Welcome to Selene Castrovilla's blog!

I'm an author spreading the words. Read about my books at www.SeleneCastrovilla.com







Thursday, November 24, 2011

Share Your Miracle & Win A Kindle!!!




Here’s a story about a miracle:




A few years ago the transmission in my Ford Windstar died in the left lane of the Long Island Expressway in Queens. It was terrifying. I still can’t believe I didn’t get hit by some maniac speeding too fast to stop in time. A police car came and sat behind me,







but once they’d arranged for a tow truck, they left me sitting there, vulnerable and scared.

This has been a frequent theme in my life.

The miracle has nothing to do with that ­– but I figured I’d fill you in on the circumstances leading to the miracle. Call it backstory.



I made it off the LIE and got towed to the car dealer. Then I got a car rental and went home. There was a whole debate about whether the warranty on the transmission would cover the car rental. On the phone, I told the representative from Ford that I hoped one day he would find a job with redemption. (I’ve actually told a few people from Ford that.)

The miracle is coming, I promise...

I got home and did whatever I needed to do with my kids after school. My younger son, Casey, and I took our dog, J.D. (after Salinger,




not Jack Daniels) to the school field to play. Sometime during our frolicking, the rental car keys fell out of my pocket. I realized they were gone when we got back home and I wanted to drive to the store.

“Oh, well, I’ll find them tomorrow,” I said to Casey. “I know they’re on the field.” That was good of me, not to panic. I was proud of myself.

I went back with JD the next morning to find the keys. At first, I was fine. I figured I’d find them eventually. But after about an hour I started to freak. This was a big field.




I looked up at the sky, spread my arms out wide, and demanded, “Are you gonna help me, or what?”

I looked down at the grass. My keys were right there, in front of my feet.



So there you go. Take from this story what you will. I took a lot, the biggest thing being the assurance that I was not alone in this world, and that if I asked for help I would get it.

And what happened with the car rental? Ford agreed to pay for it.

Henry Ford wrote one of my favorite quotes, incidentally:
“Whether you think you can, or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.”

I have another story about a miracle involving a Ford Focus Matchbox car. I’ll tell you next week. I know you can’t wait.

Got a story about a miracle? Share it with me, and you could win yourself or someone you love a Kindle.



There are other ways to win:

1. Follow this blog.
2. Post this contest in your status on any social media.
3. E-mail your favorite quote on "miracles" to Ldymcbeth@aol.com.
4. Review one of my books (there are four) on your blog, Goodreads or Amazon.
5. I'm open to other creative ideas for entries. Try me!
You will receive one entry for each thing you do. I will select ONE winner out of all the entries on Thursday, December 15.

11 comments:

  1. I have a miracle. I have an animal rescue group. One night, a stray, shepherd-mix came into the veterinary hospital where I worked. She had a microchip that was implanted by the local animal services and, after some research, I learned her name was Zoey and I was able to contact her owners. They told me on the phone that they didn't want her back. Now, she had already been owned, survived and made it out of animal services and was now homeless again. I wasn't going to let her go back.

    I placed her temporarily with a family for foster care. Two days later, they called me and told me they couldn't keep her. She didn't know anything- no house training, no obedience commands, nothing. Nobody had taken the time to train her. I then took her to a friend of mine who had a separate rescue group and had trained many dogs. Two days later, she contacted me indicating Zoey needed much more attention than she had time to provide. I drove an hour each way to get her back and, in the interim, received a call from a woman who lived an hour in the opposite direction. She told me her dog was the exact same way when she adopted him and she would be happy to help. Zoey and I drove in a horrible storm to get to her. When we arrived, she was waiting outside with her dog (after Zoey and I had driven 2 hours in a storm) expecting Zoey and her dog to instantly hit it off. I knew right away this wasn't going to work and, after polite conversation, left with Zoey.

    Back in my neck of the woods, Zoey and I proceeded to drive around with her licking my hand and me crying. It was the first time I thought I might have to euthanize a dog due to my lack of resources. I called my husband. He was empathetic and recommended I see if a local animal hospital was open where I could board her for the weekend to buy myself time. I had already established that I couldn't keep her where I worked as we were not set up for boarding as we were a critical care facility. I called one of my favorites.

    A girl named Shallie answered the phone and I sang my swan song through tears. She replied," We absolutely have room for her. You will need to update her shots. I am going to give you my Dad's cell phone number. He has been training dogs for over 30 years." Later, I learned that Shallie didn't even work the phones. She worked in the kennels and was tired of training a new person and decided to take a break and help the girls up front with the phones. She happened to pick up my call. I set Zoey up and proceeded to call her Dad (all the while wondering if she was getting herself in trouble for giving me his cell number). He answered the phone and once again I pleaded Zoey's case. He told me to bring her to him Monday morning and he would see if he could help.

    Monday morning, I picked up a very grateful Zoey and we drove to his training facility. He told me to sit down while he assessed her. I sat quietly, watching, and within 5 minutes, she was doing EVERYTHING he asked of her. I started crying and saying, "I hope it won't interfere if I cry." He smiled and offered to accept her into his adoption program which requires whole families to attend his training classes. After two months, Zoey found her forever home.

    Looking back, I realized that I was never the one driving me and Zoey. To the trainer and HIM, I made keychains with her picture on it that read, "Thank you for saving her life and for saving my heart." Had any of the other foster homes or options "worked," we surely would not have found our way.

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  2. Cari, Thank you for sharing this beautiful miracle. It made me cry (in a good way!)Take care!

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  3. It was a stinkin' hot night on the east coast. The A/C in the van was having trouble keeping up. Our baby and toddler were sleeping fitfully in the heat. Hubby and I were about to cross the Bay Bridge Tunnel going north. We'd had car trouble and encountered other unexpected expenses on the trip and now we were low on cash. Low, as in, we did not have enough to pay the toll. (Normally 9.00 - but doubled for us because we were pulling a trailer.)

    Please note this was back in the day - before ATMs, cell phones, and instant cash.

    But we had choices. We could take the long way around via DC or we could beg for mercy. We decided to beg. First we begged God to soften the heart of someone in the toll booth administration office; then we went inside where Chuck told our story to the man on duty. He offered to write a check in exchange for cash. The man said no. He was sorry but people came through there all the time wanting to borrow money. Did we want to see the name of the last person he loaned to who did not pay him back? He showed us.

    We'd be coming back in the next few days so Chuck offered to leave his watch as collateral. No go. Donnie Campbell (I'll never forget his name.) was not going to take a chance on this tired ill-prepared family.

    Sadly, we turned to go but toddler daughter who was wearing a diaper decided she wanted to use the bathroom. I seriously wanted to say, "Oh just pee in your diaper". But you can't say that to a child in training, now can you? So I took her to the restroom. I wanted to cry. Maybe I did. It had been a really long day. We were within 2 1/2 hours of Ocean City, MD and did not have the stamina for five more hours of travel.

    And wouldn't you know? When I came out of the restroom with the daughter, Donnie Campbell was giving Chuck the cash he needed to pay our toll. No he didn't want a check. No, he didn't want any collateral. "Just put the cash in an envelope and give it to the attendant when you come back through on Sunday," he told us.

    I don't know what changed his mind. Maybe he saw our fatigue. Maybe it was because my husband did not express anger. Maybe he had mercy on the children.

    Or perhaps it was God. It sure felt like a miracle to us.

    We actually paid him back (and then some) when we came south a few days later. Don't you think that should count as a whole other miracle?

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  4. Here's a miracle quote I like. "To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle. Every cubic inch of space is a miracle."
    (Walt Whitman)

    I also like one by Albert Einstein that says, "It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education."

    Not sure I actually have a favorite.

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  5. Selene, I don't see the opportunity here to "follow your blog" but I do get it sent to my inbox each time. So I've been following you already.

    See, I'm trying hard for thatKindle.

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  6. @Joyce -- I became a follower last week. Number 6, I think, but that option now seems to be gone. I am subscribed, so I also get this in my email.

    I will also post this on Facebook. Every day I wake up is a miracle for me at my age! Here's a miracle quote -- In order to be a realist you must believe in miracles. ~ Henry Christopher Bailey

    It would be a miracle to win a Kindle, but Joyce seems to want it so much, I think you should give my entries to her. I hope she wins.

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  7. I shared this on facebook. =)
    Each day I wake up and look in the faces of my 3 boys, I am reminded, my life is a miracle. Coming from an extremely broken home, my life was not exactly headed in the right direction. I chose to let circumstances dictate...God chose to let me get pregnant. Okay, I will admit some of those choices I made had a hand in it. Regardless, I was on the road to self destruction with a hefty dose of alcoholism on the side.
    Within minutes of finding out I was pregnant my life changed. From that point forward, despite my broken circumstances, I was responsible for a life! A life, I would do EVERYTHING to protect.
    That little seed of life, my miracle, was planted with great expectations.
    Long story short, 18 years ago I was on a path to self destruction. Today I am a proud mother of 3 + 1 stepson. I run a daycare, I am a cub scout Den Leader, I am a Senior High Youth Leader...I am blessed! Working with children was never something I imagined myself doing...now I can't imagine myself not.

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  8. Oh yeah, I'm following now too! And...emailing favorite Miracle quote.

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  9. "Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see." C.S. Lewis

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  10. Ah, Rosi, you are toooooo sweet. I really don't want to take your chance away.

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  11. Thank you, guys! I love your stories & quotes. What a boost I'm feeling! :)

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