A Miraculous True Story
by Ellen C. Braun
Filed under Get to know Ellen, Latest News
My husband left to New York at 4:00am this morning. About two hours from
home, halfway between Baltimore and NY, he suddenly realized that he
had left an envelope with over $1,000 cash on the top of the car!
There was no way that the envelope was still on top of the car,
obviously, as he sped down the New Jersey Turnpike, so he called me at
home. I picked up the phone.
“Ellen, this is an emergency,” I heard the panic in my husband’s tone.
“I accidentally left an envelope with over $1,000 on the roof of the
car, and I’m almost in NY, go outside and look for it right now!”
I threw a robe over my pajamas and ran outside. I searched all
through our block, looking under cars and bushes. After fifteen
minutes, I gave up and went back inside. My heart was beating
furiously. Most of that cash was earmarked for this month’s mortgage
payment! I decided to go back outside, fueled by a mad rush of adrenalin.
I walked farther away from our house, and turned the corner to the next block.
There, in the center of the road, a full block from my home was a
dirty envelope, with a few greenbacks peaking out of one corner! I
grabbed the envelope and danced home on a cloud of euphoria!
Three-and-a-half hours had passed since my husband’s drive began, and
tens of cars had driven over the envelope. The neighborhood joggers and
power-walkers had passed right by my envelope. And it was still
there, waiting for me.
Thank God!
I shared this story during a workshop tonight at the Parenting Retreat
when a presenter got cut off from the teleconference. (It served its
purpose; the audience remained on the call until the presenter got
back on the line! I also shared the story of my missing wedding band
ten years ago- it had been baked and frozen, and I found it in a bite
of my cake a week later!)
One participant, a kindly woman mother named Barbara, stated something
that gave me shivers. ”This is the Universe repaying you, Ellen.
You’re giving all these incredible workshops to us, to help us become
better parents, and the Universe is giving back to you.”
My message to you is: Thank you for being a part of
RaisingSmallSouls. May we all merit parenting emotionally healthy
children.
Check out the Parenting Retreat now to see how it can help you
meet your dreams and goals.
P.S. Here is today’s schedule.
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Awesome, Praise the Lord! Isn’t God wonderful!
Beautiful story Ellen. Quick thinking and I agree with the caller! You are creating positivity and prosperity in every way with this wonderful project. I’m so honored to be a part of it! Thanks for all you are building in this world!
<3
Laya
God is amazing and always on time!
This is a beautiful story. God is totally “in the details” and it is always good to be reminded that he cares for each small thing in our lives. Thanks!
Thank you Ellen,
Awesome story, as the Manager of a Pediatric Dept in a large Homecare agency, the advice and resources you supply to all the Moms/Dads/Child caregivers out there is invaluable.
Remember G-D does ‘handpick’ the parents for a particular child as he does handpick that particular child for that set of parents…….and make ‘no mistake about it’ G-D does not make mistakes!!! Keep that ‘parenting power’ growing!!!!!
Obviously you have never been a school teacher. There is a saying; “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”. Another version that describes some parent/child relation is “The turd doesn’t fall far from the bird”.
I had a student that was born in prison. Her mother was there for killing the girls dad. Her grandparents raised her. Her grandpa had died earlier that summer. A lady at her church had told her to stop taking her ADD meds because only bad kids take those meds. She could not sit in her chair for more than 30 seconds before getting up.
Make no mistake, there are many parents that bring their children down and do a great disservice to their children. Many parents abandon their children on a daily basis. They are called in for a meeting to try to help change the child’s behavior fo keeping their hands to themselves. In the meeting in front of the principal and me they say they are going to Beat thier F*in A** when they get home. Hence the root of the problem is exposed to us. In you world I guess you do not see these things.
Tom: I’ve been a school teacher and the sayings you are quoting are very toxic. They are the kind of staff room talk that lowers teacher morale and is detrimental to education. Such negative views have no place in the school where teachers have to believe that each child can succeed regardless of her/his home life or circumstances. What do teachers make? A difference!
Amazing. Truly amazing. Barbara was right… think about how many people you have inspired to be a better parent, live a better life or just think about change. I am blessed to have crossed paths with you Ellen!
Here’s to a super awesome day!
How long are the seminars??
one hour each- all info is here: http://parentingretreat.com
Ellen, I imagine you being calm, cool and collected during that little glitch. Wow! Those are some stories:-)I have to say that I do agree that G-d has watched over you and that it must be in return for the way in which you strive to help others! May all your stories be great ones!!!!!
I’m still in awe that this story actually happened. I will never forget the shaking I felt as I was searching around the block. I saw one neighbor staring at me, and wanted to enlist her help, but I could not find my words- I felt frozen.
I saved the dirty, creased envelope as a reminder for the future.
Thank you for all your comments; they mean a lot.
I actually sent this story to my editor, and she told me (for a change!) that my grammar was fine, but that she did not understand why I would want to post the story on a parenting site! Thus, I’m doubly glad that you understand and appreciate the inspiration of this miracle- which will ultimately help us to be better parents!!!
Praise the Lord! I not only love Jesus, I also “love” how He is with us” God bless yo for organizing this. I am listening in as much as I can.
what a story! it’s so nice to have an uplifting story and to remember it so that when things don’t always work out, we can try to remember that sometimes when we ask and pray for something, sometimes God says yes, and sometimes God says, no, my child, this is not what’s best for you in the master plan.
Awesome! I’m very happy for you!
But, God huh?
I guess last year when my wife had her purse stolen out of her car, and all of the subsequent headaches that came from that was God punishing her.
We should try to be better persons I guess….
Who knows?? Maybe God decided to take her purse instead of her health… We can do nothing but guess God’s intentions….
Life is full of both troubles and happiness; it’s lovely to point out the wonder of life and celebrate the miracles!
Anon, sometimes God sends us little messages to reconnect with him; we often get complacent with life, even when we live a fully spiritual/religious experience. Sometimes He sends us messages that come in a whisper and if we don’t hear, it turns into a shout. if we only remember to reconnect and appreciate what we have when things are good…and not wait till we’re in pain, and we remember to turn and cry to Him.
Awesome testimony
I wouldn’t say its the Universe giving back to you. I would say definitely its the Lord, and His angels were protecting those precious items of yours (money/ ring…) so that you will be able to give Him all the glory one day. Like what you did during your Parent’s Retreat. Thank God for His Protection and guidance upon your life. God Bless U!
Boy were you lucky!
I have to wonder – why on earth would you have so much cash in an envelope in the first place?
my husband’s tenants sometimes pay their rent in cash!
Dear Ellen, Yours is a moving story and there is no doubt that God had a hand in it. I agree with Ellen Tan. Last Saturday we were going on an outing to a farm. I packed everything I needed in a bag, my sketch-book, my camera, sunscreen, tissues, hat etc. The rest of the family did their preparations and soon we were all in the car. Then my son, who was driving, said,”Where’s my wallet?” We all searched high and low, but it was nowhere to be found. Finally he phoned the bank and canceled all his cards. He decided he must have dropped it as he left the bait shop he had just visited. We were sad, but at least the cards would be safe. I prayed that the wallet would be found.
On Monday I wanted to get something from my bag, so turned it out on my bed. As I re-packed it I suddenly found I was holding the wallet! It had been in my bag all the time. I then realized that I must have accidentally picked it up instead of my camera which was lying right next to it on the kitchen counter. They are almost exactly the same size and color.
While we were searching I noticed my camera still lying on the counter, and picked it up, annoyed with myself, thinking, ” I’m certain I put that in my bag earlier!” but I never thought to check what it was I had actually put in. Just thought I was getting old! Over the weekend I prayed that somehow the situation could be reversed. WHEN I FOUND THE WALLET IT WAS NOT MUCH HELP, BECAUSE NOW ALL THE CARDS ETC HAD BEEN BLOCKED. MY DAUGHTER-IN-LAW PHONED THE BANK, AMAZINGLY, BECAUSE IT WAS OVER THE WEEKEND, THE CARDS HAD ONLY BEEN HELD, AND THEY COULD JUST BE RESTORED TO MY SON FOR USE.
Panic over! What a relief, and all praise to Jesus!
May I share a similar miracle? Several years ago as we were heading on vacation, my husband stopped at the bank and then stopped at Weis Markets to pick up a few items. As he was paying for his items, $500 for our vacation fell out of his pocket. He was very upset when he got home and realized this money was missing. He backtracked and realized it must have fallen out at the store. He was upset with himself, but I reminded him of the honest people in our world. I called Weis, and yes, the money was there at customer service. The kind person who returned it never gave their name. When our sons were little, they found a $20 bill in the same store and immediately said, “We must turn this in because someone is probably looking for it.” Great blessings come with honesty and integrity. Thank you for sharing your story.
Thanks for sharing, Kathy. I’m grateful to you for pointing out that there are many honest, kind people out there!
Unbelievable story…only a miracle can explain this, and good thing, Ellen for persisting.
A miracle? God? Come on people.
Think of the millions of things that go missing every day by the billions of people on this planet. If even 0.0001% of those lost things are recovered that would be thousands of ‘miracles’. Of course you’re all going to remember the times when you recovered something, but think about all the times you did not. Was it because God decided that you shouldn’t have it?
I found a wallet at an airport a few years ago. God didn’t direct me to hand it in, it wasn’t a Christian thing to do, it was the RIGHT thing to do by somebody who has morals. I hope the recipient didn’t call it a miracle. My wife lost a 1 carat diamond earring once, and after an hour’s frantic searching, found it on the steps of a bar where we had gone to lunch earlier. I estimated a hundred people must have walked by it. God? No, luck.
This is a wonderful site about parenting, Ellen. You have some fantastic insights, but I credited you with more intelligence than thinking that God decided nobody should see the envelope and decide to open it. It’s luck, nothing more!
Keep up the good parenting advice – I’ll be continuing my subscription.
Hi David,
I appreciate your insights. It’s nice to have a place to learn about various perspectives. And I do intend to stick to parenting, not miraculous stories, here:)
Wow! This story can be used as a teachable moment for my fifth graders as well as for my son! “What would you do if you found an envelope or wallet with money in it? What is the ethical and honorable thing to do?” Thank you for sharing this story! Miracles do happen everyday!!!