DEAR ABBY: I wrote you in October and received your personal reply. I'm the girl whose dad was murdered, and I was looking for a support group. You referred me to the National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children, which provides mutual support to persons who have survived the violent death of someone close (www.pomc.org).
I have a little "upper" for you now. We all know about the letters you have printed about Pennies from Heaven, but I don't know if there ever has been one like this.
My dad always wore a gold cross around his neck. He never, ever took it off, so naturally I asked the funeral director to have him shown in it but asked that it be removed before the burial.
Well, lo and behold, it was nowhere to be found. So we called everywhere we could think of to locate it and ended up thinking that somewhere along the way from his being killed, taken to the ER, to autopsy, to the funeral home, it had been lost forever.
A few days before Christmas, we found it! It was in a box of pennies my dad had collected. He must have taken it off before he left that night because he had been seen in it earlier that day.
We all believe in miracles, and this is my very own Christmas miracle. Thank you, Abby, for everything you do for so many of us who are suffering. I love you. -- SARAH
DEAR SARAH: Thank you for your kind letter. It touched my heart as I know it will the hearts of my readers. I don't know when your father removed his cross, but take comfort in knowing he left it to bring you solace, and I hope that it serves its purpose. I love you, too.