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 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 2: A simple flea market visit in Kentucky leads to an 7 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:33,200 Speaker 2: incredible family reunion with the past. Written by Heather Riggleman, 8 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:36,479 Speaker 2: read by Jully Provost. A simple flea market visit in 9 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 2: Kentucky leads to an incredible family reunion with the past. 10 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 2: Sometimes the most meaningful moments arrive dressed as ordinary days. 11 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:45,280 Speaker 2: A quick stop at a flea market, a framed photo 12 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:48,239 Speaker 2: sitting quickly on a table, a stranger who decides to 13 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:50,879 Speaker 2: pause instead of pass by, And somehow, in all of 14 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 2: that simplicity, God weaves together something deeply personal and unexpectedly sacred. 15 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 2: That's exactly what happened in Northern Kentucky when a chance 16 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 2: discovery reunited a family with a long locks piece of 17 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:04,600 Speaker 2: its own story, one they didn't even know was missing. 18 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:07,119 Speaker 2: So remind her that God is always at work, not 19 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 2: only in the big headline moments, but in the quiet 20 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 2: ones that slipped gently into our lives and change us. 21 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:14,880 Speaker 2: Nancy Buckman has never imagined that a photo of her 22 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 2: mother as a baby would end up hundreds of miles 23 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:19,679 Speaker 2: from where it belonged. In fact, she didn't even know 24 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:22,400 Speaker 2: anything had been ever lost, But that changed when a 25 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,600 Speaker 2: stranger sent her a message on Thanksgiving night. Robin Claney 26 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:28,400 Speaker 2: had been shopping at the Diosan Catholic Children's Home flea 27 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 2: market in Fort Mitchell when she noticed a framed collage 28 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,160 Speaker 2: of baby photos from the nineteen thirties. It wasn't just beautiful, 29 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 2: it felt meaningful. You could tell that there was a 30 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 2: lot of effort put into that photo, Robin said. The 31 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 2: way it's matted, the waits photographed, the expression of the child, 32 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 2: I could just tell she was really well loved. On 33 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:46,120 Speaker 2: the back of the photo, Robin noticed a handwritten name, 34 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 2: Mary Joan Egberson. With her background and library research, she 35 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 2: decided to follow the trail rather than walk away from it. 36 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 2: I reached out to Nancy randomly Thanksgiving night and said, hey, 37 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 2: I know this is a weird question, but and I 38 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,080 Speaker 2: sent a picture of the picture, Robin shared. Nancy said 39 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:02,560 Speaker 2: that when she first saw the message, she thought it 40 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 2: might be a spam, But as she looked more closely, 41 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 2: she realized the face in the photo was her mother's 42 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 2: taking when she was just one year and one day old. 43 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:12,640 Speaker 2: The fact that somebody would do that in this day 44 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:14,679 Speaker 2: and age, she could have kept it or just kept 45 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:16,840 Speaker 2: the frame and thrown away the picture. I'm very thankful 46 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:18,640 Speaker 2: that she made the effort that she did, Nancy said. 47 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:21,480 Speaker 2: The timing made the moment even more tender. Nancy's mother 48 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 2: had passed away in August of twenty twenty four, and 49 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:27,080 Speaker 2: the photo's return felt like something far more than a coincidence. 50 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 2: I actually live in the house my mom grew up in, 51 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 2: so she's going back to her house, Nancy said, I 52 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:34,120 Speaker 2: just feel like I'm bringing her home, so she's back 53 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:37,600 Speaker 2: with me again. Both women have hope the story encourages 54 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:40,880 Speaker 2: others to take a second look at old photos, family history, 55 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 2: and even the small discoveries hiding in thrift stores and 56 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:47,120 Speaker 2: flea markets. Sometimes what looks ordinary is actually someone's sacred 57 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:49,959 Speaker 2: story waiting to be returned. And maybe that's what makes 58 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 2: this story so beautiful. God doesn't only move in grand gestures. 59 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:56,000 Speaker 2: He moves through kind strangers. Handwritten names on the back 60 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:58,520 Speaker 2: of photos and quiet yeses to do the right thing. 61 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 2: Sometimes he brings miracles through the aisles of flea markets. 62 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:05,680 Speaker 2: Sometimes he brings healing through memory, and sometimes he brings 63 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 2: a piece of home back exactly where the heart needs 64 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 2: it most. Psalm one hundred and thirty eight eight. The 65 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 2: Lord will fulfill his promise for me. What began as 66 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 2: a DNA test became a father son reunion years in 67 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:34,560 Speaker 2: the making. Written by Heather Riggleman, read by July Provost. 68 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 2: Who became as a DNA test became a father son 69 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:40,840 Speaker 2: reunion in the making. Sometimes God doesn't rush reunions. He 70 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 2: writes them slowly, across years, across distance, across questions that 71 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 2: don't yet have answers, And then when hearts are finally ready, 72 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 2: he brings two lives together in a way that feels 73 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,800 Speaker 2: both surprising and completely ordained. That's what happened when the 74 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:56,440 Speaker 2: DNA test quietly became the bridge between a father and 75 00:03:56,440 --> 00:03:58,760 Speaker 2: a son who had been living separate stories for decades, 76 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:02,280 Speaker 2: never knowing how deeply connected they were. Calvin Cooper is 77 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 2: seventy one years old. He lives in Toledo. Tim Holloway 78 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 2: is thirty three and lives in Atlanta. Until recently they 79 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 2: were strangers, but one simple decision changed everything. Both men 80 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:14,720 Speaker 2: had uploaded their DNA to answer straight dot Colm at 81 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:17,360 Speaker 2: different times. When the results came back, they were identified 82 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:20,120 Speaker 2: as a father son match, a connection later confirmed. I 83 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 2: put my name in there on December fifth, on his birthday. 84 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,800 Speaker 2: Imagine that, Calvin said, an all grown man thirty three 85 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 2: years that I brought into this world and didn't even know. 86 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:30,720 Speaker 2: For Tim, the discovery felt like something his heart had 87 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:33,640 Speaker 2: been quietly waiting for his entire life. The more I 88 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 2: learn about him over these last two weeks, it's like 89 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:39,240 Speaker 2: I'm seeing more and more of my DNA, the characteristics, 90 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:42,000 Speaker 2: the personality, Tim said. Tim has been part of his 91 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 2: childhood in foster care. He had recently found his birth mother, 92 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:48,080 Speaker 2: but his father remained a mystery he didn't know how 93 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 2: to solve. You're looking for something you don't think you'll 94 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 2: ever find. Tim said, you're just shooting in the dark. 95 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,480 Speaker 2: And then right before Christmas something changed. Then one day 96 00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:58,520 Speaker 2: it happens, Tim said, I was like, I don't need 97 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 2: anything else. Can flew from Toledo to Georgia to meet 98 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:04,600 Speaker 2: his son for the first time at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta. 99 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:08,479 Speaker 2: International Airport, a moment decades in the making finally stepped 100 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:11,320 Speaker 2: into real life. I'm grateful to see this day, Cavin said, 101 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:14,120 Speaker 2: it could very well be my last, and one day 102 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 2: it will be. I just enjoy the moment. There is 103 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:19,599 Speaker 2: something holy about this kind of gratitude, about a heart 104 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:23,160 Speaker 2: that recognizes the miracle not as entitlement, but as a gift. Together, 105 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:25,960 Speaker 2: these two men now share a message for anyone still searching. 106 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:28,440 Speaker 2: Don't give up. Tim said, it can happen for you 107 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:31,760 Speaker 2: any day. And maybe that's what the story is really about. 108 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:34,480 Speaker 2: Not just Nay, not just technology, but a God who 109 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:37,600 Speaker 2: quietly arranges meetings across time and space, a God who 110 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:40,200 Speaker 2: sees the lonely places in our stories and moves people 111 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:43,200 Speaker 2: toward each other when the moment is finally right. God 112 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 2: always brings us to the people who need us most. 113 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:47,960 Speaker 2: And when God brings them together, it doesn't just answer 114 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,960 Speaker 2: a question. It restores something sacred that was never truly lost. 115 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 2: Some one hundred and thirty eight eight. The Lord will 116 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 2: fulfill his purpose for me. 117 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening to Story Behind podcast. 118 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:09,680 Speaker 1: We're really glad you joined us for this week's story. 119 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:12,920 Speaker 1: To see photos and videos, that may have been referenced 120 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:15,760 Speaker 1: in this episode. Check out the links and the show notes, 121 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:19,240 Speaker 1: and if you enjoyed what you heard today, subscribe to 122 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:22,840 Speaker 1: our podcast and please tell a friend about us. We'd 123 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:24,880 Speaker 1: also love it if you'd rate us and leave us 124 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: a review. It really does help more people find us. 125 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:31,159 Speaker 1: Story Behind is a Salem Web Network production.