Little Angelina prayed every night at her foster home because another girl told her God could make her wishes come true. She prayed for her mother to come back, but an older woman appeared the next day with a surprising story.
“Really? That works?” Five-year-old Angelina asked 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 for things. But it would only work if she prayed hard and wanted it to happen.
“Did you get your wish?” Angelina asked Hannah.
“Mrs. Franklin?” someone asked from the door, and Angelina’s ears perked up. The voice was eerily familiar to her. It sounded like her mother.
“Not yet. But my mommy used to tell me that. I hope I’ll see her again soon,” Hannah said from the top bunk in their room.
Their foster home was not terrible. But there were many 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 bed, and suddenly, the cops showed up. She cried as they took her away from her house, and her mommy was nowhere to be seen. The five-year-old desperately wanted to go back to her home.
She got up from the bed and kneeled next to it, grasping her hands in tight fists. “Dear God. Please, please, please bring my mommy back soon. Please, bring Mommy back to me,” Angelina prayed. She repeated the same thing several times then turned to Hannah. “How do I finish?”
“You say ‘Amen.’”
“Amen!” Angelina almost yelled.
“Everyone, go to bed now!” they heard the call from their foster parents, and Angelina rushed to get back in bed. Their guardians got 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 is,” Hannah assured her.
The following morning, their foster parents made breakfast for everyone, and Angelina was a little sad that her mommy had not appeared 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’ve been praying too and I’m still waiting. You have to wait, but he will do something,” Hannah replied as she ate her pancakes. Angelina nodded. She had no reason not to believe the girl.
Suddenly, the bell rang. “Who could that be?” their foster mother, Andrea, said.
“Mrs. Franklin?” someone asked from the door, and Angelina’s ears perked up. The voice was eerily familiar to her. It sounded like her mother.
“Mommy!” she exclaimed and rushed to the door. But the woman standing outside didn’t look like her mother. Not exactly. She had gray hair and wrinkles in her eyes. It couldn’t be her mommy. But why did they have the same voice?”
“Angelina, go back to eating,” Andrea insisted, pushing her gently back.
“No, wait. Are you Mrs. Franklin? I’m Danielle Forester. I’m Angelina’s grandmother,” the older woman revealed.
“What? But they never told me this little girl had other family,” Andrea asked, confused.
Angelina watched them both with wide eyes, especially after hearing about having a grandmother. She had never met her.
“Her mother and I… well, we didn’t have the best relationship. But when she died in a car accident and the social workers found me, I was living in a senior community in Florida. I couldn’t take on a kid, but now I can. I’ve been working with lawyers, and they told me I could pick up my granddaughter today,” Danielle revealed, and Andrea hummed, nodding her head.
“Ok, let me call her case 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. “You’re really my grandma?”
“Yes, honey. And I came for you. I bought a brand-new house, and we’re close to Disney World. Would you like to come with me?”
“Yes! But Mommy?”
“Honey, your mommy is no longer here. But I am, and I will never, ever leave you alone again. That’s a promise,” the older woman swore, touching the little girl’s arm affectionately.
Angelina smiled. “Last night, I prayed and prayed for God to bring Mommy back. But he sent you, and a grandma is a kind of mommy, right?”
Danielle laughed lightly. “You could say that.” She touched Angelina’s face gently as Angela returned.
“The case worker had car trouble and didn’t have time to call me earlier. But she told me it was true. Let me go pack Angelina’s things and you can go on your way.”
Angelina cheered, hugged the older woman, and went to say goodbye to Hannah. “You were right!
Hannah smiled, and they also hugged. “See? God always answers our prayers. But it’s different for everyone.”
Angelina nodded, believing those words deep 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.
