Mushrooms are miracles

by Colleen Sully, 2015

Mushrooms are miracles. When my grandma passed away on April 29, 2015, I begged God for some little sign to let me know that she was safe. Morel mushrooms changed my life in a way I never imagined. They helped me grow in faith and love. I believe in mushrooms.

This belief all started on May 2, 2015 after my grandma Sully’s funeral. My grandma lived on a farm in Fort Calhoun. I remember driving out there with tears streaming down my face. It was turning into a beautiful day after what seemed like a stormy morning during the funeral mass. There were birds chirping, the sun was glowing through my window, but our normally loud family van was silent. I didn’t think that the long, dreadful and heartbreaking day would ever end. There were close to one hundred family and friends gathering at the farm to continue sharing stories. We were all waiting for something cheerful to happen.

It was mushroom season. I have never seen more than probably twenty small, two inch  mushrooms at once. I also haven’t ever found a mushroom on my own. My dad and uncles always find them before me.

My dad decided to go out for a hike in the majestic forest behind my grandma’s farm. To our surprise he texted my mom a picture of three morel mushrooms! Now this news perked everyone up faster than kids wake up on Christmas. When I heard this I jumped from my seat with excitement in my eyes and hurried to throw on my shoes as fast as I could. As I dashed outside I felt the sudden rush of cool springtime breeze blow through me. I felt as if I could fly. A swarm of kids and adults raced all throughout the forest searching for mushrooms. Mushroom hunting feels like a scavenger hunt. I looked under bushes, logs, rocks, and every other place I could think of with no luck. As I kept searching, I could almost taste the salty and savory flavor of the mushrooms. This pushed me to hunt harder. I didn’t find any for what seemed like years! The suspense pushed me even harder. Just as I was about to lose hope that’s when I spotted it.

There were so many mushrooms! I felt like I was in a sea of morel mushrooms!

These weren't just any ordinary two inch mushrooms. They were the largest and prettiest ones I have ever seen. They were as tall and wide as a can of pop!

The moment I saw this I started shoving dozens and dozens of mushrooms in my small bag. After a few minutes my bag nearly snapped. I scurried back to the house as fast as I could to grab more bags. As it turned out we found hundreds of mushrooms. I thought that I could never get enough of them but after having several plate fulls, I was going to be sick. Every time my aunt came out with another plate my eyes would scream “YES” but my stomach would scream “NO!”

According to my dad, he hasn’t seen that many mushrooms all at once ever. My grandma would tell us stories of her finding fields of mushroom like what we found. I know that both my grandma and grandpa Sully were watching us from heaven and had a little fun. God gave me more than a small sign, he gave me a marvelous and true miracle! He saw my pain and healed it with the morel mushrooms. I learned that even on my darkest days, that there is always room for celebration with family and friends. I believe in miracles. I believe in mushrooms.