Finding A Miracle

   Sarah and Matthew have made plans to take a trip to Denver over the winter break. Christmas was soon to be here and they had family in Colorado that they were desperately missing. They planned to take their 4 children along with them on their long trip. 

Sarah yells," Kids, it's time for breakfast! " She could hear the two girls fighting over the bathroom mirror and the two boys were already flying down the stairs.They all rush to the dinner table with excitement. Pancakes were one of their favorite things to eat for breakfast. So much that Atlanta and Carly quit fighting. All the children were pleasantly waiting for their breakfast plates. They all sit down at the dinner table for a family breakfast. They lived in Corpus Christi Texas and it never snows. Carly doesn't even remember ever seeing snow. So she was pretty excited about that. The family finishes up their morning breakfast and Sara begins clearing the table. 

She explains to the children, that they need to pick out cloths for 2 weeks. She told them each where to place them once they picked out the clothes, All the children began doing exactly what their mother asked of them. Sarah had The children already settled in there beds for the evening. Sarah and Matthew sat outside on the patio by the fire pit. Sarah sat and stared at the blazing fire and her mind went to her own world. She began thinking about the Trip they were about to take. She was so eager to see her parents. She hadn't seen her parents in about 4 years. It's been a struggle for her. She only wished her sister Tory and her family could be there. She missed them dearly.

Tory and her Husband, Jason and their children had went on a vacation to Mexico 2 years ago. They were supposed to be gone for a month. But 2 months went by and no word from them. And to this day there have been no leads, no word, no sound, not even a phone call. Nobody knew what happened. 

Matthew sees how deep in thought Sarah seemed to be. He says with an assuring tone, " Sarah, are you okay? Can you hear me sweaty? " Sarah doesn't respond to him. So this time, Matthew gives Sarah a light shake and a little bit firmer tone, he says, " Hey, Sarah, are you Okay, babe? " Sarah comes out of her daze. And replies, " yes, Matthew, I'm okay. Thank you. " She says, " I'm just thinking about our trip. But most of all , how I wish Tory and Jason and the kids could be there too.”. Sarah looks down at the patio floor with tears in her eyes and with a slightly ridged voice from trying not to cry, she says, " You know, 

,When Tory and the family were first gone, I figured they just decided to stay longer. I thought that soon after, they'd all return home and we’d all see them again. I know it's been 2 years but something inside me is screaming that their still alive. I keep getting this feeling that they are just lost, or being held somewhere. I know it could be just my false hope but I really don't think it is. I keep dreaming about someone calling me and saying they had found them and they would return to us soon." A tear rolls down her cheek.

The following morning Sarah woke bright and early to prepare the final things for their trip. The following day was the day they leave out. She had to finish the grocery shopping for the trip. As well as pack up the car with their luggage They had plans to barbecue for dinner today. 

   Sarah heads off to the grocery store before the kids awake for the morning. She wanted to be home and done with the shopping by the time the kids were waking, so she could feed them and prepare the rest of the stuff for the trip. She hurried but made sure everything on her list was bought. 

  She hears Bryson and Tyler moving around upstairs. But wasn’t sure if the girls were up yet. She decides that this morning was a cereal day. The following morning, they would be heading out to Colorado.

    Sarah hears all the children’s feet pattering across the upstairs floor, above her. As well as hear the girls chatting about all the things they wanted to take with them when we leave. She could hear Carly, chatting away about getting to see snow, how she was excited to see how beautiful snow was, how she was going to go sledding and build some men. Sarah listens to the cute conversation. Carly says to Atlanta, “ Are you going to help me build a snowman or are you building your own snowman? I may need your help though because I don’t know how to make one. Because I’ve never made one before? “ Atlanta let’s out a light giggle and replies, “ Yes, Carly, I’ll help you build a snowman and show you how to make a snowman. So that way one day you’ll be able to build your very own snowman.” Carly says with Excitement, “ Yeah that would be cool ! “ 

    She says loudly, “ Kids, you need to come eat breakfast, so we can all start our day and get things done. It’s cereal this morning.!” You could hear each one of them run towards the stairs to rush down the stairs. Except for Atlanta. She moved slowly as she pattered her fingers across her phone screen, texting someone or scrolling through social media. They get fed and sent back upstairs to help pack. If they weren’t going to help then they were asked to stay in their rooms and out of the way. Of course, most the children chose to be out of the way and stay in their rooms. Except for Atlanta. She has always been a great helper. She’d offer help sometimes without even being asked. 

    Sarah says , “ Atlanta, thank you for your help. This will help me to get done quicker and I greatly appreciate it. I will give you some allowance for offering to help. I don’t know how much money, right now, but I will give you something.” Atlanta replies very politely, “ Your welcome, mom and thank you as well.” Sarah gives her daughter a smile and a slight nod. To show her thanks once again but silently. Sarah has Atlanta take 2 luggage bags.  

So she can pack the stuff that her and Carly had chose for the trip. Sarah just told her when she was done to take the luggage downstairs and sit it by the front door. And to come back to see if there’s anything else she’d need help with. So Atlanta gathers up the bags and head out her parents bedroom.

   Sarah began with the boys luggage. Then worked toward Matthew’s and her own luggage. She made sure all the first aid and bathing items were packed as well. Atlanta comes back I the middle of collecting the bathing items. And Sarah sends her downstairs to straighten up the kitchen and living room area. Sarah heads downstairs right behind Atlanta. She still needed to pack up all the groceries she’d bought for the trip. She had a cooler with ice to out drinks and cold food items in and a picnic bag for the dry food they’d be taking. It took about 45 minutes to pack up the groceries. Atlanta had done finished her tasks and was now sitting in the family room playing on her phone and giggling about something. The packing up the stuff was finally complete. The hard part was going to be putting it into the hatchback of their van. 

    Sarah looks at the stack of luggage and bags by the front door and sighs. She yells up the stairs to Tyler, “ Come help me load the car Tyler. The perfect job for a strong young man as you. “ Tyler comes running down the stairs but not without grumbling about having to help. Sarah just laughs and says to Tyler, “ Help me grab all the stuff sitting by this front door and get it out by our van. Then once we get it all out by the van, I’ll need you to help me pack the van up but in an orderly manner. And if you can do this without complaining, I’ll give you an allowance for your help and go not complaining about it. Does this sound good to you? “ Tyler agrees and starts grabbing stuff and heading out the front door towards the van. With the both of them taking everything out and packing the van, it only took them a total of 1.5 hours to complete. She grabs up $30 for Atlanta and $20 for Tyler. She heads downstairs and tells the two of them to follow her to the family room. Sarah says, “ I have your guys cash I promised you. I don’t want to hear complaining about who got more or why they didn’t get more then they were given. What I give you, is what I give you, Do you both understand this and agree to the terms.?” Both of them agreed to their mothers terms to receiving the money. Sarah looks at Atlanta and says, Atlanta, I have $30 here for you and Tyler I have $20 for you “ Tyler and Atlanta grabs up their money and the both head towards the living room area. 

   They had invited a couple friends over for their dinner as well. Their plan was to cook some burgers & hotdogs and serve up some potatoes salad, mashed potatoes, a veggie and some barbecue beans. Shauna and Timothy were both taking turns checking on the house a few times a day. Making sure everything is in order and no ones breaking into the home. 

   Once dressed, Sarah headed down the stairs and towards the back door, which led to the outside patio. Matthew was already beginning to start up the barbecue grill so it could preheat before beginning to cook. Sarah had already prepared the patties for the hamburgers, earlier in the day. And the potato salad, barbecue beans and veggies were chilling in the refrigerator. So that way everything else would be done. 

    Sarah hears the doorbell, and goes to let Shauna and Timothy into the house. As she leads them to the back patio, she thanks them for coming and thanks them for offering to house sit. They all gather round the patio table and sit down to chat, while Matthew begins cooking up the burgers and hotdogs. Sarah realizes that Matthew is about done cooking the food on the grill, so she heads inside to gather up the side dishes and the drinks for the dinner. She takes the items outside and placed them in the center of the patio table. Then headed back inside to let the children know that dinner was about to be served. She hollers to the children to get out back so we can be ready to serve dinner. Then heads back to the patio and returns to her seat and continued her chatting with Shauna and Timothy. 

    As Matthew placed the food onto the patio table, Shauna says, “ I can’t wait to eat, I’m starving. “ and then adds with a smile, “ thank you both again for inviting us and for trusting us with taking care of your home while you’ll be out.” Matthew responds with a smile, “ You Both are very welcome and we thank you both for the helping hand. You both are very close friends of ours. You’re pretty much family. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with this job. We are glad you both were able to take turns checking up on the house while we are gone. It keeps us from having to worry if the house was ok.” 

    The morning came quickly after lying down for the night. Sarah rose to press the button on the alarm clock. She wakes everyone up and the get ready to leave. Everyone are breakfast and then loaded up in the car for their long adventure. 

   The trip would take a total of 10 hours to drive. Sarah and Matthew agreed that halfway through driving, they’d switch places. Which they done. The ride there glee by quicker than expected.

They pull up in front of Sarah’s parents place. They all pile out quickly to stretch their legs. Bryson and Carly were already running to the door. They ring the doorbell and wait. Sarah’s mother answers the door with a smile. And rushes everyone into the house. The all say hi and give hugs and kisses. Then the kids were off to play upstairs. Carly already wanted to play in the snow. 

    Sarah’s mom updates her on her missing sister and family. Her mom tells her they say they may actually have leads on them. They think their being held captive in a basement somewhere Mexico. The Mexican police were helping with the case. We have to stand by for the final phone call. This was good new, her sister and family may be alive and possibly be returned home. They’d been missing 2 years. 

    About five days had passed. Christmas was only 3 days away. The kids were excited. Carly was loving playing in the snow. They were eating lunch when they hear the door bell ring. Sarah goes to answer it and there stood s middle aged man in a professional suit and s file book. He asks for Martha. Sarah yells for her mother. He identities himself to them as an investigator for the us government. He tells them that he’s sure they have rescued and found Tory, and her family. They were currently at a hospital in California receiving care for injuries but as soon as they were released, they would provide transportation for there safe return to your home. They couldn’t believe what they were hearing. It was almost, to good to be true but it was happening and this made them both begin to cry. Not tears of sadness but tears of absolute joy. It had been 2 years since Martha had seen her family and 4 years since Sarah had seen them. This would be a great family reunion. The officer told them he’d be in touch with them shortly about the plans for the reuniting of the family. He tells them to Please keep a phone near by. 

    The following afternoon they receive the call they’d been waiting for. An officer calls to tell us that Tory and her family are going to be released in about an hour from the California hospital and once they were, they would pile the family into a suv patrol car and get them on their way back . They informed us it would be about a 6-8 hour trip. Hanging up that phone brought Sarah relief and clarity. The weight on her chest felt like it was lightening up. The family was excited for the return of Tory and the family. Sarah dreamed this day and felt it would come but wasn’t quite it would actually come. Such a miracle. 

    9 hours seemed like an eternity to the family. They waited eagerly. Then suddenly they hear a vehicle come to a stop, in front of the house. Sarah hurried to peek out the window. It was a unmarked vehicle. It had to be them. She couldn’t stand the suspense. She flings the door open and steps out onto the porch. The car doors open and I steps Tory and her husband Jason. Then both their children followed after them. Sarah ran toward Tory, crying, historically. And grabs her in her arms and hugs her. And says, “ I can’t believe you’re actually here. I kept having a dream telling me you were alive but was lost or unable to be found. I guess my dreams were right, you’re still alive. Tory, I love you and I’ve missed you dearly.” Sarah goes and hugs the rest of the family as well. Their mother comes up and takes her daughter and grandchildren into her arms, with tears rolling down her cheeks. She says to them, “ Today came a miracle and that miracle is you.” 

    The family gather into the family room of the house. They all wanted to ask them questions but felt it wasn’t the time. They needed time to not think about it. So they left all there questions for another day. They were so happy to have their whole family back together for Christmas. There was only 2 days until Christmas and it would finally feel like Christmas with her daughters here to spend it with. They had plans for a large gathering (even before the finding the family) Everyone is going to be so happy and surprised to have Your back. No one ever imagined this day to come. Most had lost hope. But a miracle happened and sent her and the rest of the family back home.

    As the days pass and Christmas day comes upon everyone, Sarah is still trying to make reality out of the event. The kids had opened gifts and family began slowly showing up for Christmas get together. Everyone cried when they discovered Tory and her family were safely home. Everyone called it a miracle reuniting they never saw coming. 

   The entire family united together on this Christmas day. Even ones they hadn’t seen in 2 years and never expected to see them ever again. Life became perfect on this day. Life became tolerable. And Life became, once again, Worth living.