Pastor Don Moore of The Potters House in Jonesville was given the task by a reporter with WSPA-TV during the last Truck Load of Food event on Nov. 7 to find someone to interview for the television station’s news broadcast.

He walked through the entire line — stretching down the road from the church — shaking hands and greeting those who had come to receive much needed food until he came to Mary Nolan.

The 62-year-old from Union was one of the first in line that morning, getting to the church before 7 a.m. and was at the front of the line. It was nearly her turn to get a box of food when Moore reached her.

The pastor hadn’t found anyone the TV reporter could interview yet and then he shook Nolan’s hand.

“The Lord said, ‘There she is,’” he said Wednesday afternoon. “It was her moment to receive a blessing.”

As Nolan puts it now, “I believe it’s a God thing.”

Even though her knees were shaking and she didn’t want to lose her place in line after waiting so long to get her box of food, Nolan decided to do the interview with WSPA-TV.

It was an interview that changed her and her husband Thomas “Tommy” E. Nolan Sr.’s lives.

Nolan came to The Potters House to get the food assistance after reading about the event in this newspaper. Tommy, 64, suffers from Parkinson’s disease and the only income the two from Union have is fixed benefits from the government.

Having to pay to keep the roof over their heads, for heat and other utilities and Tommy’s medical expenses, some of which are not covered by Medicare or Medicaid, they were in dire need of assistance.

“You have to prioritize everything,” Nolan said about life on a fixed income.

There have been occasions in which the couple has been down to their last piece of bread and she gives it to Tommy without hesitation.

“We take care of each other,” Nolan said. “We just did the best we could. We didn’t want to impose on people. We just didn’t want to bother anybody.”

To make things worse, their heat went out and their washer broke down just before she came to The Potters House so they needed some help.

And not only did help come in the form of food from the Truck Load of Food event, but others have since stepped up to offer their assistance to the couple after seeing Nolan on TV and hearing her story.

She and Tommy have received assistance in several forms, from monetary gifts to more food. People from around the Upstate have offered their assistance to the couple and taken some of the burden off of Nolan who takes care of everything at home. Tommy is wheelchair bound.

She’s received letters and gifts from people from Taylors, Greenville and other locations. She had enough money to pay for her own H1N1 flu shot because of a gift from one woman and another woman from Clinton recently sent them Bi-Lo gift cards.

“We got something we’ve wanted for a long time and were not able to get,” Nolan said. “One of those sliced hams.”

Another woman, a single mother nurse with a four-year-old daughter, sent the couple WalMart gift cards and said a couple churches from her hometown wanted also to send some gifts.

The First Baptist Church of Spartanburg has sent the couple groceries. Parishioners from the Nolans’ church, Sardis Methodist, also have brought food to the couple. Several other people have sent additional funds to help the couple in their time of need and there are still others who plan to send gifts of some kind to the Nolans.

Many people also have offered their phone calls and visits to give the couple their support and Nolan said that’s just as good as any of the gifts she and her husband have received.

Her nurse friend told her she hopes they can become friends.

“I told her, ‘I hope so, not because of the help, but because it’s what Jesus wants you to do,’” Nolan said.

She’s trying to keep track of everyone who has given them gifts or contacted them. Nolan writes them all down in a small notebook she keeps in a coffee table in their living room.

“I’m trying to get them all down because I’ve been wanting to eventually send them thank you cards,” she said, adding she hopes she’s gotten them all down but is confident there’s one person keeping better track than her. “God knows. He’s kept a record.”

As the couple planned for Thanksgiving, which they and Nolan’s brother Marion Hawkins who lives with them will celebrate today with a feast — including a whole turkey — provided by The Potters House and others and then again on Friday with her niece and her niece’s children and grandchild, she and Tommy are thankful and grateful for all the assistance they’ve received and want to make sure everyone knows how much they appreciate it.

“It takes the pressure off of you,” Nolan said. “It takes the burden off your shoulders. We appreciate everything that people have done for us.”

She added it’s nice to know people are there.

“It really let’s you know people want to help each other,” Moore said sitting at the Nolan residence on Wednesday.

Tommy, being a little shy, spoke through his wife and said the assistance makes him feel good and thankful.

And she thanks God for everything they have received.

“This may not be landmark to everybody,” Moore said, “but this was her time.”

“Thank you, Lord,” Nolan said.

“It truly was a ‘God thing,’” Moore added.

Nolan couldn’t agree more.

“It makes you feel very humble,” Nolan said. “We didn’t go out to seek the help. The Lord brought it to us.”