Unexpected Blessings

     This month we have had the opportunity to travel to Utah to visit friends and family.  It is a 15 hour drive, plus time for stops.  With 3 young children and a dog, we were braced for a hectic, long day of travel.  We traveled as far as Moab, which is about 3 1/2 hours from our destination, and camped for a couple days before completing the drive.   Our kids and dog traveled so well and we made such good time that for the drive home we decided to go the whole way in one day.  Risky, but we figured we could do it.  Even though we didn't leave as early as we wanted, we started out well and were positive about the day... Until about an hour into the drive when my daughter threw up all over herself!  Ahh!  Luckily it was just before we entered Spanish Fork Canyon, literally the last possible place to pull over before the canyon.  So we pulled into the gas station and began the cleanup process.  While I was inside with my poor girl getting her into some clean clothes, two families pulled into the gas station to wait for the rest of their caravan.  When I saw them as we were walking back to our car, I had the thought to ask them if they happened to be LDS and if so, if there was somebody willing to help give our daughter a blessing.  I suggested this to my husband who had already had the same thought.  We were very blessed to find that they were indeed LDS and did have a worthy priesthood holder willing to help give a blessing.  I struggled to hold back the tears (I'm a baby when it comes to spiritual matters) as my husband and this willing servant of the Lord blessed my daughter to be healthy for the duration of our trip.  On top of that, when we thanked this young man, he said in return, "Thank you for the opportunity."  He truly felt it an opportunity to be a help and a blessing to those in need and it greatly blessed our lives that day.   We climbed in our van and continued on our journey, keeping silent prayers in our hearts that we would get through the day without having another similar incident.  I sat in the passenger seat looking out the window at the lovely Utah mountains as we drove through the canyon, and the thought came to me, Maybe we needed a delay.  I don't know why, I never will, but I couldn't shake the thought that something needed to happen that morning to delay our journey, and it could have been something much worse than a sick child.  I am grateful for the Lord watching over us that day, putting people in our path that could help, and protecting us from whatever may or may not have happened.   We ended up making great time, with happy children for the most part.