By Sandra Mann
Have you ever had a time in your life were you thought if one more thing went wrong you would not be able to handle it?
That was how I felt when I lost my wedding ring outside in the yard. It was the summer of 1993 and it had been the most trying time of my life. On the day I lost my ring this is what I was dealing with: my husband was a full-time student going into his senior year of college and working a minimum wage job; both of our cars were broken and would not run; our six week old baby had severe reflux and had to be watched closely so he wouldn’t aspirate while he slept; and hardest of all, our two year old son had died eight weeks earlier in an accident. I was at rock bottom emotionally on that day and didn’t know how to move on.
Two days of searching with our neighbors’ help produced no ring. It had been a gift from my mother-in-law and she wanted us to pass it on to one of our children. Though it wasn’t fancy, it was to become an heirloom and I had lost it. All I had done was gone outside to help my neighbor untangle a garden hose that her children had played with.
I had just put lotion on my hands after doing dishes and saw out my window that she needed help. About fifteen minutes later I noticed that my ring was gone. It had to be by where we had straightened out the hose. But it wasn’t. We looked on hands and knees with a flashlight. We borrowed a metal detector and found old washers, pennies and things like that. We literally ran our hands over the ground inch by inch to find it. Nothing; it was gone.
Finally, I lost it. In a storm of tears I cried out how unfair this was. Weren’t we going though enough? Hadn’t we tried to be good? Weren’t our efforts to stay positive and happy a big enough trial without one more thing to deal with? All I wanted was peace; all I wanted was to be happy.
My husband held me to him there in the yard and listened to my frustrations and pain. I was not in vibration with finding my ring at this moment. I didn’t even know about “being in vibration with things” and how we can “tune in” to solutions to our problems. All I knew was that I couldn’t go on any longer like this. I gave up.
My husband gently led me over to a quiet corner of the yard and took my hands in his. He said that he didn’t know where my ring was but that God did. He knelt me down and started to pray. It was a simple prayer of gratitude for the help we had been given over that past two months, of our current dilemma and of our need for His help. Somehow, my heart melted in that minute and I calmed down.
My husband stood up, said we should keep looking and that everything would be OK.
Not five minutes later our neighbor came running up to us with my ring shouting “I found it, I found it!” He led us to where it had been and we were all amazed. It had been in the middle of a one-foot-round dirt patch surrounded by grass. Everyone had looked there because it was the only bare spot in that part of the yard. I had personally run my hand over that area. We again prayed and gave heartfelt thanks.
After this I became in greater harmony with God’s will for me. I again started to see all the miracles in my life and how blessed I was. He wanted me to be happy. We must have opposition to gain strength but we don’t have to be miserable the whole time we’re facing it. Also, we never face it alone. I needed to lose my ring–this one more thing–in order to regain my perspective and feel the vibrations of a higher law and love.
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One Response
Wonderful story. It shows the incredible power, love, and understanding of God. Coming to the realization “He wants me to be happy” when life is weighing you down is awesome awareness.