Magic Lottery Machine, Ayahuasca, and a Mystical Homeless Man: A Father’s Day Miracle
Mundane or profound, miracles happen all around. If you wish for them to be, just open your eyes and see.
On Father’s Day June 19, 2022, I was severely bummed out. My dad died three years previously after a turbulent battle with stomach cancer and I was struggling all alone.
It was a hot, humid, sun-piercing summer Sunday. My girlfriend was at work. The missing two-thirds of my triplet bros, younger brother, family, and friends were 800 miles away in Wisconsin while I lay languishing in a high-rise Baltimore apartment.
However, throughout the years of navigating emotional turbulence during and after my dad’s cancer battle, I learned that small choices quickly compound to big victories.
On this day, I would make several decisions that led to a serendipitous, divinely orchestrated miracle.
Morning Disc Golf Trip
As the morning began, I made the choice to drop my then-girlfriend (now-wife) off at work. We share a car and I wanted the vehicle that day.
Usually, I prefer to sleep in, lounge around, and be a pedestrian on slow Sundays. However, I knew that sequestering myself inside saccharine AC and mind-numbing digital entertainment would exacerbate the struggle.
After I dropped her off, I took a solo road trip 40 minutes north to immerse myself in an endeared, nature-laden disc golf course, Scarboro Hills.
As usual, the course was serene, scenic, and verdant. I chucked some plastic, let the sun sink into my skin, enjoyed nature’s presence, and got ready to head back home.
As I was driving back, I passed by a familiar gas station and decided to poke my head in for a little treat — and a potential prize.
The Magic Lottery Machine
You see, six months previously, I dreamt about a confined casino with dazzling lights and machines illuminating a small space.
I visited Scarboro Hills for the first time a few days after that dream. After my round, I stopped by a nearby Wawa gas station for a refreshing Mountain Dew.
As I was exploring this new place, I turned around and saw a Maryland lottery machine. The sight struck me still. This was the same “casino” image from my dream.
I decided to buy a $10 scratch-off to test my luck. The machine denied my credit card. I tried my debit, it denied that as well. I pulled out a folded $20 bill from my wallet and inserted it. I purchased one $10 scratch-off successfully. However, the machine refused to give me any change. I purchased another $10 ticket and thought, “Screw it. This is what I get for playing the lottery.”
I walked back to my car, hooked the gas nozzle up, cracked open that sickly-sweet fructose-filled Dew, and used a quarter to investigate my potential winnings.
The first card was a loser. The second card contained $50 worth of winnings. $30 profit following an impulse from my dreams?.. Priceless!
As stated above, this happened six months before Father’s Day 2022. Let’s jump back to that miraculous June Sunday.
Magic Lottery Part II: The More Magical-er One
After my Father’s Day round, I found myself at Wawa grabbing a Dew and testing the magic lottery machine again.
This time, I had a $10 bill and purchased an equivalent scratch-off. I got back to my car and investigated. I won $100.
“There really is something to being in sync with my dreams, isn’t there?” I thought to myself.
Sun-fatigued, amused, and still emotionally perturbed, I drove back 40 minutes south to my apartment.
I was happy to be home in the AC, but the hollow feeling I had since the day began came creeping back.
I let myself feel sad for a bit and decided to make another choice — causing another cascade of miracles.
Ayahuasca Documentary
To drown the negative noise out, I’m prone to submerging my senses with video games and metal music. It’s always a foolish attempt to avoid unwanted thoughts and works for only a moment.
Instead of defaulting, I decided to find an informative, uplifting, and perspective-shifting documentary. I settled on a documentary about Ayahuasca. I’m not into psychedelic drugs for myself, but I enjoy learning about the consciousness-warping experiences which users oft-describe as more real than reality.
The producer and participant of this documentary, Alexandra ‘Sasha’ Compuesto, explained her life’s journey and experience with the medicine.
Born with congenital amputation, Compuesto experienced a lot of shame growing up, including from the family who raised her.
During her Ayahuasca experience, Compuesto uncovered a personality complex she had created in response to her disability based on “proving people wrong.”
Although Compuesto was accomplished, intelligent, and determined, the shame from not having an arm haunted her. In response, she unconsciously absorbed the negative things people said about her, taking on the beliefs as if they were her own.
After learning this, she affirmed that she’s good enough as she is and can determine her own worth on her own terms.
After watching the documentary, I took Compuesto’s experience and lessons to heart. I watched another documentary detailing another person’s spontaneous life encounters, and felt determined to make my day a little more spontaneous myself.
Money, Please!
To continue making the most out of an otherwise-heavy day, I decided to cash my lottery winnings at the local convenience store.
I grabbed my six-month-old $50 winning card and six-hour-old $100 card from my desk and scrambled out the door.
I floated across the street to “The Stop,” a neighborhood convenience store and takeout spot, to cash my ticket. I entered the store and asked the cashier if I could redeem my winnings. She quickly told me they don’t keep money in the register for lottery winnings. A bit surprised, I conceded defeat and headed back home.
Still inspired by the documentaries I watched, I decided to download the Maryland lottery app and look for official places to cash my lottery winnings.
I found a place 10 minutes north by car. Thank God I dropped my girlfriend off and had the car to myself.
I hopped in my hooptie, cranked up the jams, and took a short freeway drive to the next convenience store.
I quickly exited two streets down and couldn’t believe my eyes. Traffic was backed up at least 50 cars from the exit to the stoplight. I glanced to my left and realized why: I had forgotten about the music festival at Druid Hill Park going on this weekend.
Oh well. I could wait a couple minutes and enjoy my music on this warm summer day. After a couple cars passed through the lights, my car came to a stop a bit closer. I glanced to my left and couldn’t believe my eyes yet again.
This time, I saw a homeless man soliciting change on the side of the road. And just like the girl from the documentary, he had one arm.
What are the chances I would encounter a person with the same disability that inspired me to get out the door on this fated day?
Quickly, a plan arose in my head. I would head to the convenience store, cash my winnings, return to the homeless man, and give him the money. Afterall, he needed it way more than I did. What else was I supposed to do with cosmic winnings?
The traffic dissipated and I arrived at the convenience store in a matter of minutes. I told the cashier I had two lottery tickets to redeem, worth $150. As it turns out in Baltimore, even the official lottery partner stores don’t keep that much cash in the register. The cashier was able to award me $50 but couldn’t follow through with the $100 ticket. I could have found another store in driving distance, but I wanted to get back to the homeless man before it was too late.
I looped back around to a parking spot close to the freeway exit, parked my car, and walked out on foot toward the gentleman.
Excitedly, I approached him. With a giant gleaming smile, I handed him the money and additional lottery ticket. I explained I won some money with scratch offs and told him he needed it more than me. Without thinking, I blurted out that God loves him more than he could ever know. At this moment, I realized the miraculous money wasn’t really for me. The money was for this man who was having a harder time than I thought I was. Because I made the numerous “small” choices to follow God’s whispers, I became a conduit for His plan.
What proceeded next defied logic and the bounds of my perceived reality. It would forever etch the tangible experience of God — His love, His mercy, His miraculous nature — onto my heart.
“I‘ve been praying for God’s blessing’”
After giving this man the money and spontaneous message, he asked me for a hug. He was missing teeth, an arm, had dirty clothes, and didn’t smell great, but none of that mattered. He squeezed me tight and thanked me. After our embrace, I caught his eyes and encountered a profound gentleness and kindness that overshadowed his circumstance. In that moment, I knew heart is what matters most. We both wiped our tears away.
“Do you have a few minutes to talk?” he asked me. “Of course!” I eagerly replied.
“I’ve been having a really tough time recently. I’ve been praying and asking for God’s blessing, especially this morning. After I prayed this morning, I got a text from my son who I haven’t heard from in years. He told me ‘Happy Father’s Day’ and that he loved me.”
I was happy to hear that his prayers were answered. Yet, what he told me next shook me to my core.
“I lost my dad from colon cancer two years ago. You wanna’ hear something crazy? I still talk to him even though he’s gone. He answers me sometimes in my head and tells me he loves me.”
I was paralyzed. Without any prompting or background from me, I was sharing and grieving over the same loss as this stranger. Three years ago, I had lost my dad to the same disease. And before I lost him, I was practically an atheist. Although my dad doesn’t answer me in my head, he answers me in my dreams. It was that experience (full story here) that caused me to start believing in life after death, the eternal nature of the soul, and the existence of God in some form. And this current miracle was a confirmation of that faith.
I briefly shared my story with the man. He seemed less receptive to my story than I was to his, but that didn’t really matter. What mattered was that his prayers were answered and so were mine. When God works miracles, you don’t demand it to be anything other than what it is. When the phone rings, you pick it up and listen to the message, and equally as important, you hang it up after it’s received.
I gave him another hug, told him that I loved him, and walked back to my car with legs trembling and heart quivering.
I thought about the larger significance of blessings and miracles. “What am I supposed to do when I’m blessed by God?” I wondered.
Whether answered by my angel Father, the True Father, or intuitive elation, I heard “Give it away!”
That is what you do when you are blessed. That is what you do when you receive. You multiply the miracle by giving it away. This proliferates God’s exuberance, mercy, and love as an eternal ripple in an infinite pond.
Give It Away Now
My father and I both shared a love for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Even when stricken with sickness, we were able to see them in concert before he passed. I put on the song, turned up the volume as loud as I could without blowing my speakers, and drove home screaming, crying, and laughing with pure joy.
On this Father’s Day 2024, whether you are celebrating with someone with someone you love, avoiding the day because of someone you detest, or contemplating someone you lost, remember that so much of life is miraculous and purposeful, even when it doesn’t appear to be so. You are loved by your creator beyond what you could ever imagine. The people you love, you will see again. You won’t ever actually “die,” but when you “pass,” you will discover the Truth you so longed to experience on this Earth. If you give yourself permission and change your perspective, you can catch glimpses of that pure love before you depart. And you can share that gift with all you encounter — not necessarily by accomplishment, but by presence. Miracles are real. I hope you can see that.
