The Miracle of the $166 Plastic Lattice

I knew someone who once told me that he had never seen a miracle and therefore didn't really believe in them. "Never, I've lived 36 years and never have witnessed one even once." Which really showed me more about his viewpoint than making a statement on the existence of miracles.

His worldview held that a miracle must be something extraordinary- something huge- something so massive and expansive in its scope that it would be worthy of scientific study because its very existence defies the laws of nature.

He's not totally wrong. Many times when we talk about miracles, we are referring to the resolution of a highly improbable event, or the healing of an incurable disease. But unfortunately, his worldview falls woefully short-sighted. Because fortunately, God doesn't just bring about miracles of a large-scale nature. Sometimes, the very miracle that you are looking for shows up as $166 worth of plastic lattice fencing.

The fence around our deck, which plays a key part in our little miracle

In a post on June 20, I wrote about an unexpected call during my husband's and my journey to becoming foster-to-adopt parents. It was a call that told us that our submitted application was going to be rejected because of a fence around the pool issue. We called it our 'Red Sea Moment' in reference to the time when Moses & his people were caught in between a hostile army Egyptian army and a deep, impassable Red Sea that eliminated any possible escape to freedom.

My husband Jeff and I felt trapped: we couldn't become adoptive parents unless we got this issue resolved and there was no realistic solution that was presenting itself. So, we prayed for a miracle of the mess. We were praying the Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus during this time and that's when our miracle arrived.

Our case worker told us that she and her boss had, on behalf, appealed to the state officials about our case to see how we could come together to find a solution. The net result: all we had to do was raise our current deck fencing from three and a half feet tall to at least four feet tall, install locks on the gates and hot tub and change the deadbolt lock on the door to the house to a keyed, two-sided lock. They just needed to check the box that there was a four foot tall fence that prevented access to the pool.

"If you do those things, you will be approved as foster parents."

With the lattice, our fence measures 4' 1" and 4' 6", completely checking the box for the state officials.

It almost felt like it was too easy, too good to be true. But, it wasn't. We went to Lowe's and purchased a few sheets of 4' x 8' plastic lattice fencing, border striping and a box of screws and washers. Then, within two evenings, we cut the lattice to size and screwed it to the top of our pre-existing wooden fence. We installed locks and took pictures and videos to document everything and then we submitted it.

And shortly thereafter, we got the call that we had been waiting for -- "you are approved."

Our new deck fence: with gates, locks and lattice.

But our miracle didn't stop there. Never to be outdone in generosity- God extended the miracle to include an email that very morning from our adoption representative with a profile of a young boy who was looking for his forever home.

She mentioned in her email, "I know the ink on your application to foster isn't quite dry, and you haven't finished your adoption training just yet, but I have the perfect boy for your family."

So, in an unusually fast timeline, Jeff and I were on our way to finish our last training to becoming licensed 'foster-to-adopt' parents and be interviewed for the 12 year old boy the very next week. We kept praying, but this time turned our intentions toward whatever God willed for the best outcome for this little child. And if it was us, that we would be good parents and raise him up to be a saint.

Less than a week after our first interview, we got another call in our recent string of miracles. "We want Dominic to find his forever home with the Mahoney's."

The Miracle of the Plastic Lattice will probably never make its way to the Vatican to be studied. Scholars will most likely never discuss or review the connections between the events that took place between June and July of 2020. But they don't have to for us to know and praise God for all the miracles and blessings that flowed from the installation of that fence.

God is faithful and always keeps His promises. Thanks be to God for His goodness. Sacred Heart of Jesus, we trust in You.

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There is quite a bit we can say about the unfortunate mechanics of the 'box-checking in the name of public safety' that occurs within the walls of our governmental departments. However, this is a story with a happy ending, so we'll save the war paint for another time.