"My Most Memorable Valentine's Day Ever."

It was Valentine’s Day 2004, a day I will never forget!

During a usual busy day at work, my husband Rick slipped out on his lunch hour to bless me with a really special Valentine’s gift. The norm for us is flowers, some candy, and maybe a romantic dinner. This year Rick wanted to surprise me with an extra special present.

He knew jewelry would really catch me off gaurd so off to the jewelry store he went to purchase a ring he had been looking at and thinking about for days.

He was so excited to get to walk through the door when he got home and shock me with this gorgeous blue sapphire and diamond ring. He had it wrapped, and tied a “I Love You” balloon to the box and put it with a card in a beautiful gift bag. Oh, it was just perfect, and he was so proud of his gift to show me how much I was loved.

At that time Rick had to commute to and from work across the 25 mile Causeway bridge over Lake Pontchartrain. He was thinking, “This is going to be Susan’s big surprise” as he drove across that long bridge over the lake.

A few miles before he reached the end, he leaned on the armrest and accidentally hit the passenger side window button and the window went down. Before he could do anything, before his very eyes, he saw the wind catch the balloon and pull it right out of the window with the ring box still attached!

OH MY, can you imagine how he felt at that moment? In the rearview mirror he saw the helium balloon flying in the air with cars and trucks speeding along and only deep water over the rails.

It wasn’t long before Rick pulled up and walked slowly to the door. When he first walked in I could see something was wrong, really wrong. He quietly asked me to come in the back to our room; he had something to tell me. He sat down, and handed me an empty gift bag, with a Valentine’s card in it, and then told me the whole story.

I felt horrible, and so touched all at the same time. Horrible, that he lost this beautiful ring, and so touched by all the love that went behind getting me such a special gift. He was sure there was no chance the ring would ever be found. He said some poor fisherman would see this balloon floating in the lake and pull it up only to find a diamond ring attached to it. Talk about the catch of the day!

After a few minutes of consoling him, I told him just go back on the bridge and try and see if by some chance it didn’t go over the rail or get rolled over. Rick looked at me as if I had lost my mind! It was now night, it was windy, and the chances of finding a small ring box on that Causeway were less than zero. I must add here that there are no lights or emergency lanes on the bridge, and you are not even allowed to stop.

My nephew was over at the time and quickly agreed to take the ride with Rick back on the bridge. So still in a daze we said a quick prayer, and they headed out to accomplish what we all really knew was the impossible.

As they drove along on the southbound span, trying to look across at the Northbound span, my nephew said he though he saw something reflecting in the headlights on the other side. They went another mile to the next turnaround and started heading back on the other side. As they drove along, there was the balloon flapping in the wind against the guardrail. The little ring box got lodged in a drain hole on side of the bridge. When they got close to it another miracle occurred, no cars were coming behind them. My nephew hopped out of the car, grabbed the balloon and the ring still attached, and we all became believers in miracles that day. Whenever I wear that ring, I know it was not only a gift from Rick; it was a gift from God.

Yes, I will never forget my Valentine Miracle. Do you know that God is still working miracles today? I don’t ask why some prayers are answered, and some are not, I just know with God nothing is impossible or too difficult. Happy Valentine's Day Rick, I love you more each day!

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