“Wrapped in Warmth and Love,” Liahona, Oct. 2025.
Wrapped in Warmth and Love
I didn’t want to look weak by asking for help, but I knew I needed it.
“What can I do for you?” Michele asked. Michele was my ministering sister and one of my best friends. Her question rang in my ear, and I felt bothered that I had again failed to give her a straight answer.
Heartbreaking circumstances had recently troubled my extended family, and I knew I needed help. I did not, however, want to look weak asking for Michele’s help.
Often I would compare myself to others like the Latter-day Saint pioneers who sacrificed everything for their faith or that friend on Facebook who seemed to have it all together. I knew that none of these comparisons were fair. Yet I continued to hold myself in isolation when the comfort of a loving brother or sister in the ward could make all the difference.
For years, I had been putting off well-meaning friends with myriad versions of the phrase “I’m fine.” Ironically, I was frustrated to receive the same answer from those I served. How often had I pridefully turned away people God had sent as an answer to my prayers? My recent circumstances, however, forced me to put down my pride and ask for help.
At first, I didn’t know what to say when I called Michele, but as I poured out my feelings of grief and loss, she cried with me and listened to me. I told her I just wanted someone to give me a snack, wrap me in a blanket, and put me to bed with assurances that everything was going to be OK.
Michele told me she had been praying to know how to comfort me but didn’t know how because I wasn’t talking about my grief. Once I finally opened my heart to her, however, she was able to better understand and know how to help me.
The next day she showed up on my doorstep with a bag of cherries and the warmest, softest blanket I have ever touched. Her ministering companion, Linda, came soon after with a meal for my family and fuzzy socks for me.
Now when grief howls inside me like a storm, I wrap myself in the warmth of Michele and Linda’s love and know I’ll be OK. Their love is a reminder of Christ’s love—something I can call upon anytime I need it (see Romans 8:35, 38–39).
The author lives in Utah, USA.