend was Nathan’s grandfather! I always appreciated the immense kindness he had shown to me at that highly emotional moment in time. I reconnected with him on Facebook several months ago, but, at the time, I had no idea that Nathan was his grandson. I was stunned that our family was now being drawn to two families that were living through the same devastating grief we had experienced over forty years ago. My dad told me that he flashes back to those times every day, and it is very tough to know that such wonderful people are enduring so much pain. He attended a healing mass for Nathan that was held two days before his surgery, and Nathan was anointed.

Nathan’s mom has created a Facebook page for him (https://www.facebook.com/nathancrushcancer) and regularly updates his condition. In July, the doctors tried to surgically remove a lung tumor, but when they opened him up, they discovered three tumors. They completely removed the smallest one, partially removed one that was very close to his diaphragm nerve and could not touch the third tumor, which was on top of his lung and dangerously close to his heart. Since his tumors are resistant to chemotherapy, his team is rethinking treatment options. This young boy has had three abdominal surgeries, five left lung surgeries and five right lung surgeries requiring five chest tubes. He was released from the hospital the day after his operation, and a parade was organized for Earth’s Greatest Avenger four days later. This little boy and his family have a tough road ahead of them, but they are warriors and prepared to fight. My dad told me that Nathan’s older brother appeared visibly shaken with this latest relapse. Part of the reason I am writing about him is to ask for prayers from all over the globe. Several years ago, I read a book about spontaneous healings in seriously ill people. One young boy had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and his family gathered all of their friends into a packed auditorium to pray for their son. The boy’s father thought a prayer gathering would be easier on the family than a packed funeral home. All of their guests visualized the boy’s tumor shrinking and, miraculously, it did. Jesus said, “For wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am in their midst” (Matthew 18:20). Nathan has a strong will to live and a family that loves him dearly. I believe his prayers will be answered, especially with all of the support he receives in his online community. Nathan’s mom said that a Wilms’ survivor was Nathan’s nurse when he underwent his surgery in July, and she took that as a sign that everything would be okay. God winked at her in her time of need. A special song was written in her son’s honor as well: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=303439434421278. My heart goes out to this family – a family in the same type of situation that mine was in 1979.

We are living in unprecedented times of high anxiety and overwhelming uncertainty. Many people are re-evaluating their priorities as they look for greater sense of purpose and ways to make the most meaningful impact before being called home by God. We can resonate with the music of the heavenly realm and heal ourselves in mind, body and spirit. I believe God speaks in the silence of our hearts and winks at us in reassurance of his everlasting love and guidance. What signs are you receiving?