2 Girls Send Letters on Balloon to Daddy in Heaven. Cloud Shape Tells Them Dad is Watching
Every day we make choices, but we don’t always get to see the results of those decisions.
When we hit roadblocks or are disappointed with a particular outcome, it can be hard to see beyond the immediate dissatisfaction and to what might be waiting on the other side.
Two young girls from Texas experienced great disappointment and pain last year when they lost their father. They suffered a much more minor setback this year, but it ended up working out in their favor.
Gypsy and Story Retting, ages 7 and 6, were celebrating their late father’s memory on his birthday.
The two young girl sent a shiny birthday balloon skyward, with two notes attached: one from each of the girls.
“Dear Dad, we want to go up with you,” Story wrote. “We miss you so much. We want to go and hug you and do all of the things you do.”
They released the balloon and ran around, giggling with excitement. They so wanted their messages and love to reach their dad in heaven.
And they got a small miracle: As the balloon drowsily worked its way up, the letter “s” appeared in the clouds.
“Yes, the clouds turned into an ‘S’ and their dad’s name happens to be Skyler,” Tori Retting, their mother, said. “So we thought, ‘What a coincidence!’ He’s out there and he’s catching that balloon.”
Their elation soon turned to sadness, though, when their airborne gift drifted and then began falling back down to Earth.
They were crushed that they saw it fall, because they thought that meant their dad wouldn’t get their message.
But someone else did.
Lance Dunahoe, businessman and dad of two, came across the deflated balloon remains and the damp notes on his front lawn.
After scooping up the tattered paper, he realized that this wasn’t just trash. He took to Facebook and posted a photo of his find, asking for who it might belong to.
Eventually he got into contact with the Rettings. But they had encountered more troubling circumstances.
Story had started to experience epileptic seizures and had been hospitalized. Doctors were working with her to find out what was causing them, but meanwhile the bills were adding up.
So Dunahoe did what many people do and started a GoFundMe for the little girl. So far, the family has been pledged more than $11,000.
“I think we all have an opportunity, every day, to be the answer to somebody’s prayer,” Dunahoe said.
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