Sometimes, God places you on the minds and hearts of people that you may not even know to achieve what He wants done through them. For a Millspring family, it was God-ordained that they experienced an opportunity of a lifetime. All off the strength of a viral video.
The Cox Family were featured on the home renovation show, Fast: Home Rescue where former NFL player Tre Boston and his wife Cierra renovate homes in five days.
Stephanie Cox said a viral video of the July 2023 flooding posted by her pastor’s wife, Brenda Copeland that hit the county caught the attention of The Weather Channel.
“They asked if she knew anyone that had been flooded, and we were the ones that she told them about. They asked several families, some declined,” Cox said. “We accepted their gracious gift. The producers and designer called and spoke with us over the phone the next night, they flew in from different states.”
For Stephanie and her family, the beginning of 2023 dealt a few blows, the flood was almost like the straw the broke the camel’s back. They’d taken hit after hit, but through it all they never lost their faith.
“Our daughter, Sydney, who is now 18 has been sick in and out of LeBonheur Hospital since the second grade. They diagnosed her with Crohn’s disease and in November 2022, she had to have 10 inches of her intestines removed,” Cox said.
As Sydney recovered, the Coxes still ran their mom-and-pop store, Cox Grocery, in Millspring. The store has been a staple of the community for decades.
In February and April, they received another blow.
“Our son had a motorcycle wreck,” she said. “And in April, Jeff, my husband, had a heart attack. He had open heart surgery May 1 and had five bypasses with a titanium steed plate.”
Then, July hit.
“Then when the flooding hit, our living room was flooded and our shop,” she said.
Cox said the following weeks flew by and her family was scheduled for a home renovation on September 1 for the show.
“And in five days, they had renovated our home,” Cox said. “The crew and volunteers came from all over the United States. They told us that we were one of the only shows that they actually got to spend time with the owners every day.”
She said they ate with them, did their paperwork in their store, and even played with their dogs.
“Tre and his wife Cierra Boston, the hosts, even came back the next week while they were working in Louisville to eat with us, with their children. We were very honored. They were very nice and there were so many Christians on the crew. They said it was very unusual the peace they had on this particular trip.”
Cox said she and her daughter had begun pulling up the floor to repair the damage the flood caused. She said because of her husband’s heart attack, they began the work themselves.
And in the midst of what seemed like blow after blow, God sent a viral video and a home renovation show to help them complete the work they started.
It was if it all fell apart so that God could show Himself mighty in not only the Coxes lives, but the lives of the people of Millspring, the crew visiting and everyone that frequents Cox Grocery. Everyone whose lives that the Cox family touch.
“We had been cleaning out the shop and we’re so thankful that they came in and did what we couldn’t.”
Cox said her family is thankful for the local churches and community that pour into them daily.
“They have given in our time of need financially and in prayer. They grace our store everyday and eat with us and help us out financially. A lot of the show was edited and they didn’t put some of our thankfulness in. We wanted to make sure we do it here.”
Cox said first and foremost she and her family wanted to thank God.
“We thank God first and we thank God for loving us through the people around us. They are a blessing to us and we pray we are a blessing to them. Mom and Pop shops are rare, and it definitely is a labor of love. We thank God for our community for keeping us alive and that they continue to. God has certainly turned things around when we were hit hard within six months time.”
Cox said they posted a sheet of paper with pictures that the crew signed for people to see.
“They touched very lightly on the reason we were chosen, but we are very thankful.”
She said when it was time for the crew to leave, she became a little sad.
“The last thing they showed was me saying they brought vacation to us. I was looking at all the crew behind the camera and a little said they were leaving. They brought California to us, they brought New York to us, they brough Arizona, Washington, Texas, Atlanta, so many other states. It did feel like they brought vacation to us and I hated to see them go. They were as much as a blessing as the renovation was.”
