Miracle on 34th Street, for Real

I’d like to welcome Caroline Powers as a guest contributor for the month of December. Her Christmas story is true, a real miracle on 34th Street in Manhattan!

Miracle on 34th Street, for Real, by Caroline Powers

Our family excitement mounted as my husband, Dan, and our two children parked in the loading zone of our hotel at Thirty-fourth Street and Lexington in Manhattan. It was December 23, 2010, and controlled chaos reigned as dozens of parties filled the lobby to check in. In the madness, we unloaded our luggage, gifts, and a cooler of breakfast makings.

For three days, we walked back and forth to the nearby subway and enjoyed the touristy holiday sights. I cooked our favorite dishes on Christmas morning, and we opened presents—a wonderful blend of adventure and family tradition.

During our comings and goings, Dan had kept his eye on weather reports. A winter storm was developing in the south, and its arrival could affect our drive home. On the morning of December 26, the forecast looked so bad we decided to leave a day early. Dan went downstairs to request they bring our car up from the garage.

He returned with bad news. The hotel had no record of parking our car. They had no keys and a walk-through of the garage revealed no sign of it. Thinking back on the crazy atmosphere at check-in, Dan realized he hadn’t given the keys to the valet or asked anyone to park the car. We faced two scenarios. Our car had been stolen or towed.

“Pray,” Dan said, and left to make a dreaded call to the police.

We knew God hears our prayers, but this was a major test. Where did towed cars go in New York and how much did it cost to retrieve them? Could we find it before the storm locked us in? Even worse, stolen cars could disappear, reduced to parts in a chop shop. How would he explain our foolishness to the New York city police?

Dan stepped outside of the lobby, now loud and crowded with the exodus. Staring away from his phone, praying for words, he noticed a black sedan like ours parked a few yards up the street. It sat just past the bus stop, barely within the loading zone. Could it be?

Imagine the hope he dared to consider as he hurried to check the license plate. North Carolina. It was ours! The keys were in the ignition.

What would you make of this? It was New York City, not Mayberry. Yet no thief had come. Not even a ticket had been issued. The hotel hadn’t been concerned about a car squatting for days in their loading zone. We’d been blind to it ourselves as we walked past that spot every time we went out.

We still marvel at the way He protected our family and kept our Christmas from a disastrous end. Human frailty created the situation, but God’s grace and mercy saved us.

 

Caroline Powers writes captivating romance novels, inspired by her own emotional healing. She is passionate about prayer and connecting others to the powerful love of Jesus Christ through stories of transformation. Check out her romance book below, A Future and a Hope. 

Blurb: When Larkyn Wagner barely misses a bicyclist with her car, visions of her husband’s death by hit and run resurge. The victim, Gabriel DeSantis, a recently discharged Army amputee, is plenty ticked off by the careless driver until he sees her remorse. Neither want to meet again, but another collision awaits. While Gabe relies on faith and fights to find purpose outside the military, Larkyn clings to memories of her past. Will faith or bitterness win out as their relationship develops? Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4isLflU

I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas! Let me know if you have any family stories for 2025 by replying to this email. You can write it, I can write, or we can write it together. As always, feel free to forward to a friend. To make a comment, open in your browser and scroll below. I reply to all comments.