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 --> 00:00:22,919 Speaker 1: these weekly short stories will brighten your day. 6 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:29,080 Speaker 2: One small active kindness at a pharmacy led to an 7 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:33,480 Speaker 2: unexpected blessing. Written by Michaila Gordonniy read by Julie Provost, 8 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:36,280 Speaker 2: An act of kindness at a pharmacy broke through barriers 9 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:39,040 Speaker 2: one December day when a mama two couldn't afford medicine 10 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:40,879 Speaker 2: for her baby, the pharmacists offered to pay for the 11 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:44,080 Speaker 2: medicine herself. The woman was so touched by a pharmacist's 12 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 2: generosity that she nominated her to receive attention for her 13 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,839 Speaker 2: good deed and receive a reward which is well deserved. 14 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:52,640 Speaker 2: The woman told East Idaho News, I needed to pick 15 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 2: up two prescriptions for my eighteen month old daughter. We've 16 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:57,840 Speaker 2: been going through an extremely hard time financially. My nine 17 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 2: year old son had birthday this coming Tuesday. With the 18 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:04,040 Speaker 2: holidays on top of it, and a baby in and 19 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 2: out of the dermatologist lately, we are barely scraping but 20 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 2: I needed to pay for the precriptions using my husband's 21 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:13,039 Speaker 2: HSA card, which I didn't have on hand. Jennifer, the employee, 22 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 2: was so kind and patient to help me manually enter 23 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 2: it through a link on my phone. She continued, I'm 24 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:19,279 Speaker 2: certain we have plenty of funds on the cart. However 25 00:01:19,319 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 2: I kept declining. I became frantic. I apologized to her 26 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,080 Speaker 2: several times. She could hear my voice beginning to crack 27 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:26,760 Speaker 2: as I knew we didn't have the money in our 28 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 2: checking or savings to cover the meathly twelve forty two 29 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:33,399 Speaker 2: needed for the medicines. She told the pharmacist Jennifer that 30 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 2: she would have to go home to another town and 31 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:37,640 Speaker 2: come back the next day before I could finish. She 32 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:39,319 Speaker 2: looked at me and said, can I please pay for 33 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:43,200 Speaker 2: these for you? I began to sob, the woman said. Jennifer, 34 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:45,959 Speaker 2: who was tearing up herself, gave her a hug and 35 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:47,720 Speaker 2: told her that she was sorry for what the woman 36 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 2: and her family were going through. Then she proceeded to 37 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 2: ask if we have everything we need for Christmas. I 38 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 2: feel like I buckled in her arms, sobbing. The woman said, 39 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 2: we do, we have plenty. I couldn't thank her enough 40 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 2: for her generosity, kindness, and complete love. She showed me 41 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 2: a complete stranger. Jennifer says, that's just the kind of 42 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 2: person she is. That's just how I was raised. She said, 43 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 2: you help when you can. The news station gave Jennifer 44 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:11,240 Speaker 2: two hundred dollars in gift cards as a reward for 45 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:13,800 Speaker 2: her kindness. This shows that just a little bit of 46 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 2: generosity can have a huge impact. That woman whom Jennifer 47 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 2: helped will never forget how Jennifer touched her heart and 48 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:37,080 Speaker 2: soul that day. Woman gives birth without knowing she was pregnant, 49 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 2: leaving her and her husband in awe. Written by Heather 50 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 2: Rigoman read Buduy Provost. A woman gives birth without knowing 51 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:45,400 Speaker 2: she was pregnant, leaving her and her husband in awe. 52 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 2: Melanie woke up on a Christmas morning thinking she had 53 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 2: a stomach ache. Not the gentle kind that comes from 54 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:52,680 Speaker 2: too many cookies or Timney coffee, but the kind that 55 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:54,959 Speaker 2: makes her stop what she was doing and press her 56 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 2: and to her side because something felt wrong. She was 57 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:00,639 Speaker 2: twenty eight, married, living her ordinary life in Zion, Illinois, 58 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:03,040 Speaker 2: and she had no idea that before the day ended, 59 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:05,040 Speaker 2: she would be holding her newborn son in her arms. 60 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:08,200 Speaker 2: As the pain grew sharper, Melanie husband decided to go 61 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 2: to the hospital, expecting answers that made sense. Instead, they 62 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:13,919 Speaker 2: were met with words that felt impossible. The doctors told 63 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 2: her she was nine months pregnant. I thought I was dreaming, 64 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:18,840 Speaker 2: Melanie later said, a really intense dream. In any minute, 65 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 2: I'll wake up. When they explained again, she shook her 66 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:23,640 Speaker 2: head in disbelief. I thought they were lying to me. 67 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:25,359 Speaker 2: At first, she said. I was like, this is a 68 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:27,519 Speaker 2: Christmas prank. You're just messing with me. I've been told 69 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:29,680 Speaker 2: I can't have kids. But it wasn't a prank, and 70 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:31,800 Speaker 2: it wasn't a dream. Melanie was in labor. She was 71 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:34,920 Speaker 2: transferred to Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital, and not long after, 72 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 2: she gave birth to a full term baby boy, weighing 73 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 2: a healthy eight pounds. They named him Vincent, a baby 74 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 2: she didn't that was coming, a life she hadn't prepared for, 75 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 2: a miracle wrapt in flesh and breath. On Christmas Day. Later, 76 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 2: Melanie learned she had experienced what doctors call a cryptic pregnancy, 77 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:51,960 Speaker 2: a rare condition where a woman doesn't know she's pregnant 78 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:55,800 Speaker 2: because of irregular cycles lack of symptoms are false negative tests. 79 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 2: Looking back, it made sense in ways she never could 80 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 2: have imagined. I had some money back pains, but none 81 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 2: of the traditional symptoms. She explained. I didn't have any 82 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:05,960 Speaker 2: morning sickness or anything like that. I didn't even really 83 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 2: grow a stomach. Life had simply gone on laundry Aaron's holidays, 84 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 2: all while America was quietly growing beneath the service. The 85 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,000 Speaker 2: suddenness of it all was overwhelming. There was no nursery, 86 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:18,560 Speaker 2: no baby showered, no financial plan in place. But then 87 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:20,839 Speaker 2: she watched her husband hold Vincent for the first time. 88 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 2: The way his hands were gentle, the way his face softened, 89 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:26,279 Speaker 2: the way something holy seemed to pass between them. I 90 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:28,720 Speaker 2: saw my husband hold Vincent for the first time, Melanie said, 91 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:31,159 Speaker 2: and realized, Oh, actually, this is doing things for me. 92 00:04:31,279 --> 00:04:34,200 Speaker 2: Her husband called Vincent a Christmas miracle, and Melanie later 93 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:36,080 Speaker 2: smiled and said it was the best surprise for someone 94 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:39,159 Speaker 2: who really hates surprises. And maybe that's the quiet wonder 95 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:40,880 Speaker 2: of it all. The way God loves to hide his 96 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:44,040 Speaker 2: biggest gifts inside ordinary days, the way he tucks miracles 97 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 2: into places we aren't watching, the way he still interrupts 98 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:50,400 Speaker 2: human plans with Heaven's timing. Melanie didn't know she was pregnant, 99 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:53,279 Speaker 2: but God knew Vincent. He knew his name, he knew 100 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 2: his moment, He knew exactly when the world and his 101 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:58,120 Speaker 2: family would be ready to receive him. And on a 102 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:02,080 Speaker 2: quiet morning in Ellen, God reminded us that he's still 103 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:04,920 Speaker 2: the God of sudden hope, still the God of impossible births, 104 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:07,320 Speaker 2: still the God who delights in surprising his children with 105 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:11,839 Speaker 2: life Ecclesiastes three eleven. He has made everything beautiful in 106 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:12,360 Speaker 2: his time. 107 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening to Story Behind podcast. 108 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:24,800 Speaker 1: We're really glad you joined us for this week's story. 109 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:28,040 Speaker 1: To see photos and videos that may have been referenced 110 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:30,920 Speaker 1: in this episode, check out the links and the show notes, 111 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:34,359 Speaker 1: and if you enjoyed what you heard today, subscribe to 112 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:37,920 Speaker 1: our podcast and please tell a friend about us. We'd 113 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: also love it if you'd rate us and leave us 114 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 1: a review. It really does help more people find us. 115 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:46,279 Speaker 1: Story Behind is a Salem Web Network production.