During the Pandemic, we were in a rut. We were bickering with each other constantly. No one was happy. There was contention throughout the day. We needed to do something to change that.

I was inspired to have us all gather around the table and figure out some way we could serve others but be able to keep social distancing. We decided to do sunshine boxes to give to several people. I would go to the dollar store and get things for the box. The kids would help collect boxes and get them ready to fill. It was a group effort. They had so much fun. I reached out to the Relief Society president of my church, and she gave me a list of names of people that really needed love. We made about eight sunshine boxes.

Then each kid got to go with me and drop them off on the front porches and try not to be seen. It was quite fun. I will say, I don’t know that it is possible to be sneaky when most people have a ring doorbell now a days.

There was this one name that we were given that I didn’t know very well. I had known that she didn’t come to church often. Her husband had died recently, and I was very nervous to deliver this box. I put it off for a long time. Finally, one Saturday, I decided that we were going to go on our way to a local farm to pick strawberries. We loaded up the whole family to go.

When we got there, one of the kids wanted to come with me to put the sunshine box on the porch. We climbed the very steep stairs to the porch and as we reached the top, we saw a huge gate across the porch and a large sign that said BEWARE OF DOG. I started to reach over the gate to place the box on the porch when the dog started to bark. It was a huge dog. Soon after, a face appeared in the window.

“What do you want?” Said the woman who lived there.

“Hello,” I stuttered, “We came to give you a box of sunshine.”

“Stay right there!” She exclaimed and then disappeared.

My little daughter looked at me with concern. I didn’t know what to think, but the dog had me really worried. So, I took her back to the car. As I was almost there, this tiny woman came striding down the driveway asking, “why are you here?”

I stumbled awkwardly over my words as I tried to explain what we had brought to her. I was starting to worry that we shouldn’t have come.

Then something amazing happened. She asked why we came to her. I told her that I had been given her name and we wanted to serve her. She immediately began to weep. Even though it was a time of “social distancing”, I reached out to embrace her. She told me of her loneliness since the passing of her husband. I felt inspired to tell her that she was loved, and that God needed her to know that. That he sent us to give her some sunshine.

After a long and very emotional embrace, she came with me to the car to meet my family. We spent a long time with her that day in her driveway getting to know each other and making a very tender memory.

Over the years, this relationship has blossomed into something very special to my family. I’ll never forget how nervous I was to deliver this box of sunshine to this sweet woman. How she had been praying to Heavenly Father for love and peace. How our act of service had been the answer to her prayers.

There is no better feeling that I have ever experienced than knowing that I was connected enough to the spirit to act on inspiration to be able to be the answer for someone that they so desperately needed from God.

I firmly believe that God sends us Angels on Earth to attend to us. Those angels can show up as people. People that listen to the promptings they receive. I have been on the receiving end of this blessing so many times. It has brought me to my knees in prayer of gratitude. God knows us. He is mindful of us. Look for those little miracles. Sometimes it is easy to pass them off as coincidence. Strive to see past that. It is God’s love. I promise that as you make the effort to see it, it will be confirmed to you. He loves you.