Things have been pretty rough for our world lately. We have a lot of bad news assaulting our eyes and ears day in and day out, through a 24-hour news cycle. So I wanted to take a quick moment to talk about a recent experience that reminded me of the small miracles that come in our everyday lives.

A few days ago, Facebook gave me one of those “On This Day” reminders that seven years ago I had brought home my new Honda Element.

Nothing too fancy, but it was the first car I’ve owned with SiriusXM satellite radio (this will be important later). I like my car, and since that day, we’ve traveled across this great country, both to California and to Florida (twice).

But it was another post that Facebook showed me from a couple years prior to this one that made me pause.

If you know anything about me, you know I love music from the 1940s: Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Bing Crosby, The Andrew Sisters, Billie Holiday, Artie Shaw, and so many others. But they don’t play music like that on my local radio stations anymore.

Little did I know at that time, that such music is played somewhere else: on satellite radio. Remember when I mentioned my Honda Element came equipped with SiriusXM? Well, I was excited to try satellite radio, and I soon discovered it had a station called ’40s on 4 (now ’40s Junction) that exclusively played the kind of music I wanted to listen to.

Note the date on the two posts: October 9. The first came exactly two years earlier. So, what? Sure, I make a lot of random posts that don’t mean anything. And this one post wishing for a local radio station to play swing music was pretty random.

Well, I believe in a lot of strange things, but I don’t believe in coincidences. These two posts, stacked one on top of the other, was a sign. A small sign, to be sure, but I’ll take them where I can get them.

It’s like in The Hunger Games, when the players received food and medicine from their sponsors. As those little parachutes began to drop, it reminded Katniss, Peeta, and the others that they weren’t alone. Someone was watching.

I think sometimes the universe (God, Fate, the Mysterious Unknown) listens to us, and we receive signs to let us know the universe granted a wish. And to let us know the universe is still watching.

Right now, I think we are all feeling a little powerless. Natural disasters, mass shootings, civil unrest, and threats of war seem to be spiraling out of control. The world seems too big to handle, and we think there’s nothing we can do to make a difference. But we’re not alone.

It’s not too late to ask for the things you want to see in our world. Think about the positive changes you would bring. Dream about the perfect world you want to see. Wish for peace, hope, and a better tomorrow. Thoughts and prayers don’t replace actions, but letting the universe know what you want can be a good place to begin.

The next time you want something, go ahead and make a wish. Dream big. Because you never know who might be listening.