Well, as most of you know, we had a blizzard in Wichita County over the Christmas Holiday. It was certainly a Christmas I, nor anyone else, will forget for many years to come. I just wanted to share my Christmas story with you.
Thursday, Christmas Eve, Kim had scheduled an appointment for blood work to be done in Wichita Falls. With Miles(our baby boy) on the way, and no days off in the near future, she needed to take advantage of what time she had off and get this out of the way.
We woke up early on Thursday to what was, at the time, snow and sleet falling. I told Kim that if she was keeping the appointment, that I was going to drive her to it in order to insure her safety there and home, though I felt uneasy about making the trip in the first place. It took an hour to get to LabCorp which is normally fifteen minutes away, she had her blood work, and we headed home.
In the mean time, Wichita County was placed under a blizzard warning, something completely unheard of in the Red River Valley of North Texas. We, slowly but surely, made our way back home. Keep in mind that we are in a Nissan Altima that sits maybe 5 inches off the ground, if that much. As we reached the Hunting Lane Overpass(about 6 miles from home), traffic came to a complete stop and remained stopped for over an hour. After this long wait, we put the car back in gear and realized, it wasn't going to move. Evidently, our tires had frozen to the pavement and wouldn't break loose! It was then that I looked in the rear view mirror and was blessed to see what would soon become a friend, walking up behind us with a small military issue shovel in hand. The wind was blowing in excess of 50 mph with heavy snow. He came up, told me he'd dig a little out and then for me to put it in drive so he could push us out. He did and we kept going, not knowing we'd meet him again... SOON!
We had driven maybe a half a mile when we reached the bridge over FM 369. The wind was howling and there was so much snow, that we couldn't see anything but a dark block in the distance, which we later discovered was a Suburban, blocking the highway. About the time we noticed this, our car hit a snow drift and stopped. Once again, in the rear view mirror, here came the "shovel man." I quickly got out of the car, we surveyed the situation and realized, our car wasn't going anywhere. The shovel man offered for him and his girlfriend to take us to the gas station just down the hill and we quickly accepted.
Our car was now abandoned in the middle of highway 287 with it's hazard lights on, and we were hoping and praying no one hit it or got hurt by it, not seeing it until it was too late. We sat at the gas station for 3 hours with our new friends and rescuers, Josh and Nicole. We learned that he was an experienced snow driver who was on his way to surprise his mom for Christmas in South Dakota. Something he soon realized was not going to happen for a few days. Kim and I, knowing that we had help coming (Randy and Kassie in the Chevy 4x4) and that there wouldn't be a place for Josh and Nicole to stay overnight in the storm, decided to ask them to share our home for the night, a decision we will never regret.
We learned that Josh is a veteran of the US Army who now works for Coca-Cola, and Nicole is in college at SFA in Nacogdoches, TX studying to become a teacher. We learned that they were an appreciative, thoughtful, and caring couple; and made friends that could last a lifetime. I know that God placed them right behind our car, in that storm, for a reason, and I am thankful for our guardian angels in the storm.
Keep Josh and Nicole in your prayers as they journey on to South Dakota. They are suppose to call on their way back through Iowa Park so that we can meet up or if they need a place to stay for the night. Our home is there home anytime they need it.
This is just one of the many of my family's stories that made this Christmas resemble the true meaning of Christmas more than any I can remember in my lifetime. I hope your Christmas was truly as blessed as ours was.
-approved by Farley Wells, CMDI... who is making snow angels in our backyard.
5 comments:
Lynn, Thanks for helping this couple out. They were very nice and AFTERALL, he was an Army veteran. We had a lot of help over the "Christmas Holidays".
Thanks to Randy and Lynn for all the help you gave.
Wow! I have read a little bit on FB about this, but I'm so glad you put the whole story in writing. God sent them along for you and Kim, but y'all in return, showed them how true Christians act. Glad your car was protected! God is good!!!
Lynn, what a great story! Not only were yall blessed to have this couple help you out, but you were able to bless them in return! This is what Christmas is all about! Thanks for sharing:)
Awesome!! Did I read somewhere that they somehow know someone related to John? Also, I would be curious as to whether Josh knows Julie K's bro-in-law. He works for coca-cola in the Lufkin area. Wouldn't that be crazy?!!
This is a special memory to last a lifetime and I've enjoyed reading about it!
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