On a day when women are taking to the streets to protest perceived injustices, I want to take a moment to pay honor to those quiet bearers of heavenly light, who go about their days in humble service. These angels of mercy are a strength and example to me, and those who know and love them.
I won't mention names, because there are so many good women I know that I fear I may forget someone and cause hurt feelings. There is a dear lady who wanted to have something to do to help others in our congregation, so we called her to be one of our compassionate service leaders. She will be organizing women to help take a meal in, or care for children, or whatever the need was in any emergency or care need situation. She was so excited when she found out what we wanted her to do, she hugged me, and got tears in her eyes.
I recently put a text out to give this same lady a ride to a doctor's appointment 7 hours away, on the other side of the state. Within 3 hours, I had a response from someone who needed to go to Portland anyway, so they left the day before the appointment, and this dear lady got a hotel room for them both along with driving and paying for gas, and I think some of the food.
Today, after having surgery three days ago, the first lady is being driven home by another angel of mercy, who came down from Washington, where she cares for her ailing mother, to bring the patient home. When this recovering woman gets home, her visiting teacher will be there to provide the proper diet she will need to recover and heal, and help organize any other need such as cleaning, tending to the dog and such.
I know of another woman who has an elderly woman staying in their home, to care for her. They aren't related, but the need was there, and she and her husband (when he's home), take turns seeing to her needs. This takes a lot of sacrifice of time to do things she would probably rather be doing at times, to care for someone who needs long term care.
Recently we had a huge cultural event in Idaho for a temple dedication. Our youth were asked to learn a dance, and we were given the task of sewing their costumes. Several women participated in the sewing project, but we had 19 flapper style dresses to make, so this was a huge undertaking. One woman spent several all nighters sewing seven of the dresses all by herself, and they turned out gorgeous. Considering the slippery fabric that tended to snag and fray , the pattern issues and multiple sizes, plus lack of time to get these done, these women did an amazing job, and our girls looked awesome!
I also know of women who have volunteered for years on our local Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts committee. Their dedication to the arts here in our little neck of the woods has been amazing, some serving on the committee for 10 years or more. They are a positive force for good in bringing the arts and culture here, as well as helping support local businesses and galleries.
One of my friends is a genealogist, and helps people on a weekly basis to organize and build their family trees online.
There are countless women I can think of who will take time out of their days to lift another through a visit, or phone call, or ride to wherever they need to go. Many of these women donate money as well to help the poor and needy in our valley and elsewhere. Their good deeds are many, and make our world a better place to be. They lighten and brighten the days of so many, and are bearers of heavenly light.
These are just some of the most recent stories I can share that come to mind. I hope you will share your stories here in the comments so we can perhaps lift each other, and realize just how much good is being done in our world today.
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