On Thanksgiving Day, Hannah Jarvis was eating dinner and celebrating with a large group of family members at a Golden Corral in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Everything was going fine until her seven-month-old daughter, Calli, started to choke on the mashed potatoes she had been eating.
Hannah and her mother, as well as a waitress at the restaurant, attempted to help the choking infant. However, none of them were having any success.
The waitress yelled out desperate for help to anyone who might know what to do.
A woman named Deborah Rouse quickly showed up. (She and her family were on vacation in North Carolina at the time.)
Deborah held Calli at a downward angle and hit her on the back with the palm of her hand, a maneuver she had been trained on at her job.
Initially, Calli still wasn’t breathing, so Deborah continued to perform the maneuver until she could feel Calli’s chest moving. She knew she was breathing again!
In the midst of such a panicky and chaotic situation, Hannah was able to get Deborah’s name and even took a picture of her with Calli, but she did not feel like she had the chance to properly thank her for saving Calli’s life.
She knew a little about Deborah, but she wanted to find her and thank her again by meeting in person. She went on Facebook and posted a photo of Deborah holding Calli.
“If anyone knows who Deborah Rouse is, this lady is a hero! If it weren’t for this angel, my daughter probably would have been wheeled away in an ambulance today. Thank you for saving my daughter’s life and thank you Trish from Golden Corral who helped intervene as well! My family and I can’t thank you enough for helping.”
In several news articles, there was even a phone number listed for people to call if they knew Deborah, along with a link to Hannah’s Facebook page.
Hannah’s daughter was taken to the hospital and made a full recovery, which still leaves Hannah in complete awe.
In addition to her immense gratitude to Deborah, Hannah posted about the fact that God had been with them throughout the entire situation.
“I will never forget the many tears that were shed today in Golden Corral as this angel stepped in . . . thank you Jesus for hearing our desperate cries for Calli this Thanksgiving afternoon . . . Christ made sure that he was going to protect my baby today and that’s just what he did.”
Cimarron Waldrup, Calli’s grandfather, also felt that the timing was providential, as he stated about Deborah’s intervention: “It was something that was meant to be, at the right time and nowhere else.”
Not long after, Deborah saw an online article about the story and decided to contact Hannah through her Facebook page. She sent a private message containing her number so Hannah could reach her.
She also reposted what Hannah had written, along with her own thoughts: “What a blessing!! What a Thanksgiving. I’m soooooooo THANKFUL to God for having me in the right place at the right time!!! God, You are WORTHY.”
During this holiday season, it can be so easy to get bogged down by the busyness that will inevitably surround us, but we never know when God may be placing us in a certain time and place because we are needed at that crucial moment.
We should always be praying for the opportunity to be used by Him.
Hannah and Deborah recognized that God was in the middle of their situation and allowed them to be where they were so baby Calli could be saved. Both women also gave Him the glory for Calli’s recovery, and happily shared their story with others.
Don’t forget that every day you are on this earth is another chance for you to love and serve people, and in some cases, your actions could mean the difference between life and death.
Continue to pray that God will use you to impact the life of someone else!
(h/t Christian Life Daily)