I Am Loved

~"I have spoken here of heavenly help, of angels dispatched to bless us in time of need. But 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."~Jeffrey R. Holland, General Conference address, October 2008

I believe in angels. I have to. It's how I know that God hears my prayers, even the ones I don't give voice to, and that he knows what my needs and wants are. He answered for both of those this week, through people in my life whom I'm lucky enough to call my friends.

On Tuesday, we had an unexpected showing of our house on very short notice (an hour). I bribed my kids and all of their friends with a pizza party to help me clean up the disaster area ... er, the house in mega-fast time (45 minutes!!). But my favorite part was when my neighbor (the mom, not the kids) came over unasked (but not uninvited), supervised some of the kids' cleaning, and scrubbed my stove. And I mention in passing, as a testament to her mothering skills, that her 13 year old son was the only one willing to clean the bathroom up cheerfully. She is most amazing, and her help was much needed and more appreciated than words can say.

These events on Tuesday led to some of Wednesday's events. On Wednesday morning, my mother's family learned of a very tragic and unexpected death. It really threw all of us for a loop, especially with the news coming on Caleb's birthday. Instead of coming here this weekend for Caleb's baptism and birthday, they have opted (with our full support) to be with my cousin and her family at this time. I was rattled at the news, and canceled a lunch appointment with a dear friend in order to make some different arrangements for the coming events. My friend was, of course, not offended and immediately asked what she could do. I didn't know the answer to that question.

But she showed up at my house an hour later with a yummy tart from LaBaguette, a local French bakery (kind of an oxymoron, I suppose) , as shown above, because "Caleb's birthday is a day for Mom to celebrate, too." How could she have possibly known that the day before I was craving exactly that, and had planned to (learn how to) make one on Tuesday night, but was thwarted in my endeavor by the house showing?

Now, did I pray outright for either one of these blessings? Absolutely not. Okay, well, I did pray for a miracle in the housecleaning debacle. But of course I did not pray for a fruit tart from LaBaguette. I might feel pretty ridiculous doing that (depending on the day, lol). Still though, it seemed to me that Heavenly Father knew that I would need to feel His love this week, and He sent His very own angels to fill those needs and desires. The tart was certainly not the most delicious part. The most delicious part was having a friend who cares that much, and who listened to a still, small voice deep within her heart. Despite the stresses and cares and heartaches of the week, I know that I am loved, and I am so grateful.