When God Uses Technology to Connect to Us

1 ^{of 6} Miracle on Facebook

I hesitated before posting my plea to Facebook. I’m not a tech-savvy person, and I wanted to make sure I had done everything right. Three years ago, I’d finally opened the dry-cleaning box that was supposed to contain my satin, V-neck wedding dress from 1989, only to discover a lace, mermaid style gown instead. Definitely not my dress. I called the dry cleaner, but there was no record of anyone else receiving the wrong wedding dress, especially after all these years.

A friend had recently suggested I post about the mix-up on this local Facebook page. So here I was. Some young members of the group had to help me adjust my privacy settings so they could share my post. I went to bed feeling a bit skeptical. Even if the right person sees what I posted, they might have tossed my dress long ago, I thought.

I was surprised when I awoke the next morning to a message from Kayla Hotson and her mother, Janet. They believed I had Janet’s dress—and they had mine. Could it be? The three of us met that very afternoon. When they opened the box and I saw my dress, I was shocked and delighted. We were both reunited with our dresses 31 years after the mix-up—and less than 24 hours after my post! —Cathy Prior, London, Ontario, Canada

2 ^{of 6} Netflix Profile from Beyond

My older brother Tim was the lovable black sheep of the family. He refused to dress up, even for formal events, and always sported oversize aviator glasses and a bushy mustache, as if his personal style were stuck in the 1970s. Despite his appearance, though, he was a real softie. He never married or had children, but he treated my twin daughters as if they were his own. When he passed away in 2013, at age 56, from lung cancer, we were all devastated. I couldn’t help but wonder: Was Tim watching over us from heaven, still marching to the beat of his own drum?

One evening, two years after his death, my husband, kids and I were gathered on the couch to watch something on Netflix. We couldn’t agree on a movie, so I decided to scroll the Netflix recommendations section. The text above the list of suggested movies read: Top Recommendations for Tim.

Tim? My brother had never used Netflix. Had someone hacked into our account? I returned to the log-in screen to check. At the top of the screen were two words: who’s watching? Underneath was a single profile; one we’d never seen before. An avatar with aviators and a mustache. Tim. —Tina Showalter, Sandusky, Ohio

3 ^{of 6} A Glitch from Heaven

I was sitting in my living room, stunned, after returning home from a doctor’s appointment. I’d just learned that I was having a relapse of Lyme disease. I wished I could call my mom. She’d always known how to reassure me. Mom had died from cancer six years earlier, and I missed her so much. I touched the gold heart bracelet I wore—Mom’s, a treasure she’d had since childhood. She’d given it to me before she passed; I’d never seen another one like it. I didn’t know how I would handle this relapse without my mom by my side. Please, God, I thought, I just need a sign that I’ll be okay. 

I decided to distract myself with a little online shopping. Using my phone, I navigated to my favorite website’s home page. Then the picture glitched. What in the world? I’d never had any problems with this phone. The website jumped to a new page. There on my screen was a picture of Mom’s gold heart bracelet! It was marked as “Sold.” When I tried to click on it, my screen blipped back to the home page. I searched all over the site for that bracelet and never could find it again, but it didn’t matter. I’d gotten the reassurance I needed. —Anastiscia Lang, Incline Village, Nevada

4 ^{of 6} Divine Suggestion

Sharon Mellenger. The name popped up one day as a friend suggestion on Facebook. Mellenger was my dad’s last name. Were they related?

Dad and I didn’t talk about his father’s side of the family. They weren’t close. I knew my grandfather had been a pharmacist and owned a drug store, and that he had a brother, but not much more. I wasn’t sure if this woman was a relation. Not wanting to tell Dad about her until I knew for sure, I added her and sent her a message.

She responded right away. She and my dad were cousins! I called Dad, and he was curious to meet her. Since she lived close by, we all agreed to meet at her house. Sharon warmly invited us in. We caught up for a bit, then she went to a cabinet. “Karl, I have something that belongs to you,” she said. She took out a mortar and pestle.

“That was my father’s,” he said. “I never knew what happened to it!” After Dad’s father died, it had shuffled through family members and wound up with Sharon. “I always hoped to get this back to you,” said Sharon. A cherished family heirloom was returned, all because I was pointed to the perfect Facebook suggestion. —Angela Mundy, Kenosha, Wisconsin

READ MORE: 5 More Stories of Miraculously-Found Family Heirlooms

5 ^{of 6} App Connection

PING! My phone chimed. I swiped open Letgo, an app for buying and selling used goods. Someone was interested in the car sunshade I’d posted. I coordinated a time and place to meet the buyer. Meanwhile my mind wandered to my father, Adolph—or Molly, as I used to call him. A mispronunciation of a German word for “chubby.” A hardworking, practical Austrian immigrant, Dad would’ve been proud I was trying to sell something I no longer needed.

Dad died in 2016. He’d lived with me for the last nine years of his life. One of my favorite memories was our trip to New Mexico. That’s where Dad bought the pastel drawing of parrots that hangs in my entryway. He liked to say it reminded him of the three of us—my late mother, my dad and me.

On the day of the sale, the would-be buyer arrived on time. To my shock, he stepped out of the car with a colorful bird perched on his shoulder. How odd to bring a parrot to meet a stranger from an app! The sunshade didn’t fit the man’s car, but by then I already knew the sale wasn’t the real reason we’d found each other. The man’s parrot looked as if it had flown straight out of my father’s painting. And when I’d asked the parrot’s name, the man replied, “Molly.” —Christopher Kronen, North Las Vegas, Nevada

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