I love a good Ahh Haaa moment. When you really truly get something!
I have been percolating on my lesson this week for the 12 and 13 year old girls at church, (that is how I prepare, read, percolate, prep) What is the Lord’s way for providing for the poor and needy?
How does God help us on earth?
I am a believer in miracles! I do believe God can make anything happen, although it may not be what we want or on our time card, with God anything if possible…
Those big miraculous miracles are not a everyday occurrence. The majority of the time, we receive little miracles, nothing big, nothing miraculous, just little day to day things, we most likely do not notice God helping us on a daily basis. He can be very subtle…
I have been blessed many times throughout my life by people helping our family. To just name a few
1) when I was in JR high we couldn’t go to our families for Christmas. I had a single mom who was raising us on a waitresses salary, we didn’t have the gas money, or the tires on our car. Just before Christmas I woke up to some noise and commotion, pretty sure to a crying mother. A woman who was a regular in the restaurant I worked in was in the house. She wasn’t taking no for a answer, she was taking my moms car keys. When she returned with the car, it was full of gas and had new tires… And I was headed out the door for Christmas with my cousins.
2) Twice in Shane’s College days, when we reached our low, the cupboards were bare, the bank account dry, we had food show up on our door step. It never failed it was always exactly what we needed in it, generally fruit, vegetables, diapers.
3) Once I entered a Christmas wish contest, I didn’t wish for much, pajamas for my sweet baby Josh, a new rolling pin. I of course being awesome, never sent in the entry! You can imagine my surprise when 2 boxes were delivered to my apartment, full of food, pies and everything else we could want for a Christmas dinner, oh and a marble rolling pin and pajamas for my sweet baby Josh… No one knew of my entry, or lack there of
4) Christmas 2000, we lived in a glorious little town in Southern Alberta (I won’t say the name so everyone can think it was their town) we were pretty poor. Shane had started a business, and you know how that goes sometimes… One day I came home to a yard full of men stacking wood by our house, I was so relieved that we would have wood to heat the house, it would save us a bundle. I was confused why Shane hadn’t mentioned ordering the wood, but trusted him. When I got out of the car and the men left, he explained they just showed up, it was a gift from a ward member. My heart was full, but would soon be brimming, it seemed like every time darkness hit the doorbell would ring, 90% of the time no one was there, but there was always something, egg nog, cookies, toys, gifts, money, food, treats you name it, it was delivered.
As I thought about my lesson, I realized each time we received these gifts, these little miracles in our life, it was from God. Now God is not going to go chop firewood and drop it off, He most likely won’t make me cookies, or go to the grocery store for groceries. He probably will not head to Fas Gas and pay for my fuel or put tires on my moms car.
But, He sure makes sure it happens. God is a pretty lucky guy, he has millions of Angels and Messengers, so when a need arises, He sends His Angels to do it for him. His Angels work around the clock, generally unnoticed, just doing God’s errands. Don’t feel bad if you haven’t noticed them, the are really hard to spot, they really don’t stand out in a crowd whatsoever. In fact, they look just like you and just like me…
Small Ahh Haa moment, His angels are YOU and ME!
We are God’s messengers, we are on His errand.
Plain old You and I, we are what makes the difference in peoples lives. Some of us are skinny, some of us not so much, some of us our wealthy, some of us not so much, short and tall, loud and quiet, but we do have a few things in common, we are here to comfort the meek and to provide for the needy and poor.
I guess my Ahh Haa moment was a combination of realizing I am one of His angels and something else I have been working on. I have been thinking for sometime on how to memorialize my friend Geneva, and those thoughts led me to the idea of random acts of kindness, which led to Pay it Forward for Geneva.
As we randomly do kind things for others, who in turn will do kind things for others, the world becomes a better place.
I finally made a connection today… At Geneva’s (or G as we like to call her) funeral in July, her sweet husband Ken had his kids go to the front of the chapel and look out at the audience. He told them -(disclaimer, this is how it went in my brain, it is not word for word and may have gone in other brains very differently)- that even though their mommy was gone, they would be taken care of, in fact they know had mommy as a Angel, and everyone that loved their mommy would be their angels on earth. He then invited all of us who would be willing to watch out and protect Geneva’s children to stand. With something like 800 of us standing, he told the kids that all of those people standing were now their earthly angels, who would do all we could do to help them, and to protect them.
It was a touching moment for me, who wouldn’t want to protect those sweet babies! And how am I going to help living 14 hours away?
But then it dawned on me, the true Ahhh Haaa moment (yes, just now 4 months later, I know I am awesome like that)…
As we Pay it Forward for Geneva, as we spread kindness, compassion and love, as we do all we can do to help others, are we not making the world a better place? Are we truly not being God’s angels on earth? Are we not making the world a better place for G’s babies?
I challenge you, let down your fears, let down your walls, and be you, when that little voice in your head says -call so and so, let that person go first, X needs help, look that stranger needs help to pay for their groceries- don’t second guess yourself, don’t argue with yourself, don’t worry that they will think your crazy. You are on a divine errand, when you have thoughts to do good that is God calling his Angel with a errand. Let it be, act upon it.
Give what you can give, love whom you can love, serve whom you can serve!
Help make the world a better place! Be a messenger, be His Angel.
For Geneva, who taught me to put the world aside, and live for what is truly important. She would have given anything, just to hold her kids a little longer, laugh with her husband, smell her little boys hair while snuggling in bed, to just live a little longer.
We love you G, we will be their Angels!
Heather
YOU are certainly one of God's angels, hard at work making this world a better place. Just recently in my own life, I was in a bit of a slump (again...) and wondering if the things I do really make a difference. Then I received a heart felt card in the mail, from YOU, and suddenly all was right with the world and I felt that the things I do DO make a difference. thank you! you are such a blessing in my life and in the lives of all who know you!
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