I know I’ll get myself in trouble if I attempt to recount the many miracles I was blessed with during 2009. There were many. So many, I’d probably leave some out. But I am so grateful for all of them. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention two.

On March 18, 2009, when my spouse revealed he’d been running a ponzi scheme for 15 years, had turned himself in to the authorities, and would be heading to prison, I had this thought (among MANY others.) “If I can just find a job and a place to live, I can handle everything else.” As I’ve said before, it sort of became my mantra.

I’ve detailed the miraculous blessing of getting a job in a tough economy, after not working full-time for 18 years. But that wasn’t my only miracle.

Due to my spouse’s criminal behavior, we lost everything. Not just the life as we had known it, the savings I thought we had; the home I thought had been paid off for years (my spouse had secretly financed it again behind my back); our credit cards that I thought were getting paid off monthly were maxed; etc…It was a financial nightmare, along with many other things.

My previously good credit took a terrible hit. and I found out not only was I ineligible for a home loan, even a co-signer couldn’t help me–me being tied to anything like that made even the wealthiest co-signer with excellent credit ineligible for credit. My credit is just that bad thanks to the choices of my former spouse.

The other bummer to that is that to rent anything these days, you also need credit references–which made me unable to even rent an apartment somewhere! I was in a panic. I had four children and no place to live.

Visions of living on the street out of a car danced through my head night and day. Oh, yes. That’s right. I didn’t have a car either–it had been seized along with everything else. I had no idea what I would end up with when my divorce was final and I moved out of state.

I can’t describe the shock, fear, trauma, worry and dread that caused me. I NEVER imagined I’d be homeless on the street! NEVER. And what was I going to do to keep my children sheltered?

I tried everything I could think of. My siblings attempted to help me, but things were tight for all of them too. (Not to mention, they also suffered financial losses at the hands of my former spouse–their investment advisor.) Cousins and uncles tried, as well, but no one was able to work anything out. I was down to the wire and desperate for a resolution.

And then one day I got a phone call.

Someone called to tell me they were calling on behalf of a person who wished to remain anonymous who didn’t want me to worry about finding a place to live anymore. The only catch? That person requested total anonymity. So my code word “for he who shall remain nameless,” became “Voldemort.” (In honor of you-know-who from the Harry Potter book series.)

I moved to Utah and set up camp in my brother’s basement until a more permanent housing situation was worked out. Today, my children and I have a roof over our heads. And every day, as I have a place to come home to after work, I am thankful again for miracles and the generous thoughts and actions of others. There are amazingly good people in the world.

So, I had a job and I was going to have a roof over my head. With those two things I could handle anything else.

And then I was blessed with another miracle.

I was moving to Utah, had started my job working from home in Colorado until I moved, and I had people to drive my moving trucks to Utah for me. I just wasn’t quite sure how I was going to pay for it all (and everything else we needed.) I still had one credit card, in my name only, with a small credit limit I could charge the moving trucks on, but I didn’t know how I would ever pay off the credit card!

And then shortly before I left, a very good friend, a friend for many years called to say she wanted to come over and say goodbye. She came to my house, we chatted a bit, and as she left she handed me a card and told me not to open it until she was gone. I figured she was like me, hated to say goodbye, so obliged her request. After she left, I opened the card. Cash.

Thanks to friends and their generous thoughts and actions, I had everything I needed to begin a new life.

I COULD handle everything as long as I had a job and a place to live. And I will never forget the kindness of others and the miracles their generosity and service to me wrought.

“Impossible situations can become possible miracles.” (Robert H. Schuller) Thanks to miracles. And friends.