God cares about my AirPods!

God cares about my AirPods!

One day I was walking along a busy road near Regent’s Park, London, listening to music, when one of my AirPods died. As I went to remove it, I accidentally knocked it out. I watched it drop to the pavement floor, before bouncing and landing perfectly in a drain. There was no way my hand or wrist was small enough to fit through the gaps in the metal grate. I called my mum, as I often do in times of frustration. We had not been on the phone for more than a couple of minutes when I heard a voice yell: “Have you lost something?” I looked up and saw a man in his car. “Um, yes. My AirPod,” I replied, warily. “Do you want me to get it out for you?” he asked. “Uh, yes – if you can,” I responded. 

The man immediately hopped out of his car, crossed the busy road, came over and crouched down, before examining the drain. “Just a sec,” he said, before crossing the busy road again, rummaging in his car then returning with a piece of string. He tied a little loop at the bottom of the string, and lowered it through the grate into the drain – trying his best to hook the AirPod onto it. He attempted several times but each time he lifted up the piece of string the AirPod fell off, no matter how slowly he did it. “Honestly, it’s OK if you can’t get it out,” I kept saying, feeling bad for taking up this man’s time and effort. “No, no, it’s fine,” he assured me, refusing to give up. I watched him pause and think for a moment before he asked: “Is it magnetic?” “Yes,” I replied. 

He ran back to his car a second time, and came back with a metal ruler. I watched as he lowered the ruler into the gutter, and the AirPod clipped on to it, just. Carefully he lifted out the ruler with the AirPod loosely dangling from it. The second it was above ground he grabbed the AirPod and handed it to me. I was baffled. What are the odds that a person would go to such lengths to help a stranger retrieve an AirPod? In London too, of all places? “Thank you so, so much,” I said. Honestly, I could’ve given him a massive hug. “It’s no trouble,” he responded. Before I could even think, he ran back to his car and drove off just as quickly as he had showed up. 

Then my mum said: “Alem, what’s going on?” I had forgotten she was still on the line. “I think I just met an angel, Mum!” I exclaimed. God shows up for us in times of need and often in ways we do not expect. Sometimes He uses people – strangers even. “Thank you, Jesus” I remember saying, over and over, while continuing on my walk. 

Alem

God fought on our behalf 

My daughter, Mandy, had been in a domestic abusive relationship since she was 18 years old. She found the courage to separate from her partner and moved into her own accommodation when her daughter, Sarah, was three.

In February 2023, there was a serious incident which involved her ex-partner trying to enter her accommodation. Thank God Sarah was out with her friend at the time. He was arrested for this offence and the police started criminal proceedings against him, which took two years due to the backlog from the pandemic. Mandy was told she would have to give evidence in court. While the police were gathering information for their case, her ex-partner continued to harass her, sending abusive texts and threatening to kill her should she give evidence in court. Mandy used alcohol as a coping mechanism and I noticed the impact this was having on Sarah. We agreed as a family that I would care for Sarah while the court case continued. 

In 2023, Mandy’s ex-partner was charged and sentenced to four weeks in custody. This did not fit the crime, but we were all glad it was over. However, Mandy continued to misuse alcohol and Sarah remained in my care. I felt security was needed for Sarah as her father wanted full custody when he was released. I applied to the local authority for a special guardianship order (SGO) for myself to look after Sarah. My family and church prayed. 

The local authority recommended to the court that an SGO be granted to me, but her father opposed. Three times court hearings were adjourned to allow him to have time to be assessed and for the magistrates to consider the final plan. We prayed and prayed, I pushed back fear, although my health was being impacted. But in October 2025, the magistrates granted the SGO order in my favour. God showed up for us!

Diane

The long road to joy

The house should have felt quiet. Instead, it seemed terrifyingly noisy. Why had I never noticed all the creaks and groans this house made at night before? Every five minutes, I was hopping out of bed and timidly walking around the house, certain I was about to bump into an intruder. In the end, I switched on the TV and fell asleep watching late-night Australian Christian programming. My husband and I had separated in 2003, and, although we briefly tried to repair things, the marriage eventually ended in 2006. This was his first night with our sons, and my first night alone. I was lonely and I was scared.  

It took me a long time to get used to the noises of my old house at night. Falling asleep with the TV on became a nightly routine. Depression was my constant companion. I tell people that I didn’t smile for about ten years. This may be an exaggeration, but I know I did not smile often for a long period – and rarely felt like I was smiling on the inside. 

Something else I found during this time, though, was God. Those late nights and early mornings watching Christian TV started to have their effect. I had grown up in a Christian household, but Christianity felt like something relegated to one day a week. I wanted the kind of relationship with God that the televangelists talked about. So, around 4am one morning, as the preacher asked people to give their lives to Jesus, I repeated those saving words after him. 

Then I needed to find a church. Many people might find a church through relationships, but depression had pushed my existing friends away and created a barrier to making new ones. Yet in the absence of people, the Holy Spirit stepped in. One day I found a flyer for a small Pentecostal church in my area. With much trepidation, I turned up to a service one Sunday. 

This was no instant miracle. Social anxiety and fear of rejection made it hard to find my place in this new church. Again, depression created a wall, stopping people from getting close to me. I had found God. But it took a long time to realise He loved me as well.

Yet over time, relationships built up – both with God and with others. When I think about who I am now compared to who I was, it really is like two different people. 

I now live in a house in a small country town in New South Wales, Australia, where, instead of hearing people and traffic, I hear birds and cows. This house doesn’t have the creaks and groans that my old house did. But when the wind blows through the valley, it rattles the house so much I feel sure it’s going to be ripped from its moorings. Yet I am not afraid. I don’t turn on Christian TV anymore when I get into bed. But I do pray. And that gives me peace. 

Living in the country has also given me new friendships and new connections. Nature offers a different type of closeness with God, and rural life often means relying on others. I attend an Anglican church but have also started attending a small fellowship group. And how did I find out about that? A friend invited me! 

The other thing I have now is joy. I have gone through some difficult times in my life lately, filled with pain and grief. And I still battle with social anxiety and fears of rejection. But even in the hard times, I can look at the world God has created, feel His love and His presence, and smile. 

Emma