Every day angels

"When we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods. Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind." Jeffrey R. Holland from this talk

I wanted to share an experience today of answered prayers and angels among us.

I decided to do my big grocery shopping trip a day ahead of my "normal" day, to beat the snow and cold they are forecasting. Of course my list wasn't made yet, so as I'm planning meals and writing up a list this morning, my boys are going from room to room leaving messes in their wake. I know that it typically takes more than an hour to do my shopping and Ethan had preschool at 1, but I decided to set out just before noon.

Half way through our trip, Grant is wiggling out of the "car" cart and Ethan is asking for candy, I resituate Grant and put a ring-pop in the cart for Ethan. Then down the next aisle Grant is again crying and trying to get down. I decide to give him his sucker ahead of time and just hurry and finish the shopping. When I go to check out, the store is packed (I guess everyone it trying to beat the storm) with 4 or 5 people in each line. I know that our hopes in getting Ethan to school on time are lost. And then Ethan announces that he needs to go potty (I did ask him about it when we were close to the bathrooms at the start of the trip--but of course he only has to go at the most inconvenient times). I don't want to get out of line to take him and lose our place in line and make him even more late for school. And I can't send him by himself--he's only 4 and it's half way across the store. So I tell him to hold it and I'm trying to think of what to do. All of a sudden a friend from church pushes her cart up to the line to check out and I quick ask her if she will watch my cart (and sticky Grant--from his sucker) while I run Ethan to the bathroom.

As I'm walking with Ethan to the bathroom, I realize what an answer to prayer this woman is. It wasn't a huge service she provided to me and didn't take a lot of time or energy on her part--but it meant so much to me. This woman was my everyday angel. I am thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows our needs and puts certain people in our lives that help and bless us. And I hope that I too may be an instrument in God's hands to help someone else in their time of need.