Answered Prayers

My Dear Reader,

On a summer's morning not too long ago, I was about to walk to work when I realized that it was raining. Rain's unusual for Utah, and real rain, the kind that we get back in Sacramento, is fairly scarce, so it was a bit surprising. So I grabbed my rain coat, a large blue Nike jacket that Madre and I bought when I was thirteen hoping that I would grow into it, though considering the fact that it was a men's large, I'm not exactly sure how big we thought I was going to get. Still, it's the best thing that I have to combat such weather, since the excess fabric hangs down to the mid-thigh area, so it keeps me pretty dry. It just so happened that it was just after school had ended and one of my teachers had finished grading my final paper for her class, so I planned on getting my paper on the way there, since I generally cut through campus anyway. I opened the door, slid my keys and phone into the over-sized pockets (I hate carrying purses if I can avoid it) and went on my way.

Now, Gentle Reader, I'm sure that at one point in your life you have had a friend or acquaintance who will tend to call you at the most random of times and say the strangest of things. Well, this morning mine called me and asked me over to breakfast. It was 8:30 in the morning and I was on my way to work, so I declined. He was planning on going away for a couple of weeks, so he offered to pick me up so we could say goodbye. Little id he know that he was fulfilling one of my walking-to-work fantasies. Anyway, when I got out of the car, paper in hand, I realized that my keys were missing, and that was a problem. Apparently they had fallen out of the big pockets sometime during my walk, or possibly in the car. There was no way to be sure, and there was no time to retrace my steps, so I went into work and hoped for the best.

Now, you may think that losing a key chain is a simple matter, but they weren't just any keys, for they were on my absolute favorite key chain that I got in the Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas. It's essentially a little plush Spock (I'm a geek, I know). Anyway, I really wanted it back, and it seemed that there was no way to do so short of going back to Las Vegas in person. So I did what any good little girl would do in this sort of situation. I prayed about it.

I know God well enough to understand that He has a perfect sense of humor, which can be completely wasted when you forget that you're speaking to an actual being. So when I pray, God and I kind of have this agreement that I can shake things up a bit when the occasion permits, since praying, after all, shouldn't be a completely boring experience. So I can be fairly unorthodox at times, but as long as I stay sincere and respectful I don't cross the line. So when I was deeply concerned about the absence of my favorite key chain, I decided to be humorously frank about the matter. I asked Him if there was some kind of a miracles account that we believers could access, and if so, if I could perhaps redeem an unused miracle in order to get my keys back. The request should not worry you, Gentle Reader, because God knows that I like to ask stupid questions. Father, I prayed, I realize that this isn't a life or death matter, and I also realize that this is just a matter of personal comfort, but could I just have this small miracle, just this once? Then I assured Him that He didn't need to feel obligated and that I'd understand if my request was denied, but I had to ask, you know? It couldn't hurt.

So one day I went to check the mail and I found a curious package for HermanaMayor, curious because it had been sent by the local grocery store, and what could a grocery store possibly be sending my sister? We opened the package to find nothing other than Mr. Spock in the plush. This required nothing less than a one-of-a-kind original Cecily Happy Dance, which I dutifully performed on the spot. It was the best thing since Girl Scout cookie ice cream.

Now, I guess you could say that since my key chain happened to have a grocery store club card attached to it, and since the store has a policy that they will track down the owner any key chain with its card on it (and pay for postage), it's possible that God had nothing to do with it at all. Well, He did, and I know it. He cares about the small things, too, and it was definitely nothing short of a miracle. And if it was a person who found my keys, read the card and found the policy, and dropped it into a mail box, is that any different? The lessons that teach us that kind of behavior come from the Bible, so I suppose it's just the same. Either way, it's a miracle.

I guess I just like the fact that things that are important to us are important to God, even though they may not be important to history or even the future. He is our Heavenly Father, after all.

Regards, best wishes, and hope,

-Cecily Jane