“I can’t believe it!” I heard a young woman exclaim as she grabbed the glass Christmas tree sitting on the shelf. “This is exactly like the one I broke that belonged to Grandma!”
I stood in the aisle at our local Goodwill store on New Year’s Day. I had watched her reach down to pick up the glass Christmas tree. She turned to her young son and showed him the tree. Then she picked it up and cradled it in her arms like it was a long-lost treasure.
Her joy captured my attention so I smiled at her. “Well, this is God’s gift to you!”
Her cheeks flushed red. “Yes! I believe it is. I’m sorry I’m so sentimental about this.”
“No, I understand. Of course, you are sentimental and it’s okay. This must be special to you.”
“Yes, we had a glass Christmas tree that belonged to my grandma. I accidentally threw the box of Christmas things with the tree in it and it broke.” She motioned with her hands.
“The tree was one of his favorites too.” She motioned to the boy sitting in the basket.
“She cried,” he piped up.
“Yes, I did, and he did too. We both cried.”
She grabbed the tree and held it close in her arms again.
As I shared this moment of delight with her, I reflected.
“I think this is a beautiful story of how God restores. Even when we’re not careful with something important to us, He restores.”
She nodded, “Yes, I’m visiting in-laws, and I came up to see what they have here. Now I found this Christmas tree!
I smiled. “This is such a gift to you! What are the chances you would happen to be here today and find this? 
God knew and orchestrated this to restore to you what you lost. This speaks to me too because I need some things restored to me. I encourage you to write this story down so your son and others can be encouraged by this.”
As I reflected on this, I thought about how tender God’s heart is. He cares about these little sentimental things. He knows those things are important to us. He wants to restore those things we treasure.
The other message to me is that we can trust God to restore. Have you lost little or big things that you treasure? Let God orchestrate restoration. He knows what is special to you. He will surprise you! Kristy had the desire to go visit Goodwill that day. Little did she know the treasure God had in store for her.
I am writing the story because I want to preserve this little miracle and encourage you with it. Life is full of losses. This is why we need to write our stories to remind and encourage ourselves, our families and each other. God has unexpected ways to restore to you. Trust Him. He cares for you and wants to satisfy the desires of your heart!
Would you like to learn how to write your stories to preserve special memories like this?
Check out my books at: sharonrosegibson.com/books
For more tips and encouragement, put your best email in the box to the left and we will be glad to share more special stories.