1 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:09,000 Speaker 1: Hello, friends, Welcome to Story Behind podcast. This is the 2 00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:12,200 Speaker 1: show for people who love hearing a good story and 3 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 1: who believe the world could use more positivity. We're the 4 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:18,919 Speaker 1: team behind God Updates and God Too, and we hope 5 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:22,480 Speaker 1: these weekly short stories will brighten your day. 6 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:29,400 Speaker 2: Woman gets a glimpse of the past when she finds 7 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:31,640 Speaker 2: a love letter from World War One in her attic. 8 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:35,239 Speaker 2: Written by Heather reego Man, read by Juley Propost. A 9 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:37,200 Speaker 2: woman gets a glimpse of the past when she finds 10 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:39,200 Speaker 2: a love letter from World War One in her attic. 11 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:41,239 Speaker 2: How many times have we been called to duty to 12 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:43,520 Speaker 2: clean out a loved one's attic and then find something 13 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 2: bread taking out of a scene like the Taitanic. Just 14 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 2: the other day, my kids discovered the love letters my 15 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 2: husband and I had exchanged when I was still in 16 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 2: high school. Their reactions to their parents having a love 17 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 2: life were one thing, but to read it tucked into 18 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 2: history was another. Sometimes history doesn't live in museums. Sometimes 19 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:02,960 Speaker 2: it hides in attics, tucked beneath insolation, waiting for someone 20 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 2: to lift it into the light again. That's what happened 21 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:10,000 Speaker 2: when Laura Tonkins Durham, North Carolina home was being renovated. 22 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:12,880 Speaker 2: A worker pulled out what looked like fragile strips of 23 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,559 Speaker 2: parchment and handed them to her. The edges were frayed 24 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:17,960 Speaker 2: and the ink faded, but something about it felt sacred. 25 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 2: I don't know what this is, but it's very cool, 26 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:22,760 Speaker 2: Laura said. Piece by piece, she realized she was holding 27 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:24,959 Speaker 2: a love letter written more than a century ago by 28 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:27,840 Speaker 2: a young soldier named John B. Wooseley. He had been 29 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 2: writing to a woman named Olma, the girl who would 30 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:33,559 Speaker 2: one day become his wife. He was writing to his girlfriend, Almah. 31 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:36,920 Speaker 2: It's a sweet letter, Laura shared. With a little research, 32 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:39,800 Speaker 2: she discovered John had been a first lieutenant stationed on 33 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:42,240 Speaker 2: the front lines in France during World War One. He 34 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 2: was likely in his twenties, and yet his words carried 35 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:47,240 Speaker 2: both tenderness and the weight of war. You had asked 36 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:49,480 Speaker 2: me about the French girls, he joked, I haven't met 37 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 2: too many, but from what I can tell, they don't 38 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 2: compare to seven girls. But then the tone shifted. We 39 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 2: have seen quite a bit of shell fire, John wrote, 40 00:01:57,120 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 2: artillery put eight shells right near my kitchen with a 41 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:03,240 Speaker 2: one hundred and fifty yards To think about being on 42 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 2: the front and writing a letter at this time in 43 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 2: history and having to be so careful about what you say, 44 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:10,960 Speaker 2: Laura reflected. As she continued digging, she learned John and 45 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:13,240 Speaker 2: Omah married after the war and were buried side by 46 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 2: side at Old Chapel Hills Cemetery. When we looked him 47 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:18,520 Speaker 2: up and found where his grave was, we were like, Wow, 48 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:21,480 Speaker 2: he's real and he's right over there, Laura said. No 49 00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:23,880 Speaker 2: museum has asked for the letter yet, so for now 50 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:26,440 Speaker 2: she keeps it safe. Its edge is worn, but its 51 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 2: love still intact. Bars I can tell nobody to return it. 52 00:02:29,919 --> 00:02:33,119 Speaker 2: So here it sits for now anyway, Laura said, Sometimes 53 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:36,560 Speaker 2: love outlives time. Sometimes a story waits one hundred years 54 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:40,080 Speaker 2: just to be found Psalm one hundred and to eighteen. 55 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 2: Let this be written for a future generation that a 56 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 2: people not yet created may praise the Lord. Hawaii lifeguards 57 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 2: still recovering eleven days after shark attacks. The Moment It 58 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:04,519 Speaker 2: Shruck written by Heather Rigoman, read by Julie Probost, a 59 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:07,280 Speaker 2: Wie lifeguard still recovering eleven days after a shark attack, 60 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:09,720 Speaker 2: describes the moment it struck and he reached out to 61 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 2: the Almighty, who answered him in an instant. Some stories 62 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 2: feel like they belong in the pages of scripture, where 63 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 2: the sea roars, life hangs in the balance, and God 64 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 2: appears in the depths. That's exactly how thirty three year 65 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 2: old lifeguard Chance Swanson described what happened the day a 66 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:27,680 Speaker 2: shark came for him in the waters off of Hanolai Bay. Kway. 67 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:31,880 Speaker 2: Starts like any ordinary Wednesday, Chance had spent the morning 68 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:35,400 Speaker 2: doing normal things, painting his bathroom, getting his car checked, 69 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:38,200 Speaker 2: heading out to catch a few waves. But within minutes, 70 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 2: the ocean he loved turned into a flight for his life. 71 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 2: One moment he was paddling, the next a powerful force 72 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:47,280 Speaker 2: clamped down on his leg with unimaginable strength. Couldn't see it, 73 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 2: Chance said, I just knew it was a shark. The 74 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:52,840 Speaker 2: tiger Shark's bite severed the main artery and bane in 75 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 2: his leg. Blood poured into the water as he began 76 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 2: to lose consciousness. But even as fission faded and strength drained, 77 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 2: one thought filled his mind to stay awake. Ask God 78 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 2: for help. I say my prayers to Jesus Christ, he said, 79 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:07,600 Speaker 2: I believe in God, and he saved me from shore. 80 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:10,520 Speaker 2: Fellow lifeguards saw the red circles surrounding him and rushed out, 81 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:12,840 Speaker 2: reaching him just in time to place a tourniquet and carry 82 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:15,800 Speaker 2: him to safety. Doctors later confirmed how close he came 83 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 2: to death. The artery in his leg had been completely severed. 84 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:21,480 Speaker 2: Was a miracle he survived long enough to reach the hospital. 85 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:25,600 Speaker 2: Chance had undergone multiple surgeries and remains in recovery more 86 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:28,279 Speaker 2: than a week later, but doctors are hopeful. They say 87 00:04:28,279 --> 00:04:31,039 Speaker 2: his youth, strength, and attitude are helping him heal, and 88 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:33,800 Speaker 2: so is his faith. He says the ocean still feels 89 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:36,200 Speaker 2: like home. He wants to surf again one day, but 90 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,680 Speaker 2: until then he's changed, not bitter, but grateful. It used 91 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:41,240 Speaker 2: to be hard to tell my friends I love them, 92 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:44,600 Speaker 2: Chance said, Now it's so easy. Sometimes a miracle isn't 93 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:48,479 Speaker 2: just surviving, it's how our hearts change when we do. So. 94 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:51,800 Speaker 2: I'm one hundred eighteen seventeen. I will not die, but live, 95 00:04:52,160 --> 00:05:00,880 Speaker 2: and will proclaim what the Lord has done. 96 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening to Story Behind podcast. 97 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: We're really glad you joined us for this week's story. 98 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 1: To see photos and videos that may have been referenced 99 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:14,279 Speaker 1: in this episode, check out the links and the show notes, 100 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:17,800 Speaker 1: and if you enjoyed what you heard today, Subscribe to 101 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:21,360 Speaker 1: our podcast, and please tell a friend about us. 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