Who Knew a Simple Spelman Shirt Could Lead to Divine Meetups?

Hey Mafia Miracle Makers! We're back but whew...barely!

I owe y’all a quick word before we go any further.

I missed last week.

Life has been lifing.

A couple of weeks ago, I lost two cousins within 24 hours of each other, and if I’m being honest, I just didn’t have the mental capacity to write a Mafia Miracle Report last week.

Grief will do that. So will responsibility. So will carrying students you love.

And truth be told, I didn’t really have the capacity to write this week either.

But then…miracles started interrupting me yesterday. And I could NOT, not tell you.

Hold on...

If you’re new here, Move-In Day Mafia stands for Hope, Understanding, Generosity, and Stability (H.U.G.S.). We’re the crew that moves HBCU students who have aged out of foster care, are unhoused or fighting against financial challenges...we move them into their dorms and send them monthly care packages to surround them with family for the four years.

And baby…family shows up even when they’re tired.


I ALMOST TALKED MYSELF OUT OF A MIRACLE
I've been a little down. My Mafia babies are going through it, and looking at everything coming down the pike had me feeling overwhelmed and anxious about how to manage it all.

So this week, I woke up with the overwhelming urge to reactivate my membership at my co-working club. Working at home in isolation is no longer working for me. I need people.

But of course…I started negotiating.

Should I really go?

It’s late.

They close at 9.

Is it worth it for just a few hours?

Around 4pm, in the middle of a meeting, the urge to go got so strong that as soon as the meeting was over, I knew I was supposed to head on over.

So I obeyed.

But then...something small but very specific happened.

At the last minute, I changed my shirt.

And let me be clear…this was not nothing.

I decided to throw on a shirt that repped my sister’s alma mater, Spelman, instead of my own beloved Howard University.
Now listen. Anybody who knows me knows I am insufferable about Howard. So this was…suspicious.

There was no big reason. Just a nudge.

​I didn’t know then that it would matter later.

I walked into the club a little after 5…and immediately ran into an old friend I had thought about two weeks earlier.

Then, as I was setting up to work, I ran into another friend I hadn’t seen in a minute.

And then…

As I’m catching up with him, I look up…and a woman I met last year is walking straight toward me.

We met because of another divine setup. An unexpected detour on one of my daily walks. I learned she worked in community affairs for a professional sports team. We hit it off, then life happened and we lost touch.

Y’all…

She tells me she’s since moved on and now works for a multi-BILLION-dollar fast food company.

I catch her up on the latest with Mafia.

And without hesitation, she says,

“Let’s do lunch. I have something for your babies.”

Did I mention that day was her first day back at the club?

And THEN it hit me.

The Spelman shirt I almost didn’t put on?

It's HER alma mater!

She sees the shirt. We start talking about Mafia covering Atlanta's four HBCUs but not getting any Morris Brown
students to apply and she tells me she knows the new interim president and will text her about us!

What????

But I'm not finished Miracle Maker...

Since I was wearing that shirt, two Spelman alum came up to me.

One brought ideas and wants to volunteer.

The other turned out to be the membership coordinator for the club. She wants to send out a blast about Mafia AND introduce me to her mentor, who happens to sit on the board of the local Jack & Jill chapter.

Jack & Jill chapters across the country has shown Mafia so much love.

That’s not luck.

That’s obedience doing what it does.

​
BUT WAIT. IT GETS BETTER!
It's currently Adopt A Scholar Week. Yesterday, I made a simple post asking for a pink stethoscope for a Delaware State scholar who wants to go to medical school.

What most people didn’t know is that this same scholar had already asked us about MCAT help, and I just hadn’t even had the chance yet to tap into our Move-In Day Mafia network.

Then Jeannie Avikainen Burlowski, an academic coach, stepped in and said she would help her with her medical school application...FOR FREE!

Decades of experience.

Thousands of dollars worth of support.

Freely given.

A prayer I hadn’t even prayed yet…answered.

Oh, and yes.

The pink stethoscope got bought!

Y’all…this is why I’m loud with #ScholarStories.

Because when we share, miracles find their way to the right ears.


AND THIS IS WHERE Y'ALL COME IN

Because on these #AdoptAScholar wishlists right now, we’re not talking about luxury. We’re talking about focus, comfort, and dignity.

We’re talking about a student at South Carolina State asking for laminated calculus tables

A Spelman scholar asking for therapy coloring books.
A Shaw student asking for a heating pad.
A Texas Southern scholar asking for cologne.

Please pop over to MoveInDayMafia.org/AdoptAScholar to grab items by January 21st.

Short on time?

Head over to Prairie View, Clark Atlanta, or Savannah State. They need love.

Don't have time to shop, you can always let us do it for you by donating at MoveInDayMafia.org/Donate

OBEY THE NUDGE

I didn’t think I had the capacity to write this week. Grief and responsibility had already taken up all the space I had.

But the nudge showed up anyway.

Obedience doesn’t always arrive with energy or clarity. Sometimes it shows up as a quiet discomfort, a last-minute shirt change, or an urge you can’t explain away. And when you obey it, you don’t just step into your own miracle. You make room for someone else’s answered prayer too.

So if something small keeps tapping you on the shoulder this week, don’t overthink it. Obey. The motivation you think you’re missing might be waiting on the other side of your yes.

​See you next week Miracle Maker. Thank you for everything!