On Thursday evening, our ward Relief Society held their annual Christmas party. The theme of the party was Our Loving Hands, and how we are the Saviour's hands to help others. Ladies were encouraged to bring socks that were to be taken to the Drop In Centre, a shelter for the homeless.
While I was inside enjoying the party, someone broke into my car by smashing the passenger front window. One other sisters' car was also vandalized this way. George's cell phone was in the car and was stolen. The really sad thing was that Donna Spackman, the other lady whose car was vandalized, had put the socks in her car, and they were also stolen. I suppose that the thieves saw the bag and assumed it was Christmas presents. Now, more than likely, they have been tossed in a dumpster somewhere.
Anyway, I was understandably upset, especially after all the financial hardships we have already faced this year, but began dealing with the issue as soon as I could. I called the police, and was told I needed to go to the station to submit a report. I arrived at the station to find it closed. Who ever heard of that? I've never heard of a police station closing. What, do crimes only happen in the daytime? But anyway, I got up early the following morning and went down to the station to file a report.
Upon arriving at home, I still had half an hour before the insurance company opened, so I opened up Facebook on my computer. I had a private message from Pam Merrell: could I call her as soon as I got up. I called, and it seems she had posted about the incident on a social media site she frequents. Apparently she had received a reply from someone who wanted to pay for the repairs to our cars! She gave me a number to call, and found that indeed, a man named Kelly had stepped forward wanting to pay for a new window. I was given the name of the general manager at a local autobody shop, and contacted him. He assured me it was true, so after checking out the shop to make sure it was legit and taking Pam and her hubby Dan with me just to be safe, I went to the shop. Sure enough, a former employee of the shop had stepped up. So I will be able to get my window repaired tomorrow.
What is important about all this, is that a few days previous I had been reading an article in the Ensign, our church's magazine. The article was from a talk given at the recent women's session of general conference. The speaker said that if we had any doubts about our divine nature, we should pray and ask Heavenly Father if we are his daughters and if He loves us. She promised us a wonderful experience if we would do this. So I determined to try her words.
I prayed and asked the Father if I truly am His daughter and does He love me. Although I tried to pray fervently, I really didn't feel any response at the time. Slightly disappointed I carried on with my day.
When the response came that there were such good people out in the world willing to help me this way, I suddenly felt the spirit whisper to me, "This is the answer to your prayer. Heavenly Father allowed this to happen to you so that He could magnify His power."
While going through all this, Pam said something that struck a chord with me: Good always wins. Sometimes it may take longer, sometimes it may be quick, but good will always win out over evil. Satan may rage, but he doesn't win, he never will. In the end so much more good came of this incident than bad. Both Donna and I will have our cars repaired. The newspaper ended up picking up the story, and because of that, Superstore is donating $50 per store to replace the socks that were stolen. More socks are coming in from people who read the story. Two people will be blessed by the Lord for their generosity towards us. I am so grateful to the Lord and His tender mercies.
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