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 --> 00:00:21,560 Speaker 1: these weekly short stories will brighten your day. 6 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:30,720 Speaker 2: Hello friends, and welcome back loyal listeners. Welcome to the 7 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:35,760 Speaker 2: Story Behind podcast, a lifeaudio dot Com production where we 8 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:38,360 Speaker 2: tell you some of the most encouraging stories that we 9 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 2: found in scouring the web and publish them on our site, 10 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:46,640 Speaker 2: Godupdates dot com. I want to introduce myself because for 11 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:49,880 Speaker 2: those of you who are familiar with the podcast may 12 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:53,080 Speaker 2: have listened for a while, you may notice that this 13 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 2: is a new voice. My name is Sean McAvoy. I 14 00:00:56,600 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 2: am the executive director of content here at the Sale 15 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 2: Web Network, and I'm taking you over for Julie and 16 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:06,400 Speaker 2: maybe trying a few new things over the next few 17 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:09,920 Speaker 2: weeks with the podcast, So stay tuned for some exciting 18 00:01:09,959 --> 00:01:13,120 Speaker 2: things and leave some comments if you've got some suggestions 19 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:15,360 Speaker 2: for how we can bring you the news that you 20 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:19,200 Speaker 2: want to hear to encourage you throughout your week. Today, 21 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,120 Speaker 2: I'll be bringing you stories about someone who walked away 22 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:25,680 Speaker 2: with only a few scratches after a car came through 23 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:29,480 Speaker 2: her windshield, and how a simple wrong number led to 24 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 2: a beautiful friendship between two strangers. So let's get to it. First, 25 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 2: woman walks away with only a few scratches after a 26 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,200 Speaker 2: car crashes through her windshield. This is about a woman 27 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:45,160 Speaker 2: in Texas who is thanking God for her life after 28 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 2: a piece of rebar flew through her windshield. She was 29 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 2: driving down the highway in Flint, Texas like any other day, 30 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 2: while delivering Instacart orders when the bar vertically sliced through 31 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 2: the glass and knocked into her glasses. The emt is 32 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 2: told her she shouldn't be here, and the woman agrees, 33 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 2: I don't know how I made it. It was nothing 34 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:11,359 Speaker 2: but God. LaTrece Grismore said, it hit my glasses and 35 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 2: bounced in my lap, and you know what's crazy, it 36 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:17,960 Speaker 2: didn't even scratch the glasses. A utility truck had driven 37 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 2: past her in the opposite direction, and LaTrece did not 38 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 2: see the three foot long rebar until it was flying 39 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:26,440 Speaker 2: toward her. She had no time to maneuver away from it. 40 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 2: When she pulled over, A witness stopped and dialed nine 41 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:33,400 Speaker 2: point one. Firefighters arrived and were shocked that she had 42 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:37,960 Speaker 2: survived the ordeal, as was LaTrece. I'm just thankful. I 43 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:40,239 Speaker 2: think I'm going to keep the rebar and never throw 44 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 2: it away. Latrice laughed to remind me that I am blessed. 45 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 2: The utility truck never stopped and the driver has not 46 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:52,360 Speaker 2: been located. Each year in the US, about seven hundred 47 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:56,280 Speaker 2: people die from incidents like this and seventeen thousand are injured. 48 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 2: Many are due to vehicles such as utility trucks with 49 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:05,400 Speaker 2: unsecured loads. It is an absolute miracle that LaTrece was 50 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 2: protected from harm with not a single scratch on her glasses, 51 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:12,240 Speaker 2: only a few miner scratches from shards. God must have 52 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 2: sent a guardian angel to watch over her that day. 53 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:18,560 Speaker 2: Thank God that she can live to tell about this story. 54 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 2: As Psalm ninety one eleven says, for he will give 55 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:24,240 Speaker 2: you into the care of his angels to keep you 56 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 2: wherever you go. Stay tuned with us for a moment, 57 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:31,640 Speaker 2: and I'll be back about that beautiful wrong number story. 58 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:48,760 Speaker 2: And we are back with part two of this week's episode. 59 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 2: Before we continue, we just wanted to remind you that 60 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:56,360 Speaker 2: God updates where our team spends several hours each week 61 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 2: scouring the web for the most positive, uplifting, encouraging stories, 62 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:04,800 Speaker 2: ones that will really encourage you and your walk with 63 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 2: the Lord and show you that miracles still happen. We 64 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 2: are located at GodTube dot com, so if you ever 65 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 2: want to check out the video version of these stories, 66 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:19,960 Speaker 2: just come on over to GodTube look on the GodTube blog, 67 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:22,600 Speaker 2: which is our god Updates section, and you'll be able 68 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:25,839 Speaker 2: to find these stories and watch the accompanying video right along. 69 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:29,360 Speaker 2: So let's get back to it with the story of 70 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:33,000 Speaker 2: how a simple wrong number led to a beautiful friendship 71 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 2: between two strangers. The story was written by Heather Riggleman 72 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:41,559 Speaker 2: and read by Yours truly Sean McAvoy. A simple wrong 73 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:45,640 Speaker 2: number led to a beautiful friendship between two strangers, and 74 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 2: it's a reminder that, no matter the age, best friends 75 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 2: really do come once in a lifetime, and sometimes they 76 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:57,600 Speaker 2: show up in the most unexpected ways. Lauren Stevens and Werner, 77 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:02,520 Speaker 2: lovingly known as Verned, may have had decades between them, 78 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 2: but that never stood in the way of something beautiful 79 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:10,280 Speaker 2: growing between them. Lauren twenty four and Verner seventy two 80 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 2: became unlikely best friends after Lauren began receiving text messages 81 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:18,520 Speaker 2: on her work phone that were clearly meant for someone else. 82 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:23,360 Speaker 2: I kept getting text messages saying vern Dog, vern Dog, 83 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 2: Lauren Stephens said, and I very much was obviously who 84 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 2: the heck is vern Dog? That simple mix up led 85 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:34,359 Speaker 2: Lauren to search for him online, where she discovered Verner 86 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:38,400 Speaker 2: was a well known San Francisco, California photographer who had 87 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:42,560 Speaker 2: been decades traveling the world behind a camera, capturing life 88 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:47,359 Speaker 2: one frame at a time. What began with curiosity slowly 89 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:51,600 Speaker 2: turned into a connection. Emails became phone calls. Phone calls 90 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:55,680 Speaker 2: became video chats. Before long, they were spending time together 91 00:05:55,800 --> 00:06:00,200 Speaker 2: in person, laughing through karaoke, making tiktoks, and building the 92 00:06:00,279 --> 00:06:02,880 Speaker 2: kind of friendship many hoped to find in a lifetime. 93 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:05,800 Speaker 2: You can always picture it, a young woman and an 94 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:09,960 Speaker 2: older man with completely different life stories, laughing over silly 95 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:15,240 Speaker 2: videos and finding comfort and simple companionship. Proof that friendship 96 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:18,719 Speaker 2: does not check birth certificates. When asked what it was 97 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:21,359 Speaker 2: like when Lauren entered his life, vera ha isared, honestly, 98 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:25,599 Speaker 2: that was like such a wonderful feeling, actually, that somebody cared, 99 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:30,000 Speaker 2: he said, as the world around him had shifted more digital. 100 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:33,960 Speaker 2: Verner had been struggling financially because the digital world can 101 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:37,800 Speaker 2: be so confusing. Lauren did what best friends often do. 102 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:42,000 Speaker 2: She stepped in. She began sharing his photography online and 103 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:45,479 Speaker 2: created a GoFundMe that raised more than forty thousand dollars 104 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:49,440 Speaker 2: to help support him. I cannot tell you how amazing 105 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 2: it is just having Lauren not only as somebody who 106 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:56,400 Speaker 2: supports me, but just who has become a really close friend. 107 00:06:56,600 --> 00:07:00,240 Speaker 2: I can't believe it, Verr said, she is twenty befo. 108 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:05,240 Speaker 2: I'm seventy two. That friendship became a lifeline at just 109 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:08,920 Speaker 2: the right time. Sometimes the right people do not walk 110 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:12,240 Speaker 2: into our lives through grand plans or carefully timed moments. 111 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:16,600 Speaker 2: Sometimes they arrive through a wrong number, a little kindness, 112 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:20,280 Speaker 2: and a willingness to stay open to connection. Because no 113 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 2: matter the age, true best friends are rare gifts, and 114 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:29,680 Speaker 2: when they come, they can change everything. As Proverbs seventeen 115 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:35,120 Speaker 2: seventeen puts it, a friend loves at all times. Thanks 116 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:38,560 Speaker 2: for listening this week. We hope you enjoyed the story behind. 117 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 2: We'll be back in a couple of days with two 118 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 2: new stories. And like I said at the start. Any 119 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:48,720 Speaker 2: new suggestions you have for our new format, just feel 120 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 2: free to put them in the comments and we'll talk 121 00:07:51,120 --> 00:08:00,160 Speaker 2: to you next week. Bye bye. 122 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:05,240 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening to story Behind podcast. 123 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:08,080 Speaker 1: We're really glad you joined us for this week's story. 124 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:11,280 Speaker 1: To see photos and videos that may have been referenced 125 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:14,160 Speaker 1: in this episode, check out the links and the show notes, 126 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:17,640 Speaker 1: and if you enjoyed what you heard today, subscribe to 127 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:21,240 Speaker 1: our podcast and please tell a friend about us. We'd 128 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:23,280 Speaker 1: also love it if you'd rate us and leave us 129 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 1: a review. It really does help more people find us. 130 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:29,560 Speaker 1: Story Behind is a Salem Web Network production.