Meteorite Miracle

It's just a silly thing made of plastic, but this is something that means a great deal to me. When I was a child, my mom used to take my brother and I outside during annual meteor showers. We lived outside of town, on an empty stretch of grassland not far from the mountains, and there was very little light interference. The stars were always so beautiful there. During the earliest meteor shower that I can recall, I was either 3 or 4, and I remember laying in one of our sleeping bags, looking up at the night sky, then praying that God would send me a star of my own. Mom said she wasn't sure He sent people stars, but nothing is impossible in the mind of a child, and I was convinced He could do it. I ignored her and asked Him anyway. The next day, mom told me to go look in the yard and this was laying there, glittering in the grass. At first I was convinced that she or my dad had put it there, because grown-ups often do things like that to kids, but they were clearly surprised by the odd coincidence and more than a little weirded out by it.

I still remember how magical my star seemed when I first saw it and that it took two hands for me to hold it comfortably. It's weird recalling the weight so clearly, because now it feels so small and light, and I also notice all the scuffs and warps in the plastic. It's obvious that it was probably part of a solar light and must have been blown out of someone else's yard or off a garbage truck during one of our hellacious winds, but I don't care. To me, it's treasure. Even though it isn't a real star (though toddler me was sure it was, just one that had been magically condensed somehow) it's still comforting because it's a uniquely tangible example of an answered prayer that I can hold in my hands.

As an adult, sometimes I'm afraid to pray, especially recently. I know God's there, but I often feel like He isn't listening, or like there's too many things I've messed up on. Or maybe like it was fine then because I was a child, but He might not have time for me anymore and I shouldn't bug Him. But then I remember that's not what God says. He tells us we can ask for anything and encourages us to do so. He also knew each of us individually before we were born, and everything that we have done or will ever do is old news to Him. Time changes nothing. God keeps no record of wrongs. No matter what, we are loved and forgiven. God listens and He cares. And to Him, I'll always be that same little girl, praying for falling stars.