Latter-day Saint Life

"She Will See It When She Looks Down from Heaven": The Beautiful Miracle That Led One Woman to Buy a Gift for a Stranger's Deceased Daughter

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This story will not only bring tears to your eyes but inspire you to notice the little miracles in our lives and the ways we can be angels to others.

This morning I decided to go and buy some more gifts that I had my eye on. I wanted my nieces and nephew's eyes to be full of wonder when they opened my gifts and I didn't think I got them enough yet. I already bought my husband some nice gifts but I love watching him open presents so much I realized I needed to get him more or else he would be done unwrapping too soon. I wanted another shade of gold wrapping paper. I wanted get another Ugly Christmas sweater to top last year's. So much magic to create and only nine days until Christmas Eve!

I had conquered four stores and my front and back seats were full of sacks of Christmas joy. It was easy to quickly spend what I had spent months saving. The only thing left on my list was to find another Ugly Christmas sweater so I drove to Bountiful to go to the second-hand store.

I walked in and went straight to the Christmas aisle. I was digging through so much junk that I didn't even notice the older woman beside me doing the same.

"So many wonderful treasures to look at isn't there?" I looked up from where I was squatting to see her smiling kindly at me with her straight white hair and worn coat. "Are you looking for anything special? There are some beautiful cookie tins down there for only a quarter!"

I glanced down the aisle and didn't know what to say. I didn't want to tell her I was here looking for something hilariously hideous when she was having so much fun finding treasures.

"Oh I'm pretty set on cookie tins, but thank you!" I replied and then glanced in her cart to see if she had gotten any tins. The only item she had in there was a red, silver, and green shining two-foot tall Christmas tree made from stacked glued together ornaments. "That's a very good find though!" I pointed to her cart. "That's really pretty."

She smiled and ever so gently lifted the tree and twirled it around for me to admire. "Oh isn't it?" She breathed. I noticed some ornaments were cracked and a few others were coming unglued but she was looking at it like it was the most beautiful thing she had seen.

"I'm putting it on my Abigail's grave." Her voice was hushed as she stared at the glittering bulbs. Her eyes seemed to hold many memories behind them as she gazed. "I think it's shiny enough that she will see it when she looks down from Heaven."

Lead image from modbee.com
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