A New Year; A New Beginning
Happy New Year, Catch Community!
As we step into 2025, we are reminded of the power of miracles—their ability to transform lives and inspire hope. Miracles are not just tales from long ago; they are alive, real, and present today. Each of you is part of that miracle, as we continue to build a ministry that reaches across 143 countries, extending the Gospel of Welcome—Grace Turned Outward—to everyone, everywhere.
Today, we present the final episode of Cindy Ella’s Dream: A Modern Retelling of the Cinderella Story, beautifully written by Terri Main. Terri’s gift for storytelling has brought this timeless tale to life, weaving a modern thread of courage, transformation, and purpose that resonates with us all.
As you read this last chapter, may it inspire you to reflect on the miracles in your own life. Like Cindy Ella, we all face the question: What will we do with the resources and opportunities we’ve been given?
Let’s move forward into 2025 with hearts full of gratitude, courage, and faith. Thank you for being part of this extraordinary journey.
Here’s to a year of grace, growth, and miracles.
If you missed any episodes, here are links to the first five:
Episode 1 https://wordmasteracademy.net/cindyella/episode1.pdf
Episode 2 https://wordmasteracademy.net/cindyella/episode2.pdf
Episode 3 https://wordmasteracademy.net/cindyella/episode3.pdf
Episode 4 https://wordmasteracademy.net/cindyella/episode4.pdf
Episode 5 https://wordmasteracademy.net/cindyella/episode5a.pdf
Episode Six: After Midnight
by Terri Main
Carolyn slid her carry-on bag into the overhead compartment. One advantage of being magical was being able to shrink her bags temporarily so they fit. She settled into her seat by the window and checked her messages.
FGM One: Request Status report re: Cindy Ella
Carolyn: Kathryn moved up the schedule. We had to leave TechAngel Con. Had to fog in SFO to give Sam time to catch up with her. I must be getting old. That took a lot out of me. Sam and Cindy are on track. Kathryn is getting close. Still needs another nudge.
FGM One: Sounds like you have it under control. Good to see you back in the field. FGM One, out.
It had been good to be doing case work again. Carolyn had forgotten that feeling of connecting with people and being a catalyst for change. She still worried about Kathryn. The plan had been to help a foster home child become a force for good. Instead, she went off the rails. Who knew that a child who lived without a family could cause her stepdaughter to feel like a woman without one.
Things were working out well with Sam, Cindy, and the project. Kathryn was still a hard shell to crack. But she was weakening. She’s not quite there. Sam showing up may give her an opening. She had to be curious. That might be enough to start The Conversation.
“Come along, Cindy. Put those bags up in the compartment. Push them hard they will fit.”
Kathryn laughed when she saw Carolyn. “So, we ended up with tickets right next to each other? I got whatever tickets were available. What a coincidence!”
Carolyn shrugged. “I don’t believe in coincidence. Things happen for a reason. Come sit. We can keep each other company on the trip home.”
Cindy paused after finally getting a too-big bag to fit. Carolyn smiled and gave Cindy a wink.
“Your mother and I are traveling companions this flight. I’ll catch up with you when we land.”
“Yes, I’m stowing Connie and Emily’s bags before I find my seat.” Cindy readjusted her load and worked her way toward coach.
“She’s a good girl.” Carolyn said. “She’s a hard worker, intelligent, creative. You should be proud.”
“Oh, I didn’t do anything. She is what she is because of her father,” Kathryn paused. “I probably didn’t treat her very well. Not part of the family. Just an obligation.”
Carolyn shook her head. “Don’t sell yourself short. Could you have been a better parent? I think you know that you could. But to say you had no positive influence on Cindy is not right. I knew Bill. He was a great guy. But we both know he lived with his head and feet in the clouds. He followed his passion, but honestly, if it wasn’t his passion he didn’t do it at all. Even if it was necessary. The only reason he’d pay the electric bill was to run his computers.”
Kathryn laughed. “You’ve got that right.”
“But look at Cindy. She is disciplined. She shows up at work every day in her little cubicle. You treat her like dirt sometimes, but she still does her job. And when she’s off the clock she follows her passion like Bill. Yes, she’s his daughter. But she’s yours as well. She embodies the best of both of you.”
“I guess that’s true, and yes, I am proud of her. That program she wanted to promote at the convention, it’s amazing. I wish we could add it to our service.”
“So, why don’t you?” Carolyn asked.
“You need to keep this confidential,” Kathryn whispered. “We don’t have the money. We got hit hard during the pandemic. Lots of supply chain issues after it. We’re barely making expenses. Bill’s investment software was cutting edge at the time. No one had anything close. And the improvements we made built the brand. But we have reached a saturation point in the market. Everyone who can afford and needs our software already has it. And you can never charge as much for an upgrade as you can for a new sale. This conference was a desperate act. But even if our AI-Enhanced predictive software is better than anything else out there. It’s a crowded market and no one wants to invest in a new entry into a crowded market.
“I would love to fund Cindy’s project. It would even be a good investment, but we can’t afford it. Maybe we should have promoted her idea instead of the upgrade.”
“Uh – Okay, there’s something I need to tell you. And we don’t have time for me to give you all the details of how this happened. So, you will just have to listen and not ask too many questions. This flight isn’t long enough for me to answer them.”
* * *
Cindy closed her eyes and listened to some soft jazz. She charged the headphones to the company card. It was a risk, but nothing compared to the one she had just taken. Her heart almost stopped when Sam showed up. He could have exposed her. Ms. Helstrom does not take disobedience well. But that passed and now he wants to invest in DocMatch. It was her own impossible dream coming true.
Cindy jumped as she felt the earphones being removed. Carolyn hovered over her.
“Let’s switch seats. Your mother wants to talk to you. So, get yourself to first class.” Carolyn ordered. “And leave the peanuts.”
“Why does she want to talk to me?”
“That’s between you and her.” Carolyn’s voice softened. “But don’t worry. It’s a conversation that has been too long coming.”
Cindy maneuvered her way around the tray with the peanuts still spread out. The closer she got to first class, the more nervous she became. Finally, she found herself standing next to row 3.
“You wanted to see me, Ms. Helstrom?” Cindy murmured.
“Yes, sit down. I need to talk to you.”
Cindy cautiously sat down. Kathyn’s face was impassive. What have I done now? Did she find out about the booth? Or the headphones? Cindy thought.
“I hear you had your own booth at the conference.”
Cindy’s heart sank. “I can explain.”
Kathryn held up a hand. “There’s no need. Carolyn told me all about it.”
“Everything?”
“Well, I have a feeling there were things she was leaving out, but she warned me to not ask questions. I’m sure you will tell me later when the time is right. I need to apologize to you. I need to apologize for so many things, but right now, it has to do with your DocMatch software. I don’t understand code, but I do understand value. It has great profit potential. We should have included it at our booth. From what I hear, you got more interest than we did. We didn’t because – well, because I was embarrassed. The latest versions of our flagship software have not been selling well.”
“Why not? I saw the code. It’s amazing. It’s got to be the best on the market.”
Kathryn patted Cindy’s hand. “Oh, to be 25 and innocent. Out there, value is never intrinsic. Your product is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay. Nearly all the people who need our products have one of the versions. We’ve been catching big fish in a small pool for a long time and there aren’t many fish left. Just being the best isn’t enough.”
“Why not go back to Dad’s original idea? Instead of trying to sell a few hundred big ticket clients a $50,000 product, trim it down to the essentials and sell a $99 product to millions of individuals. He wanted to make it possible for the average person who has a few hundred dollars a month the invest for retirement or a college fund to make wise data-based decisions. I could work with the developers to rework the code, make more user-friendly for ordinary people.” Cindy’s voice grew excited. “Then if Sam helps fund DocMatch, we could do a big launch by the start of third quarter. It might take some rebranding. Professional-level tools for ordinary people. I can get started immediately.”
“You would do that after all the grief I’ve given you?”
“Why not? It’s our company. It’s Daddy’s company.” Cindy paused trying to keep her voice from cracking. “We are in this together. And, maybe if we get more revenue, I might be able to bring DocMatch to market.”
Kathryn and Cindy waved over Connie and Emily and convinced the couple across from them to change seats so they could all discuss the plans together. They were still making plans when the plane landed in Portland.
“Go home. Get a few hours sleep.” Said Kathryn as they walked toward the parking lot. “We will meet in my office for a lunch meeting to plan this out. In the afternoon, we will gather the relevant department heads to get their involvement. We’ve got a ton of work to do.”
* * *
“So, you want to present two programs to my investor?” Sam said cautiously.
“Yes and no,” said Cindy. These are two unique programs, both of which have a single theme. Giving everyone access to tools previously available mostly to corporations or the extremely wealthy. Both deal with health in a way: physical and financial wealth. It’s more than a program, it’s a paradigm shift.”
Sam nodded his head slowly. “I think I can sell that to him, but that means we have a lot of work to do. Better send out for coffee and donuts, I haven’t eaten yet.”
Both Cindy and her mother looked at each other. “Neither have we,” Kathryn said. She tapped the intercom. “Barbara call Marcelle’s, have them deliver some sandwiches for the whole team.”
The hours passed in a flurry of work. Everyone in the company was involved in some way. Sam checked up on every part of the proposal. Cindy lost count of the number of rewrites. She kept looking up at the clock.
Noon. Five. Eight. Ten. Eleven. The time kept getting shorter and the work kept moving slower. Everyone was tired. Eleven-Thirty. Cindy’s mind was numb. She had to get out of the conference room.
She walked around the office and back to her cubicle.
“You won’t be there very much longer.”
Cindy started when Carolyn suddenly appeared before her.
“What do you mean? I’m not leaving the company. Not after all this. We are finally working together as a family.”
Carolyn smiled. “That’s not what I meant. You will have your own office soon. You can’t go back to being Kathryn’s servant girl. That won’t work for either of you now.”
Cindy looked back at her desk. “I know it sounds strange, but I think I’ll miss my cubicle. Is that weird?”
“Maybe a little, but weird can be good. That cubicle brought you here. It was limiting in a way, but also safe. You had no power. That resided with Kathryn and your stepsisters. That was frustrating, but it also didn’t demand you take many risks. Now, people are listening to you. You lead a team. You gave orders and made decisions. That’s scarier. That’s one of the problems with miracles. You have to live with the consequences of the miracle. Now, you have resources and power. The question is what are you going to do with it? To make things harder, there is no simple answer to it. You will be answering that question everyday for the rest of your life.”
“Cindy, get in here.” Kathryn called from the conference room.
“Coming. I really have to go. I don’t know if we will make the deadline or not.”
“You’ll make it. Just go back to the conference room and do the impossible one more time. From now on, the magic resides in you.”
When Cindy made it back to the conference room, she was stunned to see everyone moving around like life was on fast forward. She looked back to find Carolyn. But she was gone.
When Cindy stepped into the room, however, everyone seemed to be moving normally, but when she glanced at the clock, the second hand was moving about one third as fast as it should.
Finally at five minutes to midnight, Cindy hit the button to send the proposal to Carter and time returned to normal.
“Okay, good work everyone. There will be bonuses for all of you in next week’s pay,” Said Kathryn. For the first time she could remember, Kathryn’s hair was not perfect. One long lock dangled over her right eye.
Kathryn sank down into one of the chairs. “Sam, Cindy. You have saved the company. I wish Carolyn was here to see this. We had quite a talk about you on the plane. We need to talk more, but I’m exhausted. Oh, by the way, cut out that Ms. Helstrom stuff. Just call me, Mother. Good night. Turn off the lights when you leave.”
Sam and Cindy were left alone.
“I haven’t had this much fun in a long time,” said Sam. “Reminds me of college. Pulling an all-nighter. Turning in the essay at the last moment.”
“It’s an adrenaline rush to be sure,” responded Cindy. “I’m not really tired. I feel buzzed.”
“I’d say it was the caffeine, but I don’t think that’s an ingredient in Fresca. Why don’t we go out and have a real breakfast. Neither of us have had a decent meal in 36 hours. There’s a little all-night diner down the street. They make the best omelets. They put a bit of pancake batter in them. Makes the eggs fluffy. Celebrate pulling off the impossible.”
“Well, I had help from an angel and a fairy godmother.” Cindy said.
“I guess I’m the angel – well Carter is really – but fairy godmother?”
“I’ll tell you the whole story over omelets. Not that you will believer it. I’m not even sure I do, but it’s a good story nonetheless.”
Cindy took Sam’s hand and turned out the lights as she walked out the door and into a brand new day.
The Power of a Miracle
As the clock approached midnight and Cindy Ella stepped into her new life, she turned back to reflect on where she had been.
“I know it sounds strange, but I’ll miss my cubicle. Is that weird?” she said.
“Maybe a little, but weird can be good. That cubicle brought you here. It was limiting in a way but also safe. You had no power. That resided with Kathryn and your stepsisters. That was frustrating, but it didn’t require taking many risks. Now, people are listening to you. You lead a team. You gave orders and made decisions. That’s scarier. That’s one of the problems with miracles. You have to live with the consequences of the miracle. Now, you have resources and power. The question is, what are you going to do with it? To make things harder, there is no simple answer to it. You will answer that question daily for the rest of your life.”
In many ways, Cindy’s question is our question. Although her story may be a modern fairy tale, it reflects the real challenge of living with the consequences of grace and miracles.
Here at the Catch Ministry, we’ve been blessed by our miracles: a global community of believers across 143 countries. It’s a powerful gift, but it also brings an equally significant responsibility. We ask ourselves each day, “What will we do with it?”
The answer is not always straightforward, but one thing is clear: We are dedicated to making the Gospel of Welcome—Grace Turned Outward—accessible to everyone, everywhere. You are a valued partner in this vision.
As Cindy’s new role demands courage and commitment, so does ours. We rely on the generosity of this community to continue reaching hearts and minds around the globe. Together, we can embrace the miraculous opportunity we’ve been given and extend it to others.
Today, on the first day of this New Year, we ask you to consider how you’ll be part of this story. Will you join us in answering what we’ll do with the miracle we’ve been given?
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John Fischer The Catch 