Magical Mondays

Many years ago, on an old blog of mine, I had a feature I called “Magical Mondays”.

This was about all the things that happen in our lives that seem almost miraculous, or could even be called miraculous. Amazing coincidences, answered prayers, help just in time, spontaneous healing – you name it. Lately, I’ve felt the need to revisit the hope and wonder those experiences bring, whether they are small moments, or life-changing events. I hope you will join me in sharing the joy. 🙂

Here is just a small moment–republished from my first blog–but it gave me hope at the time and it still does.

The Power of Prayer

Since coming up with the idea for “Magical Mondays”, I’ve had to work hard at figuring out where to start. There are so many things that I can think of to write about here, and one idea leads to another, many wonderful events are connected in a beautiful chain, so that I’ve been reeling trying to decide where to begin. Since this is the first one out of the gate, I decided to go with something simple.

From the time I was very young (around 3), I had a spiritual inclination that none of my family shared. I’m not even sure where or how it started, but it was there. Somehow, I learned about prayer and began doing it on my own very early on and now, several decades years later, I can honestly say that I’ve never had a prayer go unanswered–large or small–even when the prayer wasn’t formal, or even when I didn’t know to what or whom I was praying.

As I’m typing, I’m flooded with images, big and small, of all the prayers that have been answered and am wondering which ones would be the best to write about. I’ve had major prayers answered, but I think my favorite, though, was a just a small one. It always touches me to remember it.

Several years ago, I lived next door to an elementary school. One day, I looked out the window and saw a little boy who looked to be about six or seven years old, standing far away from all the other children on the playground. He walked around by himself looking so sad, just watching while the other children played together. He was not well dressed, very overweight for his age, and not a conventionally attractive child. Knowing how kids can be, it was easy to see he might have a hard time in school. My heart broke for him. I watched for several minutes and not a soul spoke to him. Eventually, he walked away from the groups until he was at the side of the building, where he picked up a stick and started hitting it against the wall.

I kept hoping someone would notice him but they didn’t, so I said a fervent prayer that someone would come and play with that him–give him just a few moments of happiness because he looked so sad. I heard the laundry buzzer go off and had to leave my spot at the window for a few minutes. When I came back, I looked out again to check on him. He was now joined by another little boy and they were playing and laughing, and the look on his face was one of pure joy, as if he’d been given a wonderful gift.

It could be that it was his prayer that was answered that day. It could be that the second little boy was simply a good-hearted soul (and I believe both those are true), but my prayer was also answered, and I’m still grateful that I saw a minor miracle take place: a spontaneous act of kindness.

#magicalmondays, #hope, #love, #kindness