«Really? And that works?» 5-year-old Angelina questioned Hannah, another girl who lived in the same foster home.
«Yes, if you pray, God can make things happen,» Hannah assured her.
The older girl had told Angelina that praying was the only way to talk to God and that she could ask him for things. But it would only work if she prayed intensely and longed for it to happen.
«Has your wish been granted?», Angelina asked Hannah.
«Not yet. But my mom used to tell me that. I hope I see her again soon,» Hannah said from the top bunk in their room.
Their foster home wasn’t terrible. But there were a lot of kids — mostly boys — and they all lived in tiny rooms with bunk beds. Angelina missed her mother terribly. She had no idea what happened to her or how she ended up there.
One day, she was sleeping in her bed, and suddenly the cops showed up. She cried as they took her away from her home, and her mom was nowhere to be found. The five-year-old girl was desperate to get home.
She got up from the bed and knelt, clasping her hands together.
«My God. Please, please bring my mommy back as soon as possible. Please bring my mommy back,» Angelina prayed. She repeated the same thing several times and then turned to Hannah. «And how do I finish?».
«You say ‘Amen’.»
«Amen!» almost shouted Angelina.
«Everyone, to bed now!» They heard their adoptive parents’ voices, and Angelina hurried back to bed. Their guardians would get mad if they stayed up too late, so both girls wrapped themselves in blankets and tried to fall asleep.
«I hope God was listening,» Angelina whispered to Hannah.
«He always listens,» Hannah assured her.
The next morning, their foster parents made breakfast for everyone, and Angelina was a little sad that her mom didn’t show up right away.
«You said God would bring my mommy back,» she complained to the older girl.
«I told you he would. But it takes time. Remember, I prayed too and I’m still waiting. You have to wait, but anyway, he will do something,» Hannah replied as she ate her pancakes. Angelina nodded. She had no reason not to believe the young girl.
Suddenly, the bell rang.
«Who could that be?» their foster mother, Andrea, wondered.
«Mrs. Franklin?» someone asked from the doorway, and Angelina’s ears strained. The voice was strangely familiar to her. It sounded like her mother’s.
«Mom!» she exclaimed and rushed to the door. But the woman standing outside did not look like her mother. Not exactly. She had gray hair and wrinkles on her eyes. It couldn’t have been her mother. But why did they sound the same?»
«Angelina, go back and eat,» Andrea insisted, gently pushing her back.
«No, wait. Are you Mrs. Franklin? I’m Danielle Forester. I’m Angelina’s grandmother,» the older woman revealed.
«What? But no one ever told me this little girl had another family,» Andrea asked, confused.
Angelina looked at both of them with wide eyes, especially after hearing that she had a grandmother. She had never met her.
«Her mother and I…well, we didn’t get along very well. But when she died in a car accident and social workers found me, I was living in a senior community in Florida. I couldn’t take care of a child, but now I can. I worked with lawyers, and they told me I could get my granddaughter back today,» Danielle revealed, and Andrea hummed, shaking her head.
«Okay, let me call her social worker, just in case,» she stated. «Please come in.»
Danielle came in and sat on the couch while Andrea made some phone calls. Meanwhile, Angelina was curious.
«Are you really my grandmother?».
«Yes, honey. And I’ve come for you. I bought a brand new house, and we’re close to Disney World. Do you want to come with me?»
«Yes! But Mommy?».
«Honey, your mom isn’t here anymore. But I am, and I will never, ever leave you alone again. That’s a promise,» the older woman vowed, touching the little girl’s arm affectionately.
Angelina smiled.
«Last night I prayed and prayed that God would bring Mom back. But he sent you, and a grandma is kind of like a mom, right?».
Danielle gave a slight laugh. «You could say that.» She touched Angelina’s face gently as Andrea returned.
«The social worker had car trouble and didn’t have time to call me sooner. But she told me it was true. Let me go get Angelina’s things ready and you can go on your way.»
Angelina clapped, hugged the older woman and went to say goodbye to Hannah.
«You were right!
Hannah smiled, and they hugged as well.
«See? God always answers our prayers. But it’s different for everyone.»
Angelina nodded, believing those words in her heart for the rest of her life. God had answered her prayers, even if he couldn’t give her exactly what she wanted.
«I hope he answers your prayers soon,» she told Hannah before leaving with her grandmother.
