“And ye are still indebted to him" ~Mosiah 2:4

Last week I got an email from the Relief Society saying that there was a family in our ward who needed to borrow a space heater for a few weeks, if any of us had an extra one sitting around. My immediate thought was, Oh, hmmm. It really is too bad I don’t have an extra one.

The email came just as the temperature was dropping, and I comforted myself by realizing that we only had one heater for each room. Last winter Seth and I bought a space heater with wedding money, and the little thing served us well through the winter. Our heat bills were still annoyingly high, so we had mentioned finding another one. One morning when Joseph and I went out for a walk, I just had a thought to go to Goodwill. We walked there, which is at least a mile and a half away and to my surprise, a brand new, beautiful white, little heater, still in the box was there for 5.99, just waiting for me. I was excited, and purchased the heater, even though I didn’t really have a way to get it home comfortably. The heater ended up riding in the stroller and Joseph in my arms. I was excited that we would save even more money, and took the little heater out when I got home and tried it out, even though it was the heat of summer. It worked perfectly without even a hum. I smiled, packed it in its box and put it in the corner to wait for the cold weather. Now the weather was cold, and unfortunately I didn’t have an extra space heater. I just had the two we needed.

But I couldn’t shake the thought about the space heater, and after a whole day of having the spirit whisper to me, I finally conceded that even if I didn’t see the heater again, I should be willing to loan it to this family. Immediately I felt better. I realized how silly I had been, “needing” my two space heaters. I called the family and was touched by their sincere gratitude. They couldn’t get heat until November and needed something to help them stay warm. I dropped off my little white space heater on the way to my visiting teaching visit. They graciously accepted it and assured me I would have it back in two weeks. I entered the car again feeling warm in spite of the icy rain.

I drove to the house of the lady I visit teach, and got lost even though I’ve been there 3 times. She finally had to drive out to meet me and I was embarrassed. During the course of our visit, her husband was meandering around and messing with a little box. He came in the living room and asked if I had a GPS. I said no, and he said, “Well, you do now.” He handed the little box to me and told me they had gotten a new one and had no use for this GPS. I didn’t know what to say. Then they asked if we needed another air conditioner for next summer. I drove off, with a GPS and an air conditioner in my car. In less than an hour the Lord had “immediately blessed me.”

On Monday at institute, we discussed President Monson’s talk and his invitation to ask ourselves, “what have I done for someone today?” I have had various thoughts, and have been able to do small acts of service here and there. But today I realized that once again, Heavenly Father has immediately blessed me. Seth is gone in Chicago until tomorrow, so some of our friends invited Joseph and I over for dinner, and shared their delicious lasagna. It was nice to eat with them and visit. Then I came home, changed Joseph’s diaper and played with him a bit. I was just about to get lonely when the doorbell rang. Another couple in the ward had come by to say hi. They came in, played with Joseph and had fun just visiting. They hadn’t even realized that Seth was gone, or that because of the time difference, he wouldn’t be able to call until late. I was impressed once again with the scripture: “And secondly he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you: for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted to him, and are and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?”