Not an Accident

This actually happened a few weeks ago, but I'm just now getting around to publishing it.
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Today, I began my day determined to accomplish so much. I am attending CSUF full time right now, managing the household, trying to work, and maintain/repair my home. This week, with all of my assignments, the house was really trashed out. I have a ton of homework, and my own bedroom needs to be put to rights. We tidied up the house, and as I went outside to begin working in the yard, I was just overwhelmed after an hour of not making much progress at all with what needed to be accomplished in one tiny little part of my yard, not to mention the rest of the yard, the house, the garden I need to plant, the notes I haven’t sent yet, the people who need to be visited, worrying over money…the list goes on and on. As the kids began to complain about how tired they were, and how so-and-so was not doing what they should, etc, I struggled to keep my composure. The world is winning, and I am losing.
Or so I thought.

I came in the house to find out that a dinner appointment we had today was cancelled, and sat on my bed feeling beat up. I knelt to pray and tell Heavenly Father how I felt. After I was done, I looked across at a bookshelf that I’ve been meaning to clean for a while, and decided to sit on the floor and organize the bottom shelf. When I was nearly done with the shelf, I came across a note of encouragement written to me many years ago. The note originally came when I was trying to figure out many things at once...how to be a mom (I had three young children plus Erin), how to run multiple businesses, how to be a good wife, and how to be a better daughter of God. A friend had noted my discouragement at church and pulled me aside to talk to me. (I think angels intervened and sent him my way.) A few weeks later, a note arrived that touched my heart, together with a poem written by my friend that I have treasured ever since. This note touched my heart again today. One verse from his poem in particular pierced my soul:

He’s there to ease your fears,
And help you through this test,
Just carry what you can,
And He will do the rest.

Can I just say that I wept through the whole note? But that verse spoke peace to my heart and helped me feel my Heavenly Father's love. When I finished reading the poem, I thought, how nice that I found this today. A voice came in to my mind. It said, “You didn’t find this note on accident.”

Yes, there were more tears of gratitude.

I can’t tell you what a difference this has made in my heart. All the troubles, work, and burdens haven’t changed, but what a difference it makes to remember that I don’t have to carry them alone.

I wonder when Tom wrote that note ages ago, did he know that the Lord intended that note to be encouragement not just for that time, but this time as well? How grateful I am that he thought to  take time to follow a prompting and send that to me. How much joy it brings me to know that finding it gain was not an accident.

Love to all of you!