In the right place...

Sometimes ordinary people, doing ordinary things, serve the Lord's purpose. Here is a wonderful story of how such an experience happened.

Thank you Erin for sharing this story with us...

Something happened yesterday that reminded me that God watches out for
me. I was reading books with Aidan at the library (if you remember, I don't go
to the library very often). After about 45 minutes we walked up to the desk to
check out the books we had chosen. There was a girl standing at the desk asking
about library cards, and she looked really familiar to me. I was pretty sure I
knew her from Iowa, and not Utah. After I was finished checking out my books, we walked out of the library at the same time, and I asked her, "Who are you?"
(Yes, not really couth, but I needed to know who she was.) She said, "Emily." I
said, "I KNOW you from Ames! What are you doing here?" She said, "My husband got an internship nearby and we will be here for the summer."Now let me back up a bit.

If you haven't been reading my blog for long, you will know my husband and
I lived in Ames, Iowa last year. We were only there for a year, but it was a
wonderful year. Everyone at church was so welcoming and kind. We loved the town. We grew up a little bit there because we had no family to rely on, but our ward became our family. We miss our friends. We miss our ward. We miss a lot about Ames. When we moved here to Cedar, I had a really hard time at first because I missed so much about our wonderful year in Ames.

Emily and her husband Pete were in our ward in Ames. Her husband was Aidan's nursery teacher (and he was awesome). Emily was in the Primary presidency, and I was in the Young Women's presidency, so we didn't get many opportunities to get to know each other. When she found out she was moving to Cedar for the summer, some people in the ward told her to call me, but she said, "Erin and I didn't get to talk much. She woudn't even know who I was if I called her."

Since they are only going to be here for three months, they found a place that has cheap rent on a month to month contract, and is furnished. But it is in kind of a questionable area. They only got here on Wednesday night, and they are already having concerns with where they live. Emily was just hoping she could find a stay at home mom that she could hang out with over the summer, because her husband will be gone a lot (and they have a five month old baby boy).

I love how God put us both at the library at the exact same time, less than 48 hours after Pete & Emily moved here. I love how God knew that Emily would need me this summer, because she has no family in Utah and she would likely be lonely. I love how God knew that bringing Emily into my life right now would be like bringing a little piece of Ames back to me for a moment. And now I have the chance to build a new friendship with someone, which I always love. So thank you, God, for reminding me that you care about me and that you watch out for all of us.

An Angel Within

What inspires you to keep going? What gives you strength? Sometimes the angel of support we need is within our very selves...

Here is a beautiful post, by Fiauna, about the human spirit. Read the original here.

"She moves confidently down the sidewalk, white stick in hand, sunglasses shading her eyes as traffic rolls by at 40 mph. I don't know her story, but every time I see her I am amazed at the indomitable strength of the human spirit. I am assuming she is blind, at least to some degree, but you would never know it by the way she walks--it's the cane and sunglasses that give that much away. I also assume she is walking to pick her child up from the elementary school a half mile away. I see her almost every afternoon, and almost every afternoon I am hungry to know her story. It is obvious she has great strength, she's a fighter.

I recently read the blog of a high school friend. She has ALS. And she is young--oh so young, with three sweet kids to care for. In the matter of one very short year, she has gone from running marathons to acquiring her first wheelchair. And she laughs. She laughs because it is easier that way. She also has great strength. She, too, is a fighter.

My sister cares for my kids with the loving tenderness she reserves for her own. It is I who reminds her NOT to lift my sleeping angel from her car seat, with a warning: Mindy, you recently had a stroke; no heavy lifting for you. She runs. She runs despite a weakened leg and a foot with some remaining palsy. She listens to my sob stories and cries with me, when it should be the other way around. What difficulties have I been dealt in this life that compare with hers? She, too, has strength. She's also a fighter.

I think about these stories, and so many more, and I am in such awe of the indomitable strength of the human spirit. In a way, I know that we are all this strong; I've seen my share of tough times, and I made it out alright. But sometimes I catch myself thinking: I could never handle that. Or I think: That would kill me. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, it is true; these women are living, breathing proof of it. So, where do you find strength? What drives you to continue fighting? Think about it."

An Angel for Mommy

Every so often, my sweet children will give me such honest expressions of love, I can't help being uplifted. I think it happens in a lot of homes. Here is a post from TINK about the little happy angel in her home...


"I love this little girl of mine. She brings a lot of sunshine into my life. I woke up this morning to find a note she had written me. It was so beautiful it brought me to tears. It makes mothering all the more worth it!:

Dear Mommy,

I (love) you, & I'm talkin about you. You are so awesome, I can't tell you enough. That's a good thing. Gosh. I (love) you so much. Thank you for all the toys and food you've bought me. And the homeade food too. Well I'm thanking you for everything.
Love, The one who loves you so much.
Me, Laura
(I Love You) Mommy!!!
I mean it alot!

What was even special, too, is the other day she had made a list entitled "All About Me" and she wrote things about herself...like her favorite color, favorite food, etc. Then she wrote: "My hero" and put "My mom". Wow! Now that's something HUGE to live up to, but it sure lit up my day! I've certainly got an angel on my hands to bless my life, don't I? I'm truly blessed."

Original post is here.

Angels Among Us

Have you seen a Random Act of Kindness?

Did somebody go out of their way to help you?

Have you seen a touching expression of love?

There are Angels Among Us every day. We just have to open our eyes.

Share your stories! Email them to me or put them on your blog... people want to believe!