We had our six children wash up in the bathrooms at the rest stop, the loaded them in our run-down car with the muffler held up by a coat hanger. We filled the radiator with water again and headed to a free dinner at a local church. How good it would be to have a hot meal instead of baloney sandwiches every night. Being homeless, we knew what a treat this meal would be.

We all just kept eating the soup, chicken, potatoes and biscuits as if we could store it up for later. That night, as we did every night, we read the Bible by flashlight then went to sleep, all eight of us snuggled in our car.

For breakfast, we drove behind grocery stores and went through dumpsters in search of food...bruised fruit, stale bread. I felt overwhelmed to be fighting flies and maggots for our next meal. "God give me strength," I repeated.

While my husband looked for work every day, my children and I walked around the city picking up cans and bottles to return for the deposit to buy food.

Thanksgiving was drawing near and I was at a loss as to what to do. It was turning colder at night and it was hard staying warm. With no jobs, we didn't know how we'd get enough money for deposits and rent. It looked so hopeless.

We had planned to go to the only place serving Thanksgiving dinner for the homeless, but our car broke down. My husband worked on it but it was no use. We were stuck at the rest area. I wanted to give up and felt I just could not go on another day.

The night before Thanksgiving I put my children to bed and sat on the bench with my Bible and flashlight. It was hard to read because I was crying. I prayed for help and talked to God for a couple of hours before I joined my family sleeping in the car.

The next morning, Thanksgiving Day, as my husband again tried to fix the car, a truck driver came over and asked if he could help. My husband told him the battery was shot and the plugs were fouled and something about the radiator. The man informed us that we couldn't get parts today, but he'd be back at 10:00 tomorrow morning with the parts.

That was the beginning of what I call a Thanksgiving of miracles.

People stopped by with food and blankets and clothes. A woman brought a patchwork quilt that she'd made. A family brought a ham and biscuits and a gallon of milk. Two elderly women brought homemade fudge and two apple pies. I don't know how so many people knew we were there. We just could not believe the way they were all so willing to share with homeless strangers.

After we ate, a man talked to my husband about a job he had heard about and told him to go there after the holiday. What a miracle this day had been, I said to myself.

That night it was hard to sleep, we were all just so thankful. I prayed and thanked God because I knew he had answered my prayer and sent each one of those people to help us.

The next day the truck driver did come back and got our car running again. He hugged us and again off he went.

This year on Thanksgiving we can share what we have with others. We will be the ones to fill that void.

Now we can join you in reaching out to each other with love and kindness.

- Judy ann Eichstedt