David Espinoza and his wife Toni lived on the southern border of Texas, in the city of McAllen, five hours south of Houston.
As Christmas approached, they received the worst news.
Doctors in Houston told David Espinoza that his heart was functioning at only 10% capacity.
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If he didn't get a heart transplant soon, he wouldn't live to see his family another Christmas.
Worse, he was told that finding a perfect donor could take nine months or more.
Just before Christmas, a woman wondered if she and many others were praying for someone to die so that her husband could live. (iStock)
Toni Espinoza, known as a prayer warrior, organized everyone she knew — and hundreds of others she didn't — to pray for her husband to find a heart donor.
But within days, she felt conflicted.
She decided to change her strategy.
It was as if they were begging for someone to die so that her husband could live.
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She decided to change her strategy.
She began to pray fervently that God would heal her husband completely and miraculously.
For added comfort, the woman asked God to confirm her answered prayer by making it snow in McAllen, Texas, on Christmas Day. (iStock)
And just for added comfort, she asked God to confirm her answered prayer by making it snow in McAllen, Texas, on Christmas Day.
She shared her private decision to pray for these miracles with a trusted childhood friend named Crawford.
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“Tony, have you ever seen snow?” her friend asked.
She shook her head.
“It hasn't snowed here in 109 years! And never at Christmas.”
She had lived in McAllen, Texas, all her life.
The average winter temperature on the border was about 75 degrees.
Toni and David Espinoza of Texas. “I i know God will answer my prayers,” she told a friend. (SQuire Rushnell/Godwinks)
Her friend continued: “The reason you've never seen snow is because it hasn't snowed here in 109 years! And never at Christmas.”
Toni Espinoza shrugged, smiled and gave her friend a determined look.
“I i know God will answer my prayers.”
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It was almost midnight on Christmas Eve when one of the Espinoza girls, home for the holidays, looked into the backyard — and screamed.
“Mommy, it's snowing!”
Coat-less, Toni Espinoza stepped into the backyard — delighted to see snow covering her bush full of blooming roses.
Toni Espinoza was photographed the night she went outside to see the snow. (David Espinoza)
Gazing up at the night sky as white snowflakes dappled her dark hair, she whispered, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
The next morning, kids all over McAllen bundled up, ran outside, rolled in the snow, lit angels and made snowmen for the first time in their lives.
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A McAllen newspaper headline proclaimed “First White Christmas Ever!”
However, the best Christmas present of all came three weeks later.
Espinoza's dramatic story appears in the best-selling book, Godwink Christmas Stories by SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuArt. (Amazon)
David Espinoza's doctor in Houston looked at the medical charts.
He shook his head and said, “David, I don't understand how this happened… but you're going to live a long time.”
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He added: “Your heart is completely healed.”
In tears, the couple embraced – and praised God for the best Christmas present ever.
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The couple's story appears in the best-selling book, Godwink Christmas Stories by SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuArt, from which this article is excerpted. Copyright © SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuArt. For more information, see www.godwinks.com.
