A Welcoming Surprise

We’re having our kitchen renovated and it’s currently unusable. Stripped to the bare bones.

These renovation works are not something we can really afford but a necessary expense after we discovered the old gas stove was leaking, the kitchen sink was cracked and letting water into the bottom cupboard and the electric light switch gave me a shock every time I turned the light on or off.

It was find the money to limit the risk of blowing up the house or someone being electrocuted.

Not a hard decision to make obviously, but an unwelcome expense we are struggling to afford.

While the renovations are taking place, I feed my family of six, including four children under seven, using the old Barbecue on the back deck. I might find it challenging but the kids love it.

I certainly need to be creative so I’m not feeding my family the same meal night after night, while also being extremely mindful of our limited budget.

Then, at the worst possible time, my old Barbecue gave up the ghost, thankfully just as I finished cooking dinner. Now I’ve no idea how I’m going to feed my family tomorrow.

After dinner I catch up with my neighbour and we head out for a stroll around the neighbourhood. We do this most evenings as it’s a great form of exercise and I love the company.

As we walk, I tell my neighbour of my dilemma but she doesn’t have any helpful suggestions. To be honest, my neighbour is struggling financially as much as we are. I didn’t expect her to be able to help as I was just letting off steam. She kindly gave me the listening ear I needed at the time.

I’ll just have to talk to hubby in the morning. My husband works night shift, while I’m a stay-at-home mum. I’ll be asleep when hubby gets in so I decide to put the stress away and worry about it in the morning. Two heads are always better than one and hopefully my husband will have some good ideas.

With that, I go about my evening as best I can. I am, admittedly, quite stressed about it all and find it difficult to push the worry from my mind. I decide to head to bed and escape through sleep.

On waking this morning I wander out onto my front porch with my coffee, hoping for a few minutes peace before the kids wake up. I’m truly thankful that I can still boil water with our old kettle, which I’ve set up in the lounge room. What an ogre I’d be without my morning coffee.

I sit down in my favourite chair, surveying my small world when I spy something in my driveway. Confused, I wander out into the yard to investigate.

Imagine my surprise, there is a halfway-decent Weber Barbecue sitting in my driveway and not a single person to be seen. Where did that come from?

I can only conclude that some kind soul has just saved the day and given me the ability to feed my children today.

I ponder who could have been so generous and as I glance down the street, I see a middle-aged lady smiling at me. She gives a little wave and heads inside.

Right there is my wonderful guardian angel.

I realise she must have heard us talking yesterday evening as we walked the neighbourhood and as she is moving out, donated her Barbecue to a family in need.

I send a silent blessing her way with a grateful heart and tears in my eyes.

The universe sure does work in mysterious ways!

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Originally published on Medium