Poor Mom of Newborn Finds $3000 after Whispering a Prayer Her Grandma Taught Her — Story of the Day

The mother of a newborn baby finds herself abandoned and penniless, then she remembers a sweet prayer her grandmother taught her when she was a child.

It seemed to Susan that the life she had once dreamed of was now impossible. Her wealthy lover abandoned her once she announced her pregnancy. She was broke, alone, and the mother of a newborn baby girl.

She also had no job and had stopped speaking to her family years before. Her friends had vanished along with her lover's money. It seemed that Susan had no one to turn to.

Susan took her baby to the hospital to be weighed, and in the waiting room, she ran into one of her grandmother's old friends. She turned away hoping to go unnoticed, but no such luck.

"Susan?" she heard a voice cry. "Susan Martin?"

No matter how far we've drifted from His path, God always welcomes us back.

Susan turned with a stiff smile plastered on her face, clutching her baby in her arms. "Mrs. Garton!" she exclaimed in fake surprise. "How nice to see you!"

"It's been years," Mrs. Garton cried. "You were a little bitty girl, and you used to spend the weekends with your grandmother..."

"That's right," Susan said. "And how are you?"

"Fine, fine," the woman said, waving Susan's polite question away. "You had a baby? That's wonderful! When did you get married?"

"I... I didn't..." Susan replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

"But where are you living?" Mrs. Garton asked. "I have a lot of baby clothes from my grandkids I'm sure you could use. I'll mail them to you."

Running into Mrs. Garton brought back a lot of memories for Susan, lovely, warm memories from her childhood. Her mother had been a careless woman, more interested in partying than her daughter.

On Friday afternoons, she'd drop Susan off at her grandmother Barbara's house and only pick her up on Monday mornings to take her to school.

Susan loved the weekends. With Granny Barbara, she was a child. She was pampered and played with, told bedtime stories, and tucked in with kisses.

On Sundays, Granny Barbara took Susan to church, and she loved it. She'd sit there by Granny Barbara's side, hearing the soaring music and looking up at the light streaming in through the stained glass windows.

She'd tug at Granny Barbara's sleeve. "Is that God?" she would ask, pointing at the golden motes dancing in a glorious shaft of golden light.

"No," Barabara whispered. "God is invisible and speaks only in your heart."

"But how?" asked Susan loudly. "How do I speak to God?"

"Hush, Susan," Granny Barabara hissed. "I'll teach you a prayer when we get home!"

That afternoon, Barbara and Susan had knelt side by side. Barbara spoke her simple, heartfelt prayer.

"That is what I say to God when I'm feeling frightened and alone, Susan," Barbara said. "I ask for His help, and He always answers me."

"What does He say?" asked Susan eagerly.

"It's not what He says, it's what He does," Barbara said. "When you need Him, you will see!"

Susan's eyes were filled with tears. It had been many many years since she'd cast aside the simple faith of childhood. "I wish I still believed," she said to herself. "Because I surely need a miracle right now!"

Just then, Susan's doorbell rang. She opened it and found herself face to face with her grandmother! "Granny!" she gasped. "How...?"

Barbara held up two big bags. "Mrs. Garton wanted to give you these, so I said, 'I want to see Susan and my great grandbaby, so I'll go!' And here I am!"

"Granny," Susan said. "I'm sorry I haven't been in touch... My life... it's..." And that was when Susan started crying.

Granny Barbara was a wise woman. She put down the bags and took her granddaughter in her arms. She rocked her just as she had when she was a baby. "It's alright, dearest," she crooned. "Everything will be alright."

"I've messed everything up, Granny," Susan sobbed. "There was this man... I loved him, and I thought he loved me too... Now I'm all alone, and with a baby and no money..."

"Hush now," Granny Barbara said firmly. "Do you remember that special prayer for when you're lost and frightened? Just say it and you will get your reward!"

"Yes," whispered Susan. "It's funny, I was thinking about it when the doorbell rang..."

"Give your troubles to God, Susan," Barbara said. "Trust in Him. I always do."

That was when Susan's baby, Alma, woke up and started crying.

Barbara cooed over Alma and told Susan she was lucky to have such a lovely baby. She promised Susan she'd be back the next day, and they'd talk some more.

But after Barabara left, Susan felt even more alone. On an impulse, she dropped to her knees beside Alma's crib and called up Barbara's special prayer from her heart.

She felt better after she prayed, so she opened the bags of baby clothes Mrs. Garton had sent. What pretty things! And hardly worn at all! At the bottom of the bag, Susan saw a little box of old-fashioned safety pins.

She picked it up and opened it. She looked inside the box and her hand flew to her mouth. "The special prayer worked!" Susan whispered shakily. It was full of money!

Susan counted it with trembling hands. Three thousand dollars! She could pay the rent and settle her bills and still have some left over.

Susan knelt for the second time that evening and gave thanks for the help she'd received. "Forgive me, Father," she whispered. "I turned away from You, but You still hold me in Your loving hands."

The next day, Susan told Barbara about the money she'd found. "Oh, Granny," she said. "God answered my prayer! I didn't have money for the rent, or my debts, and there it was!"

"Of course," Barbara said calmly. "God is very prompt and practical. At least, I've always thought so."

"But I turned away from Him," Sasan confessed. "I had a sinful life, I stopped believing in Him..."

Barbara smiled and patted Susan's hand. "Oh, God doesn't care," she exclaimed. "You see, He never stopped believing in YOU!"

Susan gave up her apartment and moved in with Granny Barbara, got a job, and started attending church every Sunday. When little Alma was old enough, she taught her the special prayer for when we are lost and frightened and need God's help.

What can we learn from this story?

• When we move away from God, we move away from love. Susan chose a lifestyle that led her to loneliness and abandonment until she remembered God.
• No matter how far we've drifted from His path, God always welcomes us back. Susan discovered that she had a whole community of God's children ready to welcome her with open arms.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a boy who mocks a colleague on his baseball team who prays to God before every game. Then he is injured in an accident and doctors tell him he will never play again.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.