Vernal, Utah:

My husband and I had to take our baby girl to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah when she was only one week old. She spent several days in the ICU there as doctors tried to figure out what was wrong with her. On one particularly trying day, we found out late in the evening that our now 10 day old baby would need throat surgery. We went to the cafeteria in the hospital to eat dinner feeling extremely discouraged and disheartened. We ate dinner in silence.

Half-way through the meal, we were approached by a woman and her son. They asked if we had a child in the hospital and we told them yes. They pulled out a jar full of change and gently placed in on the table, saying, “This is to help your baby.” My husband and I had been without a paycheck for five months and ran out of savings three months earlier. We had been in the hospital for four days and didn’t know when we would be going home. When the jar was placed on the table, my husband and I both burst into tears as we felt the love of God instantly and heavily upon our hearts. They had prayed before walking into the hospital that they would know who to give the jar to and when they walked in and saw us, they knew instantly that the jar was meant for us. We told them a little of our daughter’s story and expressed for them our gratitude.

We exchanged hugs, and then they silently walked away as my husband and I sat back down. We couldn’t eat as we stared at each other and sobbed with the realization that we and our baby are known by God and we are being watched over and taken care of. If the giver of this jar is reading this – please know that you helped us pay some extremely hefty medical bills (our daughter is completely better now), but more importantly, you reminded us that we are loved and lifted our spirits at a time of need. Thank you.