It started with a simple conversation between me and my little girl, Adriel. We were talking about manifestation, the idea that our thoughts and wishes can shape our reality, and how wishes coming true isn’t just fairy-tale magic, but something deeper, tied to faith.

She looked up at me with those wide, curious eyes and asked, “If I send a wish to God, will it happen?” I smiled and told her that God answers our prayers, but not always in the way we expect, and sometimes on His own timeline. It’s all about trusting that He’s listening and knows what’s best. I love doing these little lessons with my children. I already know that the Lord is going to answer their wish for them each time, to show them that he’s real in their lives. Plus, they have me to ask him for them as well too. 

Inspired, Adriel wanted to put it to the test. I folded a paper airplane at her request, one for her and one for her brother Alexander. But it was Adriel who carefully scribbled her wishes on hers. She launched it into the air with all the hope a child can muster, sending her desires soaring toward the heavens. It didn’t fly up into the sky, but circled back around to her and landed back on the deck next to her feet. She felt so disappointed because God did not catch her paper airplane up into the sky that she thought he had not received her wishes. I reassured her, telling her that he knows what she’s asking for and to be faithful and just wait. This also included lessons in virtue, including having patience.

Life had been feeling a bit stifling lately. Between school starting up, my days as an office assistant twice a week, running errands, tending to the animals and family, cleaning the house, and trying to rebuild my business, there was barely a moment to breathe. I’d been hit with a powerful vision earlier in the week while driving with my son, adding to the swirl of energies pulling at me. We all needed a break, something fun and in the spirit of Halloween, but with finances tight, we were even counting change from the jar like we hadn’t in years, options felt limited.

Adriel’s first wish? To get out of the house and go somewhere exciting. And wouldn’t you know it, that wish unfolded beautifully. We were invited to a drive-through light show, where the characters synced perfectly with the music, lighting up the kids’ faces with joy.

Afterward, we stopped at Shane’s Confectionery, that historic candy shop in Philadelphia from 1863, treating them to some sweets. I try to keep sugar limited in their diets, so me and the kids decided against traditional trick-or-treating this year, they’ll just stroll around town in their costumes instead.

But this outing felt like a perfect gift, complete with a late lunch at a nearby restaurant decked out in full Halloween glory. It tied right into the lessons I’m teaching them about the autumn equinox, manifestation, and celebrating the end of the harvest season. The timing couldn’t have been more divine.

Her second wish was for Mommy to get a little extra money to help with the bills, something I often pray about myself as the month winds down. And the third? To find her lost iPad, the one thing that keeps her occupied when I’m buried in tasks. We’d searched high and low, checking the same spots over and over, but it was nowhere to be found. She was heartbroken.

Yet, after that paper airplane took flight, miracles started stacking up. Not only did we escape the house for those magical Halloween adventures, but the iPad mysteriously reappeared, and in one of those very spots we’d scoured multiple times! Adriel’s delight was palpable; she beamed, thanking God for making it “reappear” and for our Philadelphia journey. She wondered aloud why the financial wish hadn’t come through yet, but little did she know, God was already at work.

I sorted out some late bills and helped my mother a bit, she relies on a single VA check from my father’s widow support, which gets split with his ex-wife and has been reduced lately, leaving her stretched thin. Then, a small payment trickled in through my website business. It wasn’t a windfall, but it arrived just in time for gas money and a hand to my mom.

Everything we receive goes right back into caring for the family, saving for school, and keeping things afloat, but this felt like a direct answer.

Seeing her wishes manifest so quickly, bam, bam, bam, really strengthened Adriel’s belief. It showed her that when you have faith, the Lord is there, listening and responding. I’m grateful for these moments because as my kids grow, witnessing His work in their lives will build a foundation of trust.

But I also want them to understand faith even when prayers aren’t answered right away, or at all. Sometimes, God knows the right time, or that something else is better for us. These are the lessons unfolding as we go, one paper airplane at a time.

We’re gearing up for Halloween now, costumes in the works, a walk around town, maybe knocking on a few doors, but mostly heading to that neighbor’s house with the annual barbecue the kids adore. No overload of candy; if they’re indulging, it’ll be something special, like the candy from the old shop. In the end, it’s not just about the wishes coming true, it’s about the journey of belief that brings us closer as a family.