“The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.”   Psalm 29:11

There have been two times in my life where I believe God has sent my family and I precious gifts to help us get through hard times. The first gift was given to us on May 15, 2019. The day we got my dog Yeli named after Brewers player, Christian Yelich. I didn’t know the deeper significance of Yeli at the time, but 6 days later my grandpa Wayne passed away and things got tough for my family. However, our sweet puppy Yeli brought comfort to us all during this time. There is more of a connection between Yeli and my grandpa though that led us to believe that he was a gift straight from God. It started off by Yeli falling right into our lap. We later found out that my grandpa had a dog many years ago that looked exactly like Yeli named Mike. Although Yeli never got to meet my grandpa Wayne or his dog Mike, whenever we say their names Yeli will tilt his head and whine and look around my house for them. Yeli was sent to us as a reminder from God that he is here for us through Yeli for the difficult moments in our lives.

The second time was with my youngest cousin. He was born in the midst of a difficult situation. However, he has only brought light and hope into my family and I believe he came to us directly from God to keep my family strong and help us continue to fight. Although he is only 8, my cousin has impacted the lives of all my family members in different ways and we are all extremely grateful for him. He has helped motivate us and helped us grow even though he doesn’t know it. For me personally, I have always felt especially close to my cousin due to how much of God and hope I can see in him. He pushes me to work hard in school and for my future. He inspires me to be a great role model for him with hopes that he can have a successful future. Yeli and my cousin have both brought so much more joy into our family that we didn’t even know was possible, and I thank God for them both everyday.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for sending us reminders when we need them the most. It is comforting to know that You are with us each and every day and through all of the ups and downs that might come our way. Please continue to guide us along this crazy journey of life. Amen.