God "Wood" Answer Her Prayer

My typical morning starts with taking Zoe out first thing.  This morning I passed the drainage grate and thought...

 how in the world am I going to get that piece of mulch out of there!  

Back story ~

  The kids were playing outside in the courtyard yesterday afternoon.  Lydia had her very special piece of wood from her collection and was using it as a cooking utensil to whip up some pretend food for her daddy.  She turned away from her blueberry-cobbler-in-the-making and one of her brothers (I'll not mention which one in order to protect from public humiliation) snatched it away and threw it down the drain.

Lydia cried for nearly 2 hours concerning the loss of her precious mulch.

She is quite a collector of treasure....rocks, mulch, little pieces of mangled plastic, etc...  I don't get it, I just know my girl finds delight in the forgotten things.  Her room holds treasure stuff that I just can't keep organized ~ drives this momma crazy sometimes. I spent a long time last night trying to somehow comfort her and then reason with her that she had mourned long enough for the wood and it was time to focus on finding a mulch replacement.  Even though I can't empathize with mulch mourning, my heart broke for her.

I decided this morning that I must try to rescue the wood.

  

So, after bringing Zoe back in I grabbed a fishing rod and headed for the grate.  Mind you, I was still in my pajamas (crazy pastel striped, none the less) with complimentary bedhead.  I eyed the mulch at the bottom of the drain and strategically slid the hook in between the grate slats.  Just when I was getting really focused I heard the distant hum of a leaf blower and sure enough, it was coming closer.

Oh, great!  I've been caught! 

"Uh...mam, can I help you?", speaks a middle aged fellow.

So, I humbly explain that I'm retrieving mulch for my daughter who considers it precious treasure with a half-hearted giggle of embarrassment.

"Mam, you're not going  to be able to get it out with that fishing hook.  I take care of the grounds around here and I'll be back with a couple of my guys to get it out for you."

45 minutes later he brings 2 other men with him and the 3 of them pry open the grate and one slips down into the drain to get Lydia's treasure.

We thanked them over and over again for helping us and Lydia gave the good samaritan a hand written thank you note.

As we were walking back into our apartment she told me she had prayed last night that God would help her get her mulch back.

Her prayer was answered.

I just love how God takes interest in the small details of our lives and answered my little girl's wood prayer.