The encouragement of kindness and answered prayers

Do you ever encounter people on your walk through life, perhaps offer a word of encouragement or a bit of practical help then never see them again, wondering whether you had any meaningful impact on their life – whether it was worth it? Or do you encounter so many people day to day that you can’t remember most of your interactions, let alone revisit them in your mind later?

Well, whether either of these or neither applies to you, I hope the little story I’d like to share today might act as a reminder that every word or action offered with love can have a big impact, however big or small the act may seem.

Allow me to introduce you to a lovely lady called Pat who I met at Keswick Convention a few years ago. Pat has attended the Convention for many years and, in the last few years that I spent stewarding, she could usually be found in the area of the main tent where I was on duty.

In 2018, Pat was among the Conventioners in the main tent when I spoke on stage about my book and our longing to become parents. She was kind enough to read my book and, even more kindly, the following day when I bumped into her in the street she told me she was praying for me.

Now, it’s a great thing knowing that your church family and other people you know are praying for you but there’s something extra special about a relative stranger stopping you in the street to tell you that they are doing the same. By the time I came home from the 2018 Convention I don’t think I could even remember Pat’s name (sorry Pat) but I never forgot her kindness or her prayers.

By the following year’s Convention I was expecting Charlotte and I have never forgotten the look of sheer joy on Pat’s face when she spotted me as she arrived in the tent. I say “spotted” but I have to admit I wasn’t exactly difficult to spot; it’s hard to be inconspicuous when you’re wearing a hi-vis jacket over a seven-month baby bump.

A little later, Pat popped out to the bookshop and on her return thrust a bag into my hand, uttering the words, “That’s for baby.” Inside was a board book, the story of Baby Moses. Such a kind and thoughtful gesture from someone who was still a relative stranger.

As the weeks and months passed by and we welcomed Charlotte into the world, I imagined attending the following year’s event with her and looking out for that kind lady who had been so generous to her before she had even been born. I could tell her how much Charlotte enjoyed having the book read to her, and how it might have a little hole in where it had been chewed but that that was simply evidence of how much it was loved.

Of course, COVID had other ideas. There was to be no 2020 Convention to attend in person, and with the necessary limit on numbers in 2021, it wasn’t until this year that we were able to introduce Charlotte, by now joined by younger brother Daniel, to the event.

During one of our visits to the bookshop, as part of what I hope will become a new family tradition of each child getting to choose a new book at Convention each year, we got Daniel a book about his namesake from the same series as Charlotte’s Baby Moses book. In a way it felt like the continuation of a part of our story that started with the gift of that first book.

As the 2022 event drew closer, I prayed that I would have the opportunity to introduce Charlotte to the lady I had told her about many times as we had read Baby Moses. But it had been three years since I’d last seen her and so much had changed in so many people’s lives since then that I didn’t know whether she’d even be at Convention, let alone whether our paths would cross.

I kept a particular lookout on the days we visited during week two – the week I knew she had attended previously – but with no success. Having travelled through to Keswick for the final day Convention 2022, I looked out for her again but the Morning Bible Reading passed by without any sign.

But then, as we prepared to enter the main tent for the final Evening Celebration of the year, there she was, the lovely lady who was about to remind me, as I introduced her to Charlotte, that her name was Pat. That moment, listening to my darling daughter say “thank you” to the lady who had been so kind to her before she had even taken her first breath, was a real blessing and an answer to prayer for me. I had wanted Pat to know how much her act of kindness had meant to me and to Charlotte.

Pat headed off towards the bookshop, we headed into the main tent and it was only there that I realised I’d forgotten to ask her for a photo and her permission to share this story in my blog. So I hung around at the end of the meeting. And when there was no sign of Pat as the main tent emptied, I concluded that maybe God hadn’t intended the experience to be shared but to simply be a blessing to us. That was until, as we made our was off the site several minutes later, a voice from behind me called out, “Oh good, I’ve found you.”

Yes, you guessed it; it was Pat. She had, she told me, been praying she would see me again, as I had been doing the same. And I probably shouldn’t have been surprised to see that she was holding out a book each for the children.

Another wonderful act of generosity. To some it might seem like a small and simple gesture but to me, in that moment, it was a powerful reminder that Gary and I are not alone in wanting to share the news of God’s love with our children. And what better way to help share that news than by demonstrating something of that love?

Pat and I have now exchanged contact details so hopefully we will have the opportunity to meet up at next year’s Convention in a slightly more organised way. But I have no doubt that our meeting on Friday was planned by God and that, like our previous encounters, it will continue to be a blessing to me and my family as we walk life’s path on the weeks and months ahead of us before next year’s Convention and beyond it.

So if you ever find yourself wondering whether you should bless someone with a kind word or action, what’s stopping you? If you do it, you might find it means more to the recipient than you ever imagined.

*Just a reminder that in my last blog post I pledged to donate to Keswick Ministries the proceeds of the sales of any copies of my book bought directly from me. If you would like a copy, drop me a line via my Facebook page and you can have

Sarah Moore is the author of For the Love of Lentil, A journey of longing, loss and abundant grace, which tells the story of her experience of pregnancy and miscarriage. Copies of the book are available here.