46 GUIDEPOSTS.ORG
Right Place, Right Time
We were stuck at home. My husband, Tom, and I had been forced by the sur-
prisingly frigid weather to cancel our golf outing with friends. We’d been look-
ing forward to it for months. Our deposit for the time slot was nonrefundable.
But spending the day shivering and miserable was not what we’d had in mind.
We planned to meet our friends for dinner instead. Getting ready that
evening, my husband showered and shaved. He came out to dress. I giggled
as I watched him put his arm through the wrong hole of his shirt, then stare
at it, uncomprehendingly. “Are you trying to be funny?” I asked.
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I rushed him down the road to the hospital, just two minutes from our house.
The doctor informed us that my husband had had a stroke.
“He doesn’t seem to have any long-term side effects,” the doctor said.
“That’s because you got him medical attention so quickly. Nice work.”
The golf course was more than 20 minutes from the nearest hospital. I
shuddered, thinking of what could have happened to Tom if we’d been on the
back nine instead of at home. We didn’t end up where we’d planned that
day. But someone made sure we ended up right where we needed to be.
—Marie Marquis, HATFIELD, PENNSYLVANIA
At 2 A.M., Matthew Jackson and Chris Young decided to take an earlier-
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Oregon, factory. Stepping into the alleyway behind their factory, the two
noticed right away that the air was smoky. An apartment building across
the way was on fire!
The men rushed over. They banged on windows and doors and yelled
to wake everyone. Most of the residents were able to get outside without
help, but one family was trapped on the second floor.
After being handed a three-year-old girl, Matthew stretched his arms
up, allowing the rest of the family to use his hands as a step. He and Chris
helped them get to the ground—and to safety.
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if he and Chris had waited just a few minutes more to take their break,
it would’ve been too late.
“It’s overwhelming, thinking about it now,” Matthew said. “At the time,
I was just running on adrenalin and instinct. I am so thankful that the Lord
put me in that position.”
—Elena Tafone, ASSOCIATE EDITOR