This June our lives were forever changed. My husband was home sick with our 2-year-old and I had brought our garbage to the dump in town for our weekly trash run. As is Drga tradition, I looked around in the dumpster to make sure there weren’t any obvious treasures that were easy to reach. That was when I found it: a pink Barbie Power Wheels car with purple accents. (We are talking about a little motorized vehicle for kids).
“I bet my husband can fix this”, I thought to myself (I am married to a very handy man). That was that. I loaded it in my car and brought my husband the project. “All it needs a new battery” he said. We ordered it online and he made a connector. We presented it to our 2- and 4-year-old boys and they rolled it within the first half hour. (Lessons were learned about driving up steep hills and they haven’t rolled in since.)
Almost every night, my boys pray and thank God for the Barbie Car. A few months ago, my 4-year-old started to ask, “Mom, could you buy us a ‘Barbie Dump Truck’?” After explaining that the reason we have the Barbie car is because it was in the dump, it shifted to “Mom, if you see a ‘Barbie Fire Truck’ at the dump, could you get it?” I explained that the likelihood of finding another “Barbie Car” at the dump was pretty small but they still brought it up about once a week. At a certain point, it morphed in to a bedtime prayer. “Thank you for the Barbie Car and please let there be another Barbie Car at the dump”.
Then it happened. October 20th, we had just drop off my husband who was helping to cook pancakes for the pastor appreciation breakfast and I headed to the dump with the boys. As I pulled up, my mother-in-law and father-in-law were looking in to a dumpster. There it was, a motorized blue jeep. My father-in-law climbed in and hauled it out and loaded it in the suburban. My husband fixed it and now there are 2 vehicles when kids come to play. I couldn’t believe it. What are the chances?
A few months later we had another run in with miracles at the dump. My great-uncle was an amazing guy. What was even more amazing was how much my husband and him hit it off immediately. Uncle Willy was raised in a granite pit in Central Point, Oregon. He fills so many of my fond memories of visiting family. He was the energetic great-uncle who never wed and never had kids. When he met my husband, it was kismet. When our oldest was 6 months old, we went to visit. Uncle Willy had found a Red Rider Tricycle at a yard sale and got it for our son to grow in to. Uncle Willy passed away right after we had our second boy. Years later, our now 4-year-old is riding a “big boy bike” and our 2-year-old is just the right size for the Red Rider Trike. When our 4-year-old was being helpful, getting the trike out of the back of the side-by-side for his little brother, he ended up dropping the trike off the back, breaking one of the plastic wheels. Not having time to deal with that at the time, we did not have a solution. The trike that normally was taken everywhere sat sadly to the side.
Once again, miracle at the dump. The next weekend, my father-in-law fished out the exact same model tricycle with broken pedals. My husband used it to replace the wheel on the trike from Uncle Willy, keeping my 2-year-old pedaling along and the fond memory of Uncle Willy alive.
Why do I tell you these stories? Because it is the season to look back and remember this year and all of the blessing we have received. Because if God cares enough to provide for my kids’ toys, I bet He cares for what is going on in your life. Watch for the miracles around you this holiday season.
