There’s nothing quite like reading a story and really identifying with the narrator, finding facets of your own journey reflected back at you. Not only do you get the chance to see how someone else handles challenges similar to the ones you face. You also get that much-needed reminder that you’re not alone in this world, even during hard times.
We’ve written before about how Mysterious Ways can make a difference in our readers’ lives. We sift through hundreds of ideas and submissions before finally settling on the exact contents of each issue, and time after time we receive letters from readers telling us how a story we’ve published reached them just when they needed it.
Like Donna M. Grass of Broomfield, Colorado. She could hardly believe it when she read “One Last Gift” in our February/March issue. It’s the story of Beverly Waters, who received a piece of “junk mail” that turned out to be a gift from her late husband. Donna could relate all too well:
“As I read Beverly’s story, I smiled. Memories came flooding back. Two and a half months after my husband Robert’s death, the military honor guard and a host of friends helped celebrate Robert’s life with the burial of his ashes and a luncheon. That night I sat alone at home, sadly going through the sympathy cards and other mail which had arrived that day.
“I received one loving card from friends along with a $100 bill. They instructed me to use the money for something I could use while memorializing Robert.
“I reached the end of my condolence messages, and my heart almost stopped when I noticed a piece of mail–normally classified as ‘junk’–from the Danbury Mint. It had been mixed in with the other cards. ‘Robert, tell Donna that she means the world to you,’ the card read. There was an offer for a sterling silver heart pendant, emblazoned with a dozen red rubies and tiny diamonds, along with an inscription on the back: ‘Donna, I loved you then, I love you still, I always have, I always will. Robert.’”
Donna knew exactly what to do with the money her friends had just sent. The cost of the pendant? $99.
Shirley J. Storey of Rogue River, Oregon, wrote in to say how much she could identify with Loraine Standish, whose story “The Smile Sent from Heaven” was in our October/November 2014 issue. Like Loraine, Shirley’s beloved daughter suffered from lifelong alcoholism:
“My daughter Michele also had a beautiful smile. When she was in her 20s, she got hooked on alcohol. After several years of alcohol abuse, she quit drinking. She became completely devoted to the Bible and even attended church with me and my second husband, Mark.
“Eight years later, though, the alcohol got hold of her again, and for the next few years we didn’t know where she was or what she was doing. We prayed for her constantly. I feared receiving a phone call out of the blue or a knock at the door, letting me know she had died.
“Michele did get clean one more time, but not for long. She resumed drinking, and this time there was no coming back. One night, I finally got that dreaded phone call: Michele was gone. She was only 40 years old.
“The Sunday after her death we were in church. During worship I remembered her being beside me, praising the Lord. The Lord immediately gave me a vision: Michele standing before him, her eyes open, her hands raised, praising him. I thank and praise him so much for that final vision, recognizing that she finally reached her place of healing–in heaven.”
Has one of our articles ever touched you in a personal way? Send us a letter! We’d love to hear your story.
