S2.E7: Expect Miracles - with Tara Calancea
In this episode, Kayla's sister Tara joins her for a discussion about miracles. For over a year and a half Tara has been tracking the unexplainable events that she has experienced and considers miracles. Tara shares many of these experiences and Kayla adds a few of her own. Together they encourage listeners to expect modern day miracles to happen for them!
I'm just the girl next door, who believes that the purpose of life is to enjoy, create and have fun. I believe that as humans, we can have anything we want and things are always working out for us. Experience has taught me that the path to getting everything you want begins with ease. If you believe in miracles and happily ever after, or even if you just want to, then this is the podcast for you.
Speaker 2 (35s): Hi there. I'm your host, Kayla rain, and welcome back to attract it with ease. I have a very special guest with me today. This is my very own sister, Tara, and I am so excited to have her here, both because she's been a loyal listener on the podcast, but also because I think she'll have some wonderful insights for today's conversation. So Tara, thank you for joining me. Welcome. Yeah.
So as always, I'd like to start out with gratitude and I asked her to come prepared with three things that she's grateful for. And why, so Tara, why don't you share us, share with us what you have on your mind today?
Speaker 3 (1m 18s): I've got a couple of things. It's been an exciting few weeks for our family. My 16 year old just got his driver's license. So for the fact that I never for the rest of my life have to drive kids around. And I think that's so exciting.
Speaker 2 (1m 38s): That is exciting. Congratulations.
Speaker 3 (1m 42s): I also have got some big gratitude in my heart. My husband recently graduated from college and just got his first job in his new degree, which is engineering. He starts next Monday. So my heart is really filled with gratitude that that job hunt is over for the time being and that he'll get a chance to work in his new field. So
Speaker 2 (2m 2s): That is incredible. I know that that has been a long time coming and I think it's exciting that he found a job in his field so quickly. That's incredible.
Speaker 3 (2m 12s): I know. And he's 50, you know, he's in his fifties. So the fact that someone's willing to take a chance on him when he starting over, I'm just grateful for the people that have hired him and that saw in him what I've always seen in him too. I think
Speaker 2 (2m 23s): For sure.
Speaker 3 (2m 25s): And then the last thing that I'm grateful for is that I'm going back to school myself and my work offers a scholarship for women in leadership that I had applied for and recently found out I got the scholarship also for me. So that's super exciting. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (2m 40s): Hey, I didn't know about that. Congratulations.
Speaker 3 (2m 43s): Thank you.
Speaker 2 (2m 44s): Those are wonderful. So I do have a few things this morning. I spent volunteering. One of the things that I love about my employer is that they really believe in giving back to your community and it's not a requirement for the job, but it's highly recommended. And if you do a financial donation, they'll match it, but they also do different donations on behalf of the staff. If the staff volunteers, their time, they'll also make like a grant donation.
And then in the month of June, they have basically like a whole give back month where they double the donation that they normally do. So this morning I went and volunteered for like the closing ceremonies of a little league championship. And they worked at the snack bar and it was just, you know, minimal. It took a few hours of my time, but it felt really good to give back. And I know it wasn't just my time, but we'll be able to make a financial donation as well because of that. And so I'm really grateful for that opportunity and that I'm supported in that number two, my husband has not always been the best about giving flowers.
I'll have to say, I'm a girl that loves flowers. And we had been together, gosh, probably over six years. And he had given me flowers one time and they were, I'm sorry, flowers. So I do have to say that recently he's been buying me flowers almost every week.
Speaker 3 (4m 13s): Wow.
Speaker 2 (4m 15s): Now they're probably more like grocery store flowers, you know, like 10, 15 bucks, but I have so appreciated it. And every time that he notices that the flowers are starting to die, he'll buy me a new book. Okay. And it has been so lovely. I mean, we live in our tiny house and it's so nice to come home and see these fresh blooming flowers and to just feel so special. So I appreciate that. And then the third, the third thing that I have today, and unfortunately this is kind of on a sad note, but there's a lot going on in our world, especially in the United States that has affected our personal safety.
And what I mean by that is we've had some school shootings and other shootings and things. And I know Tara that this hits real close to home for you because of the industry that you work in. But I'm just really grateful for first responders and people who protect us and help us feel safe. And so I'm super grateful for that as well.
Speaker 3 (5m 13s): And I want to add in, I'm grateful for the Memorial day holiday. I love that we have something specific to remember those who have served and died for us. So
Speaker 2 (5m 21s): Yeah, absolutely. Yes. Thank you. So today, Tara, I want to talk to you about the topic of miracles and I know that you weren't necessarily jumping at the opportunity to be a guest on the podcast, but I was really excited to have you come on and talk to me about this particular conversation, because I know that this is something that you can bring a lot of insight to the conversation on maybe people's thoughts and opinions about miracles and modern day miracles.
Because I think when you talk about miracles, a lot of people think about things in the Bible. Like I don't know people being raised from the dead and Christ, resurrection and partying of the red sea and moving mountains and Daniel surviving, the lion's den and all of these like amazing, incredible things that happened, you know, many, many years ago. And the truth is that there are miracles that are happening on a daily basis all around us and whether or not we notice them recognize them or acknowledge them.
They're definitely happening. And I think every person that's lived or currently living has probably experienced some miracles, whether or not they recognize it. And so today I wanted to share some of your thoughts about miracles, but also some of your experiences I'll share some of mine. And then as always, I have an action item for our listeners. So Tara, part of the reason I wanted to talk to you about this today is because I want our listeners to know that you have actually been trying to keep track of the miracles that have taken place in your life.
So tell us a little bit about how that started and what you actually do as far as, as logging them.
Speaker 3 (7m 16s): Okay. Well, I'm, as you know, a big believer in planning and goal setting and stuff like that. So I keep track of a lot of things in my daily life, but at the beginning of the year, I actually think it was January of 2020. I heard a statement, something about that. If we were to look for the miracles in our life, we would recognize we could actually have miracles happen in our life. And I was going through a really difficult time. I felt like a lot of things weren't going right. And I wanted to truly have something miraculous happen for me. And, you know, I'm a religious person.
I pray. So I decided I was going to start praying to be able to see miracles actual like parting of the red sea miracle
Speaker 2 (7m 54s): Of that.
Speaker 3 (7m 56s): And so for me, I just, I started in January every single day in my prayers. And in my meditation time, I would think about miracles, ask for miracles. And then I started to track them. And I was absolutely astounded. I get emotional whenever I think about it, because that very first month in January, I had what I would define as eight miraculous.
Speaker 2 (8m 18s): Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3 (8m 19s): I had expected to have one. There are some months now that I only notice one, I'm sure there's more in my life, but that first month there were eight different things. And some of them were a little personal or sacred that I won't share, but there are a couple that I'd be willing to share. And I just felt like not only were my prayers answered, but that we really do each one of us have miracles all around. So it's like one of my favorite topics now to do that. So that every single month I find miracles in my life, including the headwind just two weeks ago,
Speaker 2 (8m 48s): I can't wait to hear about these things. So when you say you started in January, you're saying January of last year, so it's been about a year and a half. Now that you've been tracking the miracles that you recognize is that right?
Speaker 3 (8m 59s): Yeah. Oh, I said 2020, but it was 2021. Yeah. So that's when I started tracking. Correct.
Speaker 2 (9m 5s): So I find it really interesting that you have, since you've been tracking, you've recognized so many because I feel like I've had so many in my life, but when I sat down and tried to kind of create a list of some miracles that I haven't yet shared on the podcast, and now this is the first episode I've actually done on the topic of miracles, but I've had a couple of episodes talking about things, working out for me. And I would say that some of those experiences that I've shared the way that the things worked out could only be explained as a miracle.
At least that's how it felt to me. I'll try not to repeat those experiences and share some new ones. But as I tried to come up with a list I came up with, I don't know, maybe like a, a handful or two of my own, and then a couple of some other peoples. And that was like thinking through my whole life. And I was pretty proud of what I came up with. So I can't wait to have you share some of yours. So if you don't mind, I would love to hear some of the miracles and not only just like an explanation of them, but maybe a little bit of a story behind a few of them so that we can kind of really feel why to you.
It really seemed like a miracle instead of just like a serendipity or something.
Speaker 3 (10m 19s): Okay. Yeah. Well, I'll start with one of those first ones that had happened in January back then my mother-in-law had died and she's not from this country. She wanted a natural burial. So there were some things that we had to do that were little out there for, you know, what Americans normally might do for a funeral. And because of the grief that my husband was going through, I was the one that was kind of handling all that, like the logistics of it. And there came a day. It was the day that we were going to have her funeral. And she was in her casket in our home waiting to take her to the funeral.
And I got up early that morning to prepare. And I realized that we had had people help us, you know, prepare her and move her and stuff. But that I had not arranged any of that for the morning of, and I knew from having carried her earlier that my husband and I were not strong enough, just the two of us to lift her casket into the truck, to be able to take her to the funeral home. So I called someone that I thought would be able to help. Who said they didn't have time made another phone call for someone else that I thought could help? Who said that they couldn't attend the funeral with someone I thought was coming, that they had to work.
And so I had just hung up the phone. I was feeling really overwhelmed. I started to cry and I just said that prayer. And I literally said the words I need miracle. I was still holding the hand, the phone in my hand. And right, as I said, those words, the phone in my hand rang, and it was my brother-in-law who called and said, Hey, it occurred to me that you might need help transporting your mother-in-law. What time can I be to your house to help? And I just totally sobbed through it, explain the whole thing.
And he said, I'll be there. And not only did he come, but he brought someone else so that there were four of us to do it. I later found out that one of our sisters was the one who had encouraged him to do that. So she gets credit for that miracle too. That was at a time when I was already looking for miracles. And that was my first really big one. That to me really, and truly was miraculous. I had just said those words, I need a miracle. And then the phone rang and it was exactly what I needed. I don't know how to explain that besides saying that that is a miracle.
Speaker 2 (12m 28s): Yeah. Instantaneous that's, that's so amazing. And it's funny because I should have grabbed my tissues for this episode. I wasn't expecting for it to be emotional and I can tell bell being will be, so I apologize to our listeners, but these things are really experiences that we've had. And I'm excited to share with them, with you all right. Tire, what else?
Speaker 3 (12m 51s): Okay. So another thing that happened during that time, at the end of the month, I started writing these down. So this one had actually pre happened and I didn't notice, but it was one of the nights we were waiting for her to pass and I was alone with her and we knew that I would be up all night and realized I had not brought anything for dinner. And I, we didn't dare leave the room cause she was so sick and we didn't know when she would go. And then I had one of our sisters that texted me and said, I'm here, but I can't find which apartment is yours. I have some chips and salsa for you.
Favorite treat is anybody who knows me knows. And so later on when I was making the list that went on my miracle list too, that, you know, it's something I hadn't prepared for, but someone just saw a need and maybe these are tender mercies. I don't know what you'd call them. But to me, they're miracles because I'm, you know, tracking for what is out of the ordinary in my life. That just happens when I need it or when I asked for it.
Speaker 2 (13m 46s): Yeah. You know, and it's interesting because I intended to kind of talk about the definition of miracles at the beginning of the conversation. And I sort of forgot, but I think people look at miracles, different ways. They can be incredible things like moving mountains or raising people from the dead, but really a miracle is anything that is unexplainable. Something that's unexpected that you couldn't have foreseen. You wouldn't have planned. And so many times in life, like your first experience that you shared, that you feel helpless and hopeless and you don't know how it's gonna work out.
And just the way that it actually does for you. It is a miracle where to someone else they may think, oh, you know, that was nothing. That was just your resources or whatever. But when you're at those moments where you just don't know how to make something happen and then the universe or God, or whatever steps in and, and answers that prayer, so to speak or the prayer of your heart, that to me is a miracle. So I think that's awesome. All right, what else do you have for us?
Speaker 3 (14m 54s): Okay, we're going to move on to February. So I only had one that I tracked that month, but my family had planned to go on a trip together and we were going to visit an LDS temple. So when you go to one of those, you have to have with COVID the way it is. You have to bring some of your own people to help do some of the things that you do inside. And at the last minute everybody was canceling on the trip. So my husband ended up not being able to go, the friends that we were going with, but all the kids could still go. So I felt like I still needed to make it happen.
And we were going to Vernal, Utah, which is quite a ways away, not three hours away from where I live. So the whole way driving all these teenagers down, I kept thinking, how am I going to do this? We need more men to do some of the things that we do. And when we got there, we walked inside. And the very first person that we saw, Kayla, I don't know if I've told you this, but was someone that is Dawn booze and bark. Do you remember Don? Yeah, they have the BYU Jersey And he was the person, the worker there that day.
And I said, Hey, I know who you are. And he said, of course, you know me, I'm on the city council. I don't know you because you're on the city council. I know you because you're cousins with my dad. And I haven't seen you since I was 12. Anyway, we caught up, we have this whole conversation. And then he said, because your family, I want to help you today and got all the people we needed. And it just was this to me, that was a true miracle. I'm in a different town re hours away. I walk in and there's dad's cousin and we needed
Speaker 2 (16m 24s): That's so cool.
Speaker 3 (16m 25s): Miracle. That
Speaker 2 (16m 26s): Is yes.
Speaker 3 (16m 30s): Is it okay that I said his name on the podcast?
Speaker 2 (16m 32s): Oh yeah. He might not like it, but I don't care.
Speaker 3 (16m 37s): Anyway. So there was that one then I'm trying to think. Okay. So the, oh, this was March of this year. So I went with my friends to Disney world last year. And as you know, I've been overweight for a lot of years. And when we went to Disney world, there were a lot of rides. I couldn't ride on that. I hadn't realized that I wasn't going to be able to, but it was a wake-up call for me. So I've spent the last year working really hard and lost a bunch of weight. But this year my family went to Disneyland in March and my husband and son hadn't been there before.
So we anyway, we got there and right as we got there, I had this terror, oh my gosh, I forgot. I can't ride the ride.
Speaker 2 (17m 16s): Oh,
Speaker 3 (17m 17s): It was like just sickening because we'd spent all this money and travel to get there, but I just thought, well, I've lost some weight, so probably I'll be able to get on the ride. And when we got there, I was able to ride on every single ride. And for me, that was a miracle that was, you know, a year long one in the weight loss process, but to just be able to walk in and feel like a normal person and be able to ride every ride was a true miracle to me,
Speaker 2 (17m 42s): Tara share with our listeners how much weight you've lost,
Speaker 3 (17m 46s): I've lost a hundred pounds, but I still have more to go.
Speaker 2 (17m 50s): That's incredible. I mean, that, that in itself is I think a bit of a miracle and I'm not trying to derail the conversation, but simply because I know for so many years you had tried so many different things and had really not had success until more recently. It wasn't for lack of effort or lack of trying. And so I think the fact that you actually found something for you finally, that would work and worked on, it's such a large scale. I, I think that's a miracle.
Speaker 3 (18m 18s): Yeah. It is a miracle. And I have thought, you know, I've always been texting you and saying, things are always working out because of your past, in that reminder. But that was the thing. When I, you know, I decided I was going to have gastric bypass and that was going to be my miracle to be able to lose weight. And when that didn't work out for me, I didn't qualify for the candidacy of that. Then I was able to find the right thing that did work for me so that I finally been able to start losing weight. And I have thought that many times through this weight loss journey, that even when you think something's not working out for you, it really is working out for you, just maybe in a different way than you thought it was going to.
Speaker 2 (18m 53s): Sure. And to me again, that brings it back to the miracle because it's when it happens in a way that you couldn't have foreseen. And that's, that's often where the answers come when they're coming from the universe or God, or, or whatever you want to believe when the answers come and it's came from something that you could never have come up with or imagined on your own. That's when you know that you're getting that divine help. And to me, that is a miracle.
Speaker 3 (19m 23s): Yes. Yep. Absolutely. You ready for me to move on to another?
Speaker 2 (19m 28s): Yes.
Speaker 3 (19m 29s): Okay. This one was, it was in March and it was going to be my mother-in-law's birthday and my husband again, you know, just the grief of losing someone that's, especially all those firsts are really hard. So we decided to go out to the restaurant that she had really liked and to talk about her and celebrate her. And as we were sitting at the table talking all of a sudden over the radio, the song happy birthday came on the radio. And that is not a song that I have ever heard in a restaurant before now. It's so incredible that, that song on her birthday, the very day of, as we're talking about her, missing her and celebrating her came on, that went in for my March miracle that we got a happy birthday message just when we were celebrating her birthday.
Speaker 2 (20m 11s): Oh, cool. Love that.
Speaker 3 (20m 15s): That's a good one, huh? Yes. In April of last year, I was again going through a rough time, but luckily searching for these miracles helped a lot, you know, but my teenager and I were having a lot of fights and couldn't seem to get along. And she moved out before graduation, which was devastating to me. And we just were really, you know, trying to work on that relationship and it wasn't going well. And one day it was one of the hardest days and I was home alone. I sat on the couch and just cried because I had this relationship.
It wasn't going the way I wanted and I couldn't seem to fix. And there was a knock on the door and I thought, who in the world is bothering me? I went to the door and on the door was, there was a flower man. You were just talking about getting flowers from your husband, someone standing there with the most beautiful bouquet of flowers, way, way more nice than I've ever had to spend money on. And it was a note from someone in my neighborhood who said, saw you on Sunday. I thought you looked sad, but you could use some cheering up. And that was my April miracle because this is someone that I don't even know that well, wasn't real good friends with.
I am much better friends now that I thought, how, how could they be so aware of the people around them? And I just looked sad. They don't know what's going on in my life, but that they took the time and spent that kind of money to make sure that I had a date. I felt happy.
Speaker 2 (21m 37s): Wow. That's awesome. I love that. I need to do those kinds of things for other people. I'm going to talk that one up for it to do. I love that.
Speaker 3 (21m 48s): Oh, that could be one for your listeners. I have really been thinking about there's things we can do for people all around us. Maybe they don't have to be a hundred dollar bouquets, but you can make, okay, here's a little one. And if someone out there I compliment you on your nails, then I apologize. But I know that when people get their nails done, they're usually doing it because they want to feel pretty and it makes them feel good everywhere I go, I make it a point. If I see someone with their nails done it pretty, I always compliment them on their nails.
Simple thing that you notice and you can accomplish has done. And I have never had someone not smile when I said that.
Speaker 2 (22m 27s): I, you know, it's funny because just, I would say in the last year of my life, I have had this recognition that I constantly think nice things about other people, especially about other women. You know, I think, oh, she looks pretty or, oh, I love her hair. Or I wish I looked like that. Or I wonder where she got her shoes and most of my life, I just think I'd never say it. And for like the past year, I've gone out of my way to actually go up and tell the person. And it's, it's been like awkward conversation sometimes. Cause I'm not usually the type of person that talks to strangers, but I can just, like you said, I can tell that so many times that makes the person stay because this absolute stranger came up and was like, oh, I love your hair or whatever, you know?
So that's a good one off topic of miracles, but I a great suggestion. I completely agree. We can do so much to improve other people's lives. And just like the law of attraction, what you put out, you'll get back. You'll get it back tenfold.
Speaker 3 (23m 25s): Yes. Yes. That's exactly right. Thank you. Thank you for sharing that. Sorry to go off topic.
Speaker 2 (23m 30s): Oh no, I'm not getting after you. I'm I'm, I'm the one doing it here
Speaker 3 (23m 36s): Back. I'm just going down my list. I'm actually flipping through my planner as we, as we talk about and see the different things. But for my main miracle, I told you I was struggling with my relationship with my daughter and I really, really wanted her to graduate and to go through the whole pump and circumstance of graduation. And she did not want to do any of that. And I had already months before that spent the money for the calf and the gown. And, but I kept realizing this is about me and what I want for her. And I need to focus on what she wants for herself, but I did go to her and I said, I know this doesn't matter to you.
It does matter to me. Even if I have to pay you would, could we at least just get a picture of you in your cap and gown for me? But she said, not only do you not have to pay me, but I'm willing to put on my cap, my gown and go to the high school and stand in front of the sign that was for her. But for me, I'll always have that picture to remember when my oldest child graduated from high school. So I wrote that down. That was my miracle. And afterwards they even let me take them out to lunch.
Speaker 2 (24m 41s): So I liked that
Speaker 3 (24m 43s): Just to be able to spend a little time together. You know, we didn't fight at all during the lunch.
Speaker 2 (24m 48s): That's fabulous.
Speaker 3 (24m 53s): What am I going on too much? Or am
Speaker 2 (24m 55s): I no, no, give us a few more.
Speaker 3 (24m 59s): Okay. There, let's see, I got a new calling in my church and it's working with the youth and I was really worried about it because I'm pretty new to this area. And I didn't even know the names of any of them, but when I got called, we were going to camp just two weeks after I got called. And so I felt like getting to go to camp with them was a mini miracle, but then attending camp. I mean, you've been on a camp before too, but you just, when you camp out with people and you're in nature and you don't have water, somehow you just become friends.
So that was my miracle. The next month was just, I fell in love with them immediately. Same for me by the end of the week. And just building those relationships so quickly was a miracle for me.
Speaker 2 (25m 45s): Yeah, that's great.
Speaker 3 (25m 46s): We'll be around a bunch of strangers, you know, live with me and who wouldn't. I mean, I'm really funny and
Speaker 2 (25m 53s): It's true. It's true
Speaker 3 (25m 58s): That they learned that the, my August miracle, I'm kind of skipping over a few of them, but we had just gotten a new machine at work. That's a very expensive 3d scanner machine. And I had just used it for the first time and I had taken the SD card out and put it in my pocket. And this was my very first time using it on I process crime scenes and stuff for living. And so this was on a crime scene. And as I walked away and got into the car, I reached into my pocket and the SD card was gone.
My gosh, how can this be happening? This is work. I'm a professional. I've lost it. So I said, my little prayer, I need some help. I need a miracle. Please help me. I walked out of the car, I looked all around. I couldn't it anywhere. I went back to the machine and it was sitting inside of the machine. I'm telling you, I know for a fact I removed it from the machine and put it in my pocket, but it was riding the machine so that it was safe and sound. And I just, that was a true miracle to me. And it saved probably my child or at least that scene, you know that,
Speaker 2 (27m 3s): Wow.
Speaker 3 (27m 4s): It was right where I could find it.
Speaker 2 (27m 6s): Dang. That's amazing.
Speaker 3 (27m 9s): I know. And I wonder, like I can't see what's around me and how these miracles occur sometimes, but don't, you wish like you could see if there's another dimension or something like did a little angel go pick that up and losing my mind. And I never took it out, but I have a clear memory of removing it before.
Speaker 2 (27m 26s): So I have to interject here because I have to tell you on this topic, we had a miracle just occur at work. I haven't really shared in detail what I do for work. And I won't go into that, but we have a very expensive vehicle at work. It's essentially like $150,000 vehicle. And we lost the keys to it for about five days and nobody wanted to be responsible for these keys.
And we searched every building, every drawer, every everything, and we could not find them. And it was just like, I didn't know what we were going to do because this very expensive vehicle is essentially just a brick sitting there and can't be moved can't anything. And then about five days after someone from another department came in and brought me one key and he said, I found just the one key. And I was like, oh my gosh, that's amazing.
Where did you find it? And where he told me he found it, we had had multiple people look multiple times and he said it was just sitting there. Yeah. And, and we should have had two keys. And I just was so grateful for the one key. And then later that day he found the second key mirror where the first key was. And it was just the same thing you're talking about. Like, so many people had checked that area. I know that the keys were not there and then suddenly they were. And so it's just unexplainable. I don't know how they shut up. Oh my gosh.
We, that probably saved our jobs too.
Speaker 3 (29m 3s): Yeah. It's amazing how these things can happen. Well, and remember I said, I had one just two weeks ago, so I wear hearing aid and I'm very diligent with it cause they're expensive and I cannot afford to replace it. And I've lost it a couple of times. And once I lost it for a whole week, but it's always been found well, two weeks ago I was sitting at work. I had the really long phone conversation with the phone to my ear. So I finally just took it out, just pressed with the phone against my ear. It was hurting. I remember all this really. Now. You're all going to think I'm losing my mind and going crazy.
It's probably true. I took it out and I remember setting it on the desk and looking at it like staring at it as I was on the phone. So that's all fine and good. I don't remember what happened after that, but that night when I got home, I realized my hearing and you know, I put it in the same place every night and I realized it wasn't in my ear. And I was like, what have I done with my hearing aid? Well, I remembered I'd left it at my desk. So I got up it's 10 30 at night. I'm already in bed, drove to work. I'm so paranoid about it. And my hearing aid was not on my desk. I was sick to my stomach cause I just don't have the money right now to replace that.
And it makes such a quality of life difference for me to be able to hear what that anyway. So for the next two days everywhere I went, I retraced my steps. I kept praying constantly. I just cannot find my hearing aid. I have no idea where it would be. I finally talked to my husband. I said, I don't know what to do. I've looked everywhere. I've searched the entire, I even talked to the janitors at work and said, if you vacuum one up, you know, in case I dropped it, I don't know. But anyway, after the second day talked to my husband and said, I'll just start saving. It's probably going to take four or five months till I can afford a new one.
And so I just said a little prayer, like it's okay. I know that things don't always work out the way that I want them to. I'm okay with the fact that I have permanently lost my hearing aid. And as I walked upstairs and walked into my bedroom on my pillow, right. Sitting in the middle of my bed, lay my hearing aid. Not know how it got there. No, really? That was one where I fell to my knees. I said, I know that an angel literally carried this wherever I drove through the sky.
You wouldn't see it. And that I wouldn't lose it again. I think somebody, if we can look at invent like a clicker for hearing aids, like people do for,
Speaker 2 (31m 24s): You need a air tag. Is that what it's called? An apple airtime.
Speaker 3 (31m 29s): Yeah. For your hearing aid. I mean, that was a real true miracle. How, how did it get from my office to my bed? I don't know, but it is such a blessing to be able to hear again. So that was my rethink, my most recent.
Speaker 2 (31m 42s): Wow.
Speaker 3 (31m 43s): Yeah. That's great. The same little fairies that are bringing your keys around to
Speaker 2 (31m 49s): Okay. Give it, give us two more. And then I'm going to share a few of my,
Speaker 3 (31m 53s): Okay. Two more. One of them was at Thanksgiving last year, so I don't always, my in-laws are gone and my dad and step-mom, don't always invite us and we're adults and should do our own Thanksgiving. But when they're down to three of you, it's kind of lonely. You know, this you've had two person Thanksgiving yourself, but we were feeling sorry for ourselves that we didn't have anyone invite us to Thanksgiving to plan our own and not even do Thanksgiving food. We were just going to do whatever each of us, our favorite food was. But then on like the week of Thanksgiving, we had not one, but three different people invite us to attend Thanksgiving with them.
So we didn't have to have Thanksgiving alone. So instead we ended up going to one of those and doing our special dinner the next day. Well, we got our Thanksgiving miracle to have friends and family to be with. And we got an extra yummy treat day two. That was my Thanksgiving miracle. And then let's see, oh, I know for December my December miracle last year, my whole life I've always wanted to see the Messiah live.
I've heard it before, you know, Handel's Messiah. But I just had been thinking about it. I was sitting at work thinking about it and you know how Google's listening to everything here, what we think as well. I had not even said out loud that I wanted to go see the Messiah, but I had just been thinking it's Christmas time. I bet someone's got the Messiah. And when I opened my work computer, there was an ad on the computer for the Utah symphony was going to be doing Handel's Messiah. I immediately bought tickets.
I went, it was everything I dreamed it would be, but I felt like, thank you, Google. Or whoever's listening for the idea to think, Hey, I'd like to hear this. And then bam, there's an ad for it. And I was able to go that wasn't
Speaker 2 (33m 48s): I like that. I love that. So I have not a year and a half worth, but a list of some miracles that I've experienced, some were recent. Some were earlier in my life. One in particular that I, I really want to share because to me, this is probably one of as I've reflected back on it as an adult, because this happened when I was a very young child, I I'm amazed more and more. So the older that I get, how miraculous that turned out and I'll share it in just a second.
But I don't think I've really realized as a kid, I was more just scared as a child. So Tara you'll probably remember this, but I've never said this on the podcast. So there was a time I was probably, I would guess maybe five or six because I was riding a tricycle and I wanted to go play with the neighbor that lived two houses away around the corner and their backyard connected to our backyard. But they lived around the corner and around the corner was on a very busy street.
It's a frontage road to a highway. And I was like I said, pretty young and our parents didn't usually let me go play with this neighbor kid. But on this particular Saturday, I asked, Hey, can I go see if she can play? And she was even a couple of years older than I was. And for whatever reason, mom and dad said yes, which was incredible to me as a kid. That's not the miracle, but I was so excited. I got on my tricycle and I wrote it over to her house and I parked it in the driveway. And then I went up and I knocked on the door and nobody answered, but I didn't want to just go home because I thought, oh, maybe they didn't hear me.
I knew that this was such a rare opportunity. I had to try and make happen. So I sat there just continuing to knock on the door, continuing to knock on the door, hoping someone would come answer. They obviously weren't home, but I didn't want to leave. And as I'm knocking on the door, this strange man walks down the street, who was, if I recall probably in his twenties, but just slowly walks down the street and I'm knocking on the door. And he stops at the end of the driveway of the house that I'm at and he's watching me and I'm knocking on the door and now I'm kind of nervous.
Like, please answer, please answer. And he says to me, can I sit on your bike? And of course, I'm this little girl who wants to be polite. So I say, yeah, you know, cause what, I didn't know what to say. So he walks up the driveway to where my tricycle is and he sits on it backwards and he's just sitting on my bike, watching me. And now I'm really uncomfortable and I'm knocking on the door and knocking on the door. And he finally says, I don't think they're home.
And I remember being really embarrassed, kind of like I can't keep knocking cause I look stupid. So I thought, okay, I better leave. So I turn around to leave and walk towards him, but he doesn't get up off of my bike. And so now it's awkward because I didn't dare ask him, Hey, can I have my tricycle back? And he's just sitting there. And so I just standing next to him, the strange man I've never seen. And he goes, do you want to sit on my lap? And again, I wanted to be polite.
I didn't know what to do. So I said, sure. And he picks me up, puts me on his lap. And honestly this is where the miracle happens. Dad happens to drive by and see me sitting on this strange man's lap. And dad stops backs up in the middle of the street, rolls down his window and yells at me, Kayla run home. And I thought I was in trouble. So I don't move. The guy has his arms around my waist.
Like he's holding me essentially. And like neither of us reacted immediately. And then dad yells at again, Kayla run home. Well, the guy drops me, gets up, runs away, like runs on foot. So obviously his reaction to dad's reaction shows, he was up to no good. I was all concerned and you know, thinking I'm in trouble. So I'm standing there crying and dad's still yelling at me, run home. And I'm like, but my bike he's like, leave your bike, run home. And so I run home and dad runs after the guy, the guy gets lost in the field and, and dad never finds him.
But to this day as an adult, when I reflect back on that scenario and all of the terrible things that can happen, you know, in life who knows what this man had with his intentions, you know, I can still vividly see that experience. And to me, that's one of the biggest miracles I've ever received is just the dad happened to drive by anybody, drove by, you know, and stopped, whatever was about to happen.
That's, that's a huge one for me. And you know, it's been so many years, but there's so many other amazing, incredible things that I've experienced. Just a couple others. Dan and I, when we were first dating, went on vacation and we had first day gotten to the beach, I'm at the beach and I get a text message that there's been some fraudulent activity on my credit card and meaning my debit card. I didn't have a credit card. I didn't own a credit card on my debit card.
And so they were freezing my account. So here we are on vacation and I have access to no money and I'm freaking out like, like we're literally like not even the first full day into our vacation. And so the miracle was that I called my bank was able to verify my identity and they unlocked it long enough for me to go to an ATM. And they asked me, how much do you need? That's never happened to me before. I've always had a daily limit on how much I get pull out.
They said, how much do you need? And I was able to pull out several thousand dollars in order to pay for our trip. And we had to pay for everything in cash, but we were able to, to withdraw the money because they needed to send me a new credit card. So I thought it was a miracle number one, that they were able to stop the fraudulent activity and they caught it because I hadn't. But then number two, that I did end up having access to some finances for the trip. That was a big one for me,
Speaker 4 (40m 16s): That is miraculous.
Speaker 2 (40m 18s): I had another one that was kind of an embarrassing one, happened a few years back embarrassing because I don't know if our listeners have ever visited Canada. And in fact, some of our listeners probably are from Canada and sometimes crossing the border, doesn't go smoothly. And that was my experience. So I had flown into Canada for work and unbeknownst to me, when you're traveling on business, you're supposed to have a letter from your work on letterhead, explaining what you're there for and the dates and so forth.
And I had been to Canada and a number of times prior for work and had never been stopped. But this particular trip, I flew into a very small town in Canada. So it was a small airport and I guess they had nothing better to do than to stop every traveler and inquire them. And if I'd been smart enough to say I was there for pleasure, I probably would have been fine. But when I said I was there for business and I did not have the proper documentation, it became a situation. And so I was a consultant at the time I was supposed to be going to a franchise and spending several days, consulting them and helping them turn their business around because they were struggling and I get there and they don't want to let me into the country after several hours of flying and being on a work trip.
And, oh my gosh, it was so Uncomfortable and embarrassing. And the miracle is that they let me go into the country or through the airport for what they called 24 hours. They gave me one day in the country. So I was able to go to see the franchisees, explain the situation, do in-person introductions, spend one day with them. And then I had to show up at the airport, the following day to be shipped out of the country because I was improperly there and I was able to finish so to speak our consulting, visit over the internet once I got home.
But that was a miracle to me that I was able to actually be granted access when it looked like I was going to be arrested as what I felt like when I arrived there. So that one, that one was interesting. You know, I was thinking about when mom was first diagnosed with cancer, we lost our mother back in the year 2000, but she had been diagnosed for seven years with her cancer when she passed away. And I remember in the beginning when she first got so sick and was in the hospital and first, finally got her diagnosis.
And I remember she nearly passed at that time. We didn't think she was gonna make it. And she was so, so sick and she had to learn to ReWalk and she needed help bathing and getting dressed and, and everything. And because she had become so weak and had been in the hospital for so long. But if I recall, I think when she finally recovered that first time and now was living with this diagnosis, I think her doctors had told her that she had five years to live. Does that sound right? Tara?
Speaker 3 (43m 26s): I thought it was even less than that, but it was,
Speaker 2 (43m 28s): I think it was like three to five is what they had told her, but we thought she potentially had five years to live. And to me the miracle is that she exceeded the time that they had given her. She came back from the point of nearly dying the first time. And she got sick more than once. But that first time we thought we were going to lose her suddenly. And then we ended up having seven more years with her. And to me, that was a true miracle.
Speaker 3 (43m 52s): Yeah. And for me, even a little more, when I left, I left on my mission to go serve a mission for the LDS church. And that was a conversation that mom and I had before I left. We knew that the possibility was there, that she would pass while I was gone. We talked about it, how I would deal with it, what I come home, if she did anything like that had agreed both of us that I wanted to stay out no matter what. And then she did not die until the year after I came home. And I've thought that many times how miraculous that was for me to not only have her live while I was gone, but to be able to have a little bit of time with her when I got home before she did pass away, because I had been gone for a year and a half.
So we got a lot of miracles that journey didn't we?
Speaker 2 (44m 33s): We did. And, oh my gosh. You know, sometime I'm sure I'll, I'll share some of those experiences, but I think even a miracle for her was it was so important to her to not be a burden on anyone else. And even to the point that she planned her own funeral and those last few days that she was alive, there were still some things that were left undone. And I know that that was so hard for her to number one, feel like she didn't complete everything, but then number two also feel that she was leaving things for other people.
And so she was struggling with that. And I really felt like it was a miracle that in the last few days we were able to kind of tie up some of those loose ends with her while she was still coherent and able to do that again, I think that was kind of a miracle that she experienced, but I thought it was amazing that she was able to accomplish so much that she had on her so-called to-do list before she passed away.
Speaker 3 (45m 30s): Yeah. And that's the thing. If you look at over your life, you know, you went clear back to that one when you were a child and I, you made me want to do that. I'm going to go through and see if I can identify a few miracles, you know, but I think there are, there's lots of things that just happen. There's lots of times when other people in our life are the angels that we need, but there really truly are so many experiences. Even when you have hardships, even when things are difficult, there are so many experiences in every single person's life that if you look for them, you really will find them and they're out there.
You've just looking. Cause you're not going to recognize them if you're not looking for him.
Speaker 2 (46m 7s): Yeah, it's true. You know, I think about when Dan and I were living in Sedona and we were doing some product photography, essentially, we were given product and we were required to take product photos for them. And it was actually for my employer. And that was a big deal that they had hired him as a professional photographer to do some product shots for them because it was, it's a big company. And so we had set up this afternoon that we were going to go out shooting and we drove out way off-road to this area that was super scenic.
And if you're familiar with Sedona, it's the red rocks and it's just stunning everywhere. Well, as we're driving out on this dirt road for miles and miles, it starts raining and it starts pouring rain and he's freaking out like, oh my gosh. Cause it was so hard just to coordinate a time to go shoot, but let alone have like the right conditions. And we weren't expecting rain. And I just kept saying to him, it's going to be fine. It's going to be fine. Things are always working out for us. And I do say that all the time, things are always working out for us. Don't worry, it'll stop. We'll get like a break in the rain, you know?
And so we literally got to where we wanted to shoot and we just sat in the Jeep and we just sat there watching the rain and he was complaining and I was saying it's okay. It's okay. And then finally for just like a split second, it felt like the rain stopped. And I said, okay, let's go. Let's go. We jumped out of the Jeep, we've set the sh like photos up. And it was still sprinkling a little bit. But the most amazing thing was that this gorgeous, huge rainbow lit up the sky right behind where we were shooting.
And I was like, oh my gosh, you could not have planned this for product photography. Like, how do you plan a rainbow? You know? And it just turned out to be the most beautiful, most incredible photos that you just could not have imagined, or, or like I said, made happen. And, and it just worked out and I'm actually getting goosebumps right now talking about it because it was such an incredible experience. And of course, that's me just going. I told you, I told you things are always working out for us, but it was such a cool, cool miracle.
Another recent one that I had was just from our wedding. I explained on the last podcast episode of last season, some of the things that were had to kind of become challenges in planning our wedding, but I haven't really recorded much until just now. And so I haven't really shared much about how the wedding went and that experience, but we were in Yosemite and we eloped and there were fires all over the area. So smoky everywhere. And we were really concerned that our wedding would be smoked out.
You know, here we go to this national park we're doing, we're getting married on the edge of a cliff. And, you know, we hired this outdoor nature photographer to capture like this scenic landscape and, you know, everything's filled with smoke. And I just kept telling Dan, you know, things are always working out for us. Things are always working out for us. And the morning that we got married, we got married at sunrise and it was smoky, but you could still see across the mountain range. So you could still get El cap, which is, was behind us.
No, excuse me, half dome was half dumb that was behind us, but you could still capture that as the sun was coming up. And as we got married and in the photos, and then within 20 minutes of our ceremony ending, we were still taking photos after the wedding. The smoke just rolled in so thick and stayed for like days where you couldn't even see the top of the mountains when you were on the valley floor. It just looked like the clouds were hanging low, but it was actually smoking.
It was just crazy. We didn't get the experience in Yosemite that we wanted as far as the honeymoon side of things. But as far as our wedding photos went, it was just like the most perfect, magical moment when we got married, because you still had some clarity, it gave some color to the sky or pictures are smoky, but they're beautiful. And you can still definitely tell that we're in Yosemite. And to me, that was a miracle because anyone that got married the following morning, their photos did not look like that. I guarantee it.
Speaker 3 (50m 30s): You made me think of one, not anywhere as exciting as that, but my daughter had always wanted to see dear Evan Hansen, like over in a finally came to Utah and for her birthday bought these expensive tickets to be able to go. And we went and had the most incredible experience. And the very next day after we went was when the whole world shut down for COVID and everybody I knew who had tickets, didn't get to see it. But for us, we did get to, and that was a real miracle because that was like what she wanted more than anything in the world at the time. So there's just little things.
You don't even look at the thing, but Hey, this is spectacular that this has happened for us and everybody gets, they get something else. You know,
Speaker 2 (51m 9s): I'll share one more that it's not a personal miracle, but a miracle of a friend and prior coworker of mine that I thought was just so touching when he shared it with me. So I'll kind of end on this one here, but his name is Mike and he's a little bit older gentlemen, but he was having problems walking and like a sore on his leg that wasn't healing. And it ended up getting infected and he had to have his leg amputated.
And I actually would really love to have Mike be a guest on the podcast. At some point, I hope he'll be willing to do that. But his miracle was, as he told me was that years ago, he had had a friend who had lost a leg and his friends prosthetic had been so uncomfortable. It was hard for him to do things with his children. He couldn't play catch or, or, or do stuff because his prosthetic was just constantly rubbing him and he couldn't afford a more expensive prosthetic.
So at that time, and this had been, you know, 15 or more years prior, Mike, actually that together with another friend of his and they decided they were going to pitch in and buy the sky a prosthetic leg, and they didn't realize how expensive it was. So they probably would have gotten more people to pitch in if they had known, but they did. They bought him a new prosthetic and it was completely life-changing for this guy. And he was able to do sports and things with his son. And it just was like this huge thing that he had done many, many years prior to losing his own leg.
And when he lost his leg, the guy that he had purchased the prosthetic for had found out about it, and that guy actually put together a fundraiser and was able to basically take care of all of his out-of-pocket expenses for his prosthetic, but also all of his medical bills. And to me, that was a huge miracle because I mean, I don't, I've never experienced something like that, but I can only imagine just with the time in the hospital and the physical therapy and the medication and the prosthetics and all of that, you know, that is, it's got to be hundreds of thousands of dollars to go through something like that.
And Mike has just kept this incredible attitude. He's been such a inspiration to me, but I just, when he told me that story, it just really made me tear up because it does show that what you put out does come back to you. And again, tenfold is so much more than a prosthetic has been covered for him. And I just think it's a miracle that they caught it and, and he's alive and well. And, and that, you know, he was able to have the favor, so to speak repaid in a way that he couldn't have foreseen.
So I thought that was an incredible miracle too.
Speaker 4 (54m 6s): That is incredible.
Speaker 2 (54m 9s): So I want to kind of wrap up this conversation about miracles for our listeners. I hope that we've sparked some thinking for them. Like you said, maybe to go back and reflect on their lives and see if they can identify some of the unexplainable unexplainable events that have happened to them or for them, or that they've been aware of or a part of. But I think my action item for our listeners is something similar to what you've been doing, Tara and that's to just literally stay open to the idea of modern day miracles.
And what I mean by that is I would like our listeners to put it out there, state it. I want to witness a miracle in the next 30 days. I want to witness a miracle in the next 30 days, say it, say it often and think about it, but also stay attentive and alert and recognize when a miracle is witness. And I think if people set that intention to do that and see that like you, they probably will find themselves experiencing more than just one.
Yes. I think that it, things can happen in a moment. And in fact, I even wrote this down. This is a quote from Wayne Dyer, but it says miracles come in moments, be ready and willing. Cause it can happen instantaneous. Like you said, like when you ask for a miracle and your phone rang, like it can happen that fast and so be attentive to it. But also as we talk about gratitude, because that's such a big piece of the law of attraction, don't just expect the miracle and notice it, but make sure that you take the time to say thank you.
Because if we're grateful for the things that we have and the things that we experienced, we will continue to receive more and more of those things. So that's my action item for our listeners. Give yourself 30 days, put it out there, say that you want to see a miracle, expect it to happen. Look for it, notice it and say, thank you. So on that now I want to just remind our listeners that reviews are how the podcast grows. And so I do have a giveaway for season two, for any person that leaves a review the podcast.
Now this has to be a written review. So I knew who you are. But if you leave a written review of the podcast, you will be entered into a weekly drawing for a custom limited edition manifestation journal. And Tara, you have seen these journals. I have say that again. I'm just telling your listeners they want to win this incredible journal. I have a couple of pictures of the journal up on the website, www dot, attract it with ease.com, but just by leaving a podcast review.
And I'll tell you, I don't get reviews every week. So just by leaving one, you could automatically potentially be a winner. If you leave a review for the podcast, let me know what you think or what you want to hear or what's working for you. You will be entered into a drawing for one of these journals. I'll be giving away one per week. I'll cover the shipping to the us or Canada. If you're from another country and you're selected, I will work out the shipping with you, but please let me know what you think of the podcast. That's how the podcast grows. And Tara, you said they won't be disappointed in the journal.
No, not at all. They'll be thrilled. So again, if you haven't listened to other episodes, the journal is a little bit like a scrapbook. So it gives you an opportunity to write down what you're looking to manifest. And then another spot where you can record when you finally manifest or achieve it and then to post a photos to help you remember. But that's it for this week. Tara has been so fun having you on the episode. I would love to continue this conversation another time, but thank you so much for being my guest and for being willing to share with us all the wonderful things that are happening in your life.
I really appreciate you. And it's been fun having you here. It's been so good to see you and thank you. Thanks for inviting me. I was a little apprehensive, but it's been fun and I appreciate it. Thank you so much, listeners. I'll talk to you next week. Have a good one. Tara. Buh-bye 