I ask Susan to write her story so I could get all the details. This is an incredible true story that I want to record and share with everyone. I've already used it in a lesson and if I have a chance I'll use it in a talk. Here is her story:
"Several days before Christmas we had an unusually rainy couple of days. I woke up in the middle of the night, and my nightgown was wet. I realized that my roof was leaking right over the middle of my bed. I got a bucket and laid curled around it, listening to the drip, drip, drip about a drip every second and a half, into that bucket for the remaining five hours until morning. I emptied the bucket and left it sitting in the middle of my bed to catch the drips throughout the day.
I came to work and went across the hall to the building department of our county, and asked the two building inspectors there if they knew of a good plumbing contractor I could call to fix my leaking roof. There was one advertised in town, and I asked them if that contractor was any good. In unison, they both said, 'No'. The one building inspector has built a couple of rental homes with his brother, who is a deputy sheriff. Inspector Quinn told me he would have his brother, Corey, go over and look at my roof, and if it needed repair, he and his brother would fix it for me. The news was not good. Corey had climbed up and looked and reported that the shingles were in a sorry state and the east side of the roof needed replacing right away. Quinn told me that if I would pay for the materials, he and Corey would replace that side of my roof for me, and they would not charge me any labor to do it.
I was teary, but very grateful that he had offered, since I have one salary, and money was tight.
He called me later that afternoon and had me come to his office and pick out the shingle color I preferred, and said he would get the materials ordered that day.
Of course we had a spat of bad weather during the next two weeks, and they had to find a time when they would both have the day off to work on it. I woke up on the Saturday morning of New Year's Eve to the sound of shoveling on my roof and could see snow flyling past my window. Those two men were up shoveling off the accumulated snow so they could work on my roof the following Monday, which was a holiday from work for them.
Bright and early January 2nd, they were both on my roof, pounding and roofing to beat the band. They finished the roof that day, and nary a drip from that time forward. Every time it has rained or snowed since that date until now (and there were many, many rainy and snowy days) I stayed warm and dry thanks to those two angels.
I arrived home tired about a week later from work, and on my porch was a quart jar with a note inside, and a paperback book called The Christmas Jar. The note said that the money inside the jar had gone to Quinn to help pay for my roof. l cried right then and there, because I had been so worried about how I was going to pay for the materials, which Quinn had told me would be approximately a thousand dollars. I asked Quinn the next day who my anonymous benefactor was, and he refused to tell me, saying that someone loved me and wanted to help me out and had paid two hundred dollars to him in my behalf.
Yesterday, January 10th, Quinn called and asked me to come to his office. When I got there, he presented me with a bill for a grand total of $147.00 for roofing materials. I said, 'There is no way it only cost $147.00 for all those shingles and materials you used on my roof.' He informed me that the actual cost of the materials was about $800.00, and that people had donated $650.00 to him for my roof. Of course, I cried, because throughout this whole process so many blessings had come my way and my emotions were running high. I told him I would get the money to him that day and his invoice would be paid. I wrote a check and a heartfelt note, thanking him for all he had done for me, and put it in an envelope. About 30 minutes later, he called to let me know that I did not owe him any money, because in the meantime more donations had come in and the bill was satisfied.
Of course, for the hundredth time, I cried. During this busy and frantic holiday season, especially after Christmas when funds are scarce, people had dug deep and generously in my behalf. I was touched and overwhelmed and amazed. Every day since Januray 2nd whenever it has rained or snowed, I am grateful for those two men who gave up their holiday to help me out, and those loving souls who had paid for it all.
And that is not the end of my story. I had told my aunt about the donations, and that all I had left to pay was $147.00. When I emailed her to tell her that it, too, had been paid, she replied, "You've got to be kiding me! Dang it! I went to the credit union and withdrew $150.00 so I could make your last payment for you!" So you can see that Heavenly Father truly cares and sends his angels to minister in his behalf. I've found through this experience that it is so much easier to be the giver than the receiver, but those dear people who came to my aid will forever be in my prayers for their thoughtfulness and overwhelming generosity in my time of need."
The end . . .
I would add here how grateful I am for all those quiet angels who came to Susan's aid when she most needed it and didn't expect it.
No comments:
Post a Comment