A couple of years after fleeing the war in their homeland for a foreign land, Elena and her husband found themselves running the local laundromat. They began by taking on various small tasks at the facility. However, as time passed, the owner, recognizing their tireless efforts and commitment, offered them the opportunity to take over the business with minimal financial investment when he decided to move elsewhere.
With three young children and limited income, the family faced financial challenges. However, the prospect of owning the laundromat they had dedicated years of work to was fulfilling and provided hope for better times ahead. With this in mind, they eagerly embraced the opportunity. However, within just a few years, the popularity of household laundry machines soared, granting those who could afford them the convenience of doing laundry at home. This trend significantly slowed down business at the laundromat.
During their struggle to keep the business running, Elena’s husband fell ill. Tragically, he passed away within a matter of weeks. Balancing the needs of three grieving young children and managing the business her family relied on, Elena found herself without the luxury of time to mourn the loss of her beloved husband.
Dealing with three grieving young children and running the business her family depended on, Elena didn’t have time to grieve the passing of the love of her life. Faced with distress and the looming threat of losing their apartment and more, Elena considered taking a night job in addition to running the laundromat during the day. Yet, she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her children alone at night, especially given their emotional state at that time.
Her church, the only community she was familiar with, had provided significant financial support for her husband’s funeral. Despite this, she hesitated to approach them again for assistance with her ongoing difficulties, feeling embarrassed about the idea.
One night, as her children slept soundly, Elena found herself overwhelmed with despair. Tears welled in her eyes as she stared at the stack of unpaid bills on her living room table. She broke down in tears, ensuring that her children remained unaware of her emotional turmoil. Exhausted from hours of weeping and worrying, she eventually fell asleep on the sofa, unsure of how she would manage to make the payments.
The next day, after seeing her youngest child off to school, Elena headed to open the laundromat. While she maintained a cautious sense of optimism, she also knew the possibility of not bringing home enough money, or none at all, just like the previous day and the day before.
Since her husband fell ill, Elena had struggled to keep up with the rent for the laundromat. The looming threat of losing it weighed heavily on her mind. Feeling like she had exhausted all options, she rested her head on the counter, silently praying for a solution. But before she could finish, the landlord stormed into the building and demanded some of the money or he would consider giving it to another person. Elena pleaded desperately for more time, but the landlord, visibly upset, walked away angrily after giving her a deadline to come up with the money. She couldn’t hold back her tears as she followed him outside, continuing to plead for just a little more time. With tears streaming down her face, she stood in front of the building, her emotions laid bare in public, and watched until the landlord disappeared from sight. Having known the family for quite some time, the landlord had always been kind to them. However, Elana couldn’t help but notice a recent change in his demeanor, leading her to believe that something troubled him. As she wiped away her tears, these thoughts raced through her mind.
Elena composed herself and returned inside, suppressing her tears. She couldn’t help but wonder if that would be one of her last visits to the laundromat. After sobbing for a while, she realized that she hadn’t found the strength to pray since her husband’s passing. Summoning her courage, Elena offered a few heartfelt words in her prayer. She asked for God’s assistance for the landlord, hoping that whatever was troubling him would be eased. She also prayed fervently for a miraculous turn of events in her own situation. However, she had a paralyzing feeling of doubt as she recalled how the miracle, she had prayed for her husband to recover from his illness never materialized.
Without warning, a group of young men burst through the door, shouting threats. It seemed they were aware that she was alone. Two of them demanded money from her, but when she explained she didn’t have any, they forcefully pushed her against the wall. They then proceeded to mock her accent, leaving her feeling humiliated and frightened. In her shock, she dreaded what else they might do, especially when one of them began to lower his pants. She felt a brief sense of relief when he turned away from her to urinate in one of the machines. However, in that moment of panic, her mind raced with thoughts of what would happen to her children if they harmed her. With that frightening thought, she begged that her children would be left with no one if something happened to her. Yet, they merely laughed, tossed her onto the floor, and mocked her accent. While that was going on, two of them were busy playing with the coin machines stuffing it with some objects as though they were trying to break them. Once they finished stuffing the machines with them, they flung the rest onto the floor. They kicked and toppled things over, while Elena sat on the floor, watching in horror. After what felt like an eternity, they dashed out laughing and cheering each other on as if they had just successfully completed a mission.
Elena sprang to her feet and hurried to the phone. Within minutes, the police arrived, accompanied by the landlord who had learned of the incident through word of mouth. As she recounted the events to the police, she faltered out of fear, meeting the landlord’s gaze. His expression seething at the sight of the vandalism. Shaking from the incident and anxious about the landlord’s potential reaction after the police departure, she found it difficult to form coherent thoughts and began to cry. But minutes later, what she was thinking to be one of the worst days of her life quickly changed into something completely unexpected.
Baffled, the police officers and Elena stopped everything and turned to look, as the landlord, just steps away amidst the debris, exclaimed with astonishment and excitement as if he had stumbled upon a treasure. Without a word, they watched as the landlord knelt down and began retrieving something from the debris. His expression turned to disbelief as he smiled at Elena and exclaimed that the coins used by the thugs to fill the machine were the exact ones stolen from his home during a robbery a few weeks prior. He elaborated, revealing that not only were the coins valuable monetarily, but they also held immense sentimental value as they were the only legacy he had from his late father. It became clear that the robbers had no idea of the coins’ worth. With some of the coins in his palm, and in sheer joy, he rushed to embrace Elena who was having mixed emotions at that point. They all stared at the precious coins in his palm. The officers completed the reports and left while the landlord continued showing his excitement while also taking moments to express sympathy for Elana’s ordeal. Elana survived the harrowing ordeal with just a superficial scratch, thankfully. Despite being offered medical treatment, she insisted she felt no pain and declined any assistance.
Overwhelmed with happiness, the landlord and Elena had a friendly conversation. He apologized for his recent behavior towards her, attributing it to the sadness he felt after losing the coins. He expressed that losing the coins had affected him deeply, explaining that even if everything else were taken from him, leaving only the coins due to their sentimental value, he wouldn’t have felt as distraught. In the end, he waived six months’ worth of her rent and promised to repair all the damage that had been caused. In addition to that, he gave her enough cash to assist her with food and other domestic payments.
That evening, as Elena was giving a prayer of thanks, it dawned on her that, just like in the case of her late husband, sometimes the miracles we expect never come and only the Lord knows why. She had also learned that sometimes, miracles can present themselves in disguise as the in the case of the precious coins. She fell asleep hopeful of the future and reassured that miracles are real. And for those who don’t receive miracles when they desperately ask for them, the Lord gives strength.
