Over Night Millionaire.

There are several stories of people who have blown their winnings, lost their friends and family and ended up worse off than they were before. In this particular story , it’s a remarkable story . A story of miracles in uncertainty and the power in belief.

Let’s get into the story of Annabelle Lawson. She was a Fashion designer in New York City. Grew up with her twin brother Jacob . Distance could not disrupt the bond these two had . Tuesday May, 23rd , 1984 6:30pm . The trajectory of her life changed, forever.

One evening she received a call from the hospital at St. Judes there was a terrible car accident due to a drunk driver . Her brother Jacob and sister in law Sarah unfortunately did not make it . Leaving behind 4 precious children . Ages , 4, 10, 8, and 15. The options that were lingering at that moment were to give the boys up for adoption or take sole responsibility as their Guardian.

Annabelle made the decision at that moment to take the full responsibility of being the guardian of her nephews. It wasn’t easy by any means but it was necessary. She worked 2 jobs to make sure her nephews did not live without , even if it meant sacrificing her aspirations .

After this terrible accident, Annabelle was someone who was very negative . Her focus was on lack. Anytime someone had something positive to say , she just couldn’t bear it . Especially when it came to winning the lottery .

She generally played the lottery about once a month . At one point she was playing weekly and then it decreased two times a month or whenever she remembered. Friends and family always said, "Oh, you know, a lot of people try and win." Annabelle would always say, "Yeah, but I never win,"

Nearly spitting out his coffee , shouts out John

“Not with that attitude you won’t! I tell ya all the time .”

John was the owner of the JC convenience store. If it were anyone to gain inspiration and insight from it was John. He is a very proud Italian, someone that comes from very humble beginnings and carries a lot of wisdom.

“Hey ! Uncle John, I know, you‘re right.”

As children both Annabelle and Jacob each had engraved journals that resembled a book as to how nicely it was made . The journals were not your typical journals. Each was filled with short stories that when applied would have successful rewards. The stories were written in such a profound way. With the right head space , makes things easy to grasp. After the tragic death of her brother she decided to finally finish. The very last page of her brothers had numbers scribbled down. She thought nothing of it. She looked at hers and remembered seeing those very same numbers earlier that day.

As she is making her way to the attic, she decided to put that new technique she learned and see how it feels. Truth is deep down , Annabelle was tired of her own shit as well and how negative she was. She just couldn’t vocally admit that to everyone else because of her embarrassment.

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Looking around the once in disoray attic to nearly cleaned .

I look around in excitement

“yesss! Okay I am getting somewhere ”

To the left side of the attic , was a very large box covered in faded stickers. I pulled it open and began exploring its contents. Stacked on top were journals from the past Forty years . Yes , forty years ! . My beloved grandmother was beautiful a writer and very private. In the box had some cool throwback pictures of my granny, and gramps. School keepsakes, love letters . A lot of love and memories.

Laid perfectly in between , Granny Jullie’s accolades was a small, black, leather-bound notebook. The pages were discoloured and very brittle, so as I flipped through . I made sure to be extremely careful, not wanting to rip any.

The idea of my grandmother gambling definitely took me a bit by surprise, but then again, everyone has their own guilty pleasures.

I decided , why not try my luck and combine the numbers together.

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December 11th, 1994 , On the way to the state lottery office. The drive was filled with so much emotions.

Is this for real ?

Is this really happening?

I was so nervous , what if I read it wrong and drove all this way and I didn’t win. I had to just focus on my breathing and quiet my mind.

As I pull up to the place. I remember quickly giving myself a much needed pep talk before I went in there acting a damn fool.

The clerk greets me

“Hiii , Great morning !”

Hi, Good morning

I am thinking to myself

“She is so perky this morning, exactly what I need”

DESK 1 is available.

The first ticket with the numbers 1, 5, 7, 18, 11, 33, 45.

A very loud noise starts to go off on the surround sound and on the register it says $20,000 . I am in disbelief. Tears began to flow down my face, a flush of emotions are flowing through my entire being. I ask her to ring it in one more time . The noise goes off again ! .

The second ticket the numbers 8,18,45,3,43,11, 22. Granny’s numbers !

WINNER ! WINNER !WINNER !

Colourful balloons start to fall everywhere.

The second ticket purchased was a guaranteed support to fund critical advancements in cancer research and care. A win , win .

The second ticket was for the jackpot of 33 Million Dollars.

The trajectory changed again , but in a miraculous way. Annabelle was no longer the stressed out Aunty, living pay check to pay check , behind on bills and with a poor attitude. When her attitude changed about life so did her life along with the applied the wisdom given. She donated a large percentage of her winnings to rebuttal organizations that give back to the communities. Built support centres for those suffering from alcoholism, set up her nephews up for succcess.

Through all the trial and tribulations, Annabelle came to conclusion that. Everyone goes through things. It takes grit. It takes courage. It takes getting back up again, no matter how many times you get knocked down. It’s called being resilient. It’s not something you are born with. It’s a muscle that you build over time. Resilience is built through enduring difficult times – but also the only thing that will keep you fighting for your dreams.

-Ss