I feel certain we all have gotten those phone messages that leave us wondering if the caller truly is who they say they are.  You want to call back but are just a bit unsure about it.  Well, several years ago, I received just that type of call.  A call that ended up having quite an impact on my life!

When arriving home one evening I noticed I had a voicemail message.  As I played it back, I thought that surely I was not hearing correctly so I listened again, taking in every word.  It seemed that a man had called, leaving a message asking that I return his call to ABC New York…Good Morning America!  Now, the thing that really caught my attention and left me wondering was the fact he specifically asked for me and actually pronounced my last name, Pedigo, correctly! But that still was not enough to make me call back…I mean, Good Morning America…calling ME?  Hmmm….I had an idea what it might be about but could it really be?  So the call went unreturned. 

I pondered the message for the next couple of weeks, saving the recording so that I could play it again.  I finally convinced myself that the call had to do with the loss of my husband, Terry, as there had been some highly publicized controversy over the 9-1-1 calls made the day he suffered a heart attack while playing a game of soccer.  I spoke with my family and we agreed that if they called again, and this was the reason, that I should agree to speak with them.

Well, that second call did come, leaving another voicemail for me.  This time I called back and sure enough it was the real deal!  Good Morning America wanted to include our story as part of a bigger story!  They wanted to send a crew to my house!  Not in a couple of weeks or months, giving me time to prepare…oh no…they wanted to come the very next day!!  Yikes! (Probably for the best, actually.)

At this particular time, I was working as a Ministry Assistant at my church. After a little thought, I asked my pastor if it would be OK to have them do the filming there, at the church.  He said that would be fine, but that was not fine with GMA!  They insisted that I would be more at ease in my own home and it would come across much better from that setting…Yikes, once again! 

Now, picture this…I am at work and I find out that Good Morning America wants to send a film crew to my home the very next day! My mind began to race, trying to think through all that I needed to do to prepare. Let’s see…I needed to dust…vacuum…sweep (moving furniture to check for dust bunnies just in case they needed to rearrange)…mop…clean bathrooms…paint the house (hmmm…maybe not) and it would be nice to have a cake to offer them and……..Whew!  My quiet little existence had suddenly become not so quiet!!

As I drove home that evening I received a call on my cell phone from the Consumer Producer, Andrew, who would be coming, as well.  He was so kind.  He insisted that I did not need to do anything special to get ready, as he could hear the anxiousness in my voice.  He said, “We will not do the white glove test.  I promise!” “I have a house full of kids so will not notice anything out of order.” I answered with a slow and drawn out…O…K…  With a chuckle in his voice he said “You’re going to do it anyway, aren’t you?!”  I timidly answered, “Uh huh”.  And I did…I worked feverishly until about 2:00 am then TRIED to get some sleep.  How is a person supposed to sleep when GMA will be knocking on their door later that morning?! 

Well, the next day did come, just as planned and they arrived a bit before noon. Suddenly my humble abode nestled in a quiet neighborhood in Humble, Texas became a studio, with lights, cameras…action!  I have to admit that it was quite exciting and interesting.  A team of four men flew in from New York, all very nice, helping to put me at ease.  Good Morning America covered it all…sending my new found friend, Andrew, the producer… and the director…the interviewer…and the camera man.  All went very smoothly…mission accomplished!

What was truly amazing in all of this was the confidence and calmness that God gave me that day.  As I sat perched on one of my dining chairs in the middle of my den with both my sons, Tyler and Chase nearby, (unfortunately, missing my daughter, LeAnne) in the midst of all the…Lights…Cameras…Action, I found a peace and calmness that just should not have been…not for someone like ME!  We’re talking about someone who normally is quite content to cheer others on from the sideline rather than being in the spot light.  But I truly believe that this was part of God’s plan, allowing Terry and me to, in a sense, work together for a very important cause that day.  I was so thankful for such an opportunity. My prayer was and still is that God was able to use our loss in a positive way that day, back in 2003…A day I certainly will never forget.