By Heather Backman

“You attract that which you focus on.”

My mom and sisters had been planning a big Hawaii trip for months—maybe even years—to celebrate my sister’s 50th birthday. The timing, however, landed during the height of COVID, when travel was still full of restrictions and uncertainty. We learned that in order to avoid a mandatory 12–14 day quarantine upon arrival, we needed a negative COVID test. Not just any test, though—it had to be from a Hawaii-approved testing site and within a specific time frame before departure.

At first, we figured we could just go get tested anywhere a few days before and be fine. But as the trip got closer, we discovered that wasn't the case. We had to use an approved location—and the only place in our state was Walgreens. The catch? There were no appointments available. Anywhere. I called every Walgreens I could find, hoping maybe we could just drive up and be tested without an appointment, but they all said the same thing: “No appointment, no test.”

I started to panic. My mom, sister, and niece didn’t know much about travel logistics, so the entire responsibility to figure this out was on my shoulders. I didn’t know what to do. But then I remembered: “You attract that which you focus on.”

So, I started visualizing. At first, I pictured just myself walking along the beach in Hawaii, relaxed and happy—but then it hit me. If I didn’t visualize all of us being there, someone could easily be left behind. So I shifted my focus. I pictured all of us together—laughing, walking along the beach, enjoying each other and the trip we’d been looking forward to for so long.

And with that vision firmly in my heart, I became determined. I refused to let this roadblock ruin our plans. I kept calling Walgreens for advice, and finally—finally—one location told me their scheduling system released new appointments at 5pm the next day.

I was ready. At 4:58pm the next evening, I was online, fingers flying. The only appointments available were either 1.5 hours away or 40 minutes out. But I didn’t care—we were going to drive wherever we had to. We were getting to Hawaii!

More hiccups came up as we got closer to our departure. It honestly started to feel impossible. We even considered calling the airlines to cancel or delay the trip. But I stood firm. I said, “No! We are going to get there and a miracle is going to take place! Let’s hold on. We still have 24 hours to cancel if we have to.” I just kept visualizing us being there, together, happy, and free.

We managed to get the appointments and take our tests. But now we faced one final hurdle: getting the results back in less than 24 hours. At that time, there were no rapid tests, and normal results took 1–3 days. Our flight was in the morning. The window was closing fast. To be safe, we even canceled our hotel—if the results didn’t come through, at least we wouldn’t lose everything.

So I prayed. I focused. I visualized. I called on every bit of faith and belief I had.

And guess what?

All our results came in—just 12 hours before our flight. All negative. All cleared. We made it. We flew out the next morning, together.

I can’t even explain the wave of relief and joy that hit us. Walking along the beach, chatting, laughing, and soaking up the sun—I knew, deep in my bones, that it had happened because I focused on it. I saw it happening. I believed it would. And I held onto that vision until it became reality.

I’m so grateful to have learned the power of relentless faith and focused intention.
I really did attract the very thing I focused on.
“See it solved.” Always.

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