It took over 13 years, but Marilyn Ragin's prayers have been answered. And at church no less.
The Miami Gardens grandmother was surprised by a really big check for a really big amount on Thursday as Publishers Clearing House shocked their most recent $1 million winner.
"I'm here to tell anybody, trust Publishers Clearing House. They do deliver," 53-year-old Ragin told CBS4 and the rest of the audience at a black history luncheon at her church.
The grandmother of eight said the money was a godsend on so many levels, including the fact one of her daughters is about to give her a ninth grand baby. She had been sending postcards to Publishers Clearing House since 1997, hoping one day famous spokesperson, the late Ed McMahon, would come knocking on her door.
It was a bit of an odyssey catching up with Ragin, who is constantly on the move. Representatives for the magazine marketing firm first went to her home in Miami Gardens to do their patented front door "Surprise!" but she wasn't there.
Her husband said she was at the church.
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They finally caught up with Ragin, who almost didn't answer when her name was called.
"We're looking for Marilyn," announced Dave Sayer, executive director of the company's Prize Patrol, with balloons and check in tow.
After a pause, someone pointed Ragin out. Then came a little jig and the check presentation.
"Oh! God I just can't believe it," Ragin said. "I've been saying, 'Lord my time is going to come' and God answered my prayers. I wouldn't have believed it but it happened."
