An Answered Prayer

This experience happened long before the days of paychecks being handled through direct deposit. School teachers only got paid once each month, and because this was the last pay day in December, the next check would come at the end of January - almost 6 weeks away.

Lou Butler - principal
classic mid 1970's school picture

December 21, 1977 – Today is payday, but at 5 p.m. tonight I realized that I couldn’t find my check!

December 22, 1977 – During the night I woke up and remembered that I had run over to the Arapahoe Grocery to get batteries for my camera about 9:30 a.m., and I remembered that my coat had flapped open as I ran. The inside coat pocket to my newest brown suit is not very deep, and I felt that the check had come out of my suit pocket at that time.

As I lay there in bed about 4 a.m. I could almost see the check laying there on the ground between 9th Street and the alley behind the store where they have their big trash box. So as soon as it was light, about 7 a.m., I got in the car and drove down there.

The wind had been blowing and there were no papers on the street or sidewalk, so I drove slowly down the street and stopped near the alley where the store trash is kept. The wind had swirled into the trash area, and it looked like a few papers were blown together by the fence. I got out of the car, walked over and picked up my check! It was not even wrinkled!

Jim said he had read where people could find things like that if they would just think about them and relax and go to sleep, but he thought it was the Holy Ghost and that “somebody was looking out for me.” He said the book [he read] said we should listen to our subconscious promptings more and we’d be better off.

I was pretty anxious about it and could have gotten by, but it would have been difficult, so I did some praying about it, even though I knew I had lost it through carelessness. I am sure that I did have some help and that it was not just my subconscious mind working.