When Beth Meyers married and moved towns in the midst of the 2020 pandemic, she wanted to make friends in her new community, but it proved almost impossible. For the 42-year-old Oregon mom, the solution was to pray—and her wish was joyfully granted.
Meyers is a fifth-generation Oregonian who grew up in Eagle Creek and currently lives in the city of Molalla with her husband and son. The couple married just four years ago, in 2020, in what turned out to be a tumultuous period.
“It ended up being the night before all the wildfires hit Oregon,” Meyers told The Epoch Times, adding how she and her husband, now 47, had to come home early from their honeymoon so they could evacuate their home.
“When we got married, it felt like the whole world caught on fire the next day. You know, it was volunteers who were the real heroes. I have great neighbors. But when I moved here, I didn’t know anybody except for my husband; he was the only person in the entire area that I knew.”
The social isolation caused by stay-at-home orders made it challenging to connect with others, but Meyers managed to make some friends at outdoor recreation spots.
However, as a full-time homemaker who homeschools her son, when members of her group began working and putting their children in formal education, their lives took different paths. All in all, it was a perfect storm of circumstances.
“[My son] is actually mildly autistic, so it has been challenging making friends,” she said, “but he’s improved so much that it’s fairly easy now.
“It was definitely a transition time, and I needed to find a new friend group. I'd just been praying for that.”
On Aug. 25, all her prayers seeking new friends were answered.
Meyers was at Fox Park in Clackamas County with her son that day. She saw parents anxiously preparing for their daughter’s fifth birthday party. Noting their visibly rising stress levels, Meyers asked if they’d like some help.
“I was watching my son playing with their daughter—an absolute little princess, dressed to the hilt with a big, fluffy, iridescent butterfly skirt,” she said. “It was a butterfly theme, and she was running around announcing how special her birthday was; she was so dramatic and adorable.
“Her mom and dad were absolutely panicked trying to set up. I know that feeling, that panic.”
To intensify matters, the people who had volunteered to help hadn’t shown up on time. When Meyers offered assistance, the stressed parents were happy and relieved.
After running the short distance back to her home, Meyers returned with the necessary supplies, helped decorate the setting, and wound up staying for the colorful party.
“I met their entire family,” she said. “Everybody was wonderful. I met their nieces and nephews. It was incredible.”
The large group of around 20 adults and kids welcomed her into the fold, and when the three-hour gathering was over, new friendships and connections had been forged.
Meyers said the girl’s mother even told her that when Meyers’s son’s birthday comes around next summer, she wants to help out.
“I don’t need the favor returned, but that would be so fun,” she said, recalling that she didn’t even intend to be at that park that day.
“We were at another park, and my son asked if we could go to the other. I felt like it was God working that day.”
