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I lost one earring the first time I wore them. A gift all the way from Hawaii. I searched and prayed. I demanded, “I want my earring back” for one full week. Another week later on a very windy day, I leaned over my front steps to grab my mail. There it was! The lost earring stuck on the step. I’m sure an angel returned it to me just to show me the kindness of God.

Permission Given: in August of 1980 my brother Chuck went away to college. My heart was broken. As the youngest of 5 children I felt my siblings leave me one by one. Chuck, Jim and I had a special bond as the three youngest children. When I was a freshman in high school Chuck was a senior. We went to the same school. Jim went to a different one. High school was terrifying to me, but I quickly learned my big brother Chuck was a bit of a legend. Everyone liked him, he played all the sports AND was in the band. He was cool. I was and am proud to be his little sister. He graduated and went to college and the beginning of my Sophomore year was trying. But on my 15th birthday he called me (September 12) to wish me a happy birthday, I remember crying and crying. His girlfriend at the time (Laurie) came to the house with a gift. She explained that Chuck had picked it out for me. It was a small white stuffed dog. I slept with it continually. He is affectionately named Guy. That entire year was tumultuous. My dad suffered a massive heart attack and subsequently healed. He moved on to another life that did not include my mom an me.
Fast forward 23 years later and I am going to college on the weekends in Pennsylvania. Guy went with me every weekend. I always stayed in a hotel. One time I got home and unpacked and later realized Guy was not there. I panicked and called the hotel and asked them to check the laundry from the room I stayed in. I felt a loss and felt silly that this now much older stuffed animal was a big deal to a grown woman. I am sure they thought I was nuts. It took a few days and they called back. Miracle of all miracles, they found him!!! I cried! Guy was put in the mail and I was a wreck he would get lost. He arrived safely several days later. If he could only talk. What an adventure. I felt better, that piece of my brother that I’ve held on to so very tightly was back. From that day on, he has never traveled again. He has never left my bedroom. He is loved and tattered and has been through all my life events and holds the tears of happiness and of severe sadness. He has heard many of my prayers when I pray. He symbolizes safety, a shoulder to cry on and a link to my brother that I will hold on to forever. Guy turned 40 this September and is in retirement, but I know he is there.