The Christmas Miracle

It's been a while since I've written, but things have been busy, kids have been sick. But tonight I have the pleasure of speaking to the Seacoast Christian Writers' Group at Barnes and Noble. It's the same group that I joined soon after beginning writing The Spirit of Sweetgrass, when I finally took the next step of faith to share my work with other human beings. Little did I know the power of a group of like-minded people who share my faith and a passion for expression through the written word. This lovely group of folks not only became my sounding board for new chapters every month, but they became my friends. They encouraged me, believed in me, prayed for me and cheered with me when my book sold. And now I get to share my experiences of this last year's publishing journey with them in hopes that my words may provide direction and encouragement when they need it most. It's quite an honor.

I believe it is partly through prayer--mine, my family's and my writers' group's--that The Spirit of Sweetgrass will be released in February. My debut novel is about the sheer Power of prayer. And my faith in the power of prayer was strengthened just this morning, which is why I decided to write again.

You see, I spoke with my mother-in-law last night, a very tearful (and this is highly unusual for her) mother-in-law who told me about her cat, Socks, getting out of the house. They'd just moved to a new place a few weeks ago and have been vigilant not to let the cats out for fear of them getting lost in new surroundings. As of 9:00 last night, Socks the Cat had been missing for nearly 36 hours. Judy had made phone calls, driven around calling his name, made fliers, the works, to no avail. I told her I'd be praying for Socks to come home, and I knew she was praying as well. I said, "I just bet he'll come home soon and be our Christmas Miracle." I said it, hoping it was true.

So this morning, my mother-in-law called me and I screamed in her ear when she told me the story of Socks' wonderful homecoming. Apparently a little more than an hour after we hung up the phone last night, Socks' brother, Shadow, was staring intently out the window, then jumped down and ran to the door that leads to the garage and meowed. Judy followed his lead, opened the garage door, and in walked Socks! He was fine, just a little hungry and tired, and is sleeping at this very moment in between kisses from Judy and Shadow. It's a happy ending that just reinforces my belief in the power of prayer. And my prayer is that Socks the Cat's story might remind readers to continue to pray in faith this Christmas season and throughout the year. It really works.

God bless.