By Aubrey Beauchamp — 
It was a hectic day! My sister and I were moving into a furnished home together for a year. She and her husband and two-year-old daughter had recently arrived from Australia. I just returned from Puerto Rico, newly divorced with a toddler son. We had all lived in a temporary apartment in Glendale, California. Then my brother-in-law announced he was offered a good job in Orange County. Where was that? We soon found out. I got a job in a local hospital, and we decided to lease a furnished home for a year in San Clemente.
Before we signed the lease, the owner had insisted on getting the full deposit and first month’s rent on the day we moved in. She was going out of town that day at noon. Since there had been no time yet for us to open a bank account, we brought cash. I remember I had my part stashed away in a safe place.
We arrived in a rented truck and unloaded our belongings. Boxes were everywhere. Two active toddlers, mass confusion and frustration as unpacking began. At noon, the landlady arrived to collect her rent and deposit. My sister found her share and handed it to her.
I looked in my jewelry box but found no cash. Frustrated, I began to randomly open boxes, bags, pockets in clothing, and purses, but found nothing.
The landlady grew impatient and reminded me of our agreement. I apologized and entered the chaotic rooms again, stepping over toys and toddlers, angry with myself for not remembering the ‘safe’ place for my cash stash. Finally, hot and sweaty, I stepped into the half-bath in the hallway, sat down and closed the door. I had to concentrate.
“God,” I prayed silently, help me find that money.”
I believed in God – the God of the universe, the God of all religions. I had read many books, but not the Bible, went to churches of different beliefs and persuasions. Yes, I believed in God and now I needed Him. So I prayed,
“Please God, help me remember where I put that cash.”
Suddenly a thought entered my mind. Not an audible voice. Much stronger. It was a very real sensation, an answer to my prayer, but not the answer I wanted for the voice I heard clearly said:
If you quit smoking, you’ll find that money.
“What?! Quit smoking? Who’s talking about smoking? That’s blackmail,” I fumed, got up and stormed out of that half-bath, into my bedroom and, once again, turning box after box upside down – finding nothing.
Somehow, I knew this strange voice in my head was real and I had no choice but to obey. The landlady outside was getting impatient and I heard her raised voice.
I was not a chain smoker but since everybody else around me smoked, I often joined or even smoked alone during a walk or when watching TV. Deep down, I knew it was not healthy, but I silenced those feelings. After all, I was in control, and I enjoyed it. Case closed.
And now, suddenly, when I shot up one of my infrequent ‘give-me’ prayers, the smoking issue came up! Pure blackmail! But at the same time, I strangely realized that I had no choice, and my back was against the wall. I resented that.
Angry, I stormed back into that half-bath, sat down and silently fumed,
“All right! I’ll quit smoking! Now where is that money?”
The voice continued, but not the way I expected:
How will I know you are serious? You have cigarettes in your purse, in your coat pocket, your bedroom…
“All right!” I gritted my teeth. “I’ll destroy them.”
In no time I found every pack of cigarettes I owned. Then I filled the kitchen sink with water, soaked all those ‘cancer sticks’ and threw them in the trash.
All this time my family had no idea what I was doing. I was running around in a chaotic house with crying kids and an impatient landlord fuming outside.
I returned to my ‘throne’, sat down and angrily declared,
“OK God, all my cigarettes are gone. Now where is that money?”
I was met with only silence.
I waited while the silence continued.
What have I done? I cried silently. I threw all my cigarettes away, something I didn’t want to do – and for what? For something I thought God said. Something I was imagining!
Deflated and discouraged I got off my ‘throne’ and walked across the hall to my bedroom.
Among all the boxes I spotted my jewelry box and – for the umpteenth time – opened the lid again. No money.
But then I lifted the top portion in that box and there … in plain sight, exactly where I had stashed it, was my wad of cash!
Why hadn’t I lifted that top portion before?
My heart skipped a beat. I had walked angrily from the bathroom to my bed, to my jewelry box, where I had looked several times already, then lifted the top half and … found my treasure!
For a moment I froze in place.
The voice I heard in my head had been real!
I rushed to the landlady, handed her my cash and she took off.
For a few days, life in our new house was still hectic and I never shared this strange experience with anyone till years later when my knowledge of God had immensely matured. But I never smoked another cigarette.
I didn’t dare!
