Lesson learned: There is help close by

Last week my second graders were working on opinion writing. They had to write an advertisement for their favorite drink and then present their writing to the class. Mostly everyone was okay with it, except for one girl. The idea of standing up in front of the class terrified her. When her turn came, she was already in tears and wanted me to skip her. I finally got her to come up to the front by telling the class to turn around and face the back of the classroom and offering that I could stand next to her. After she saw that no one was looking, she came up, she leaned up against my side, I put my hand on her shoulder, and she read her paper to the class. After she finished, she smiled, sat down, and the class gave her our class cheer— the ten finger woo.

I love that she did it. I love that she learned that she can do hard things. And I love that my standing next to her strengthened her. I didn't say anything. I didn't read it for her. I didn't tell her she didn't need to do it. I just stood next to her, put my arm around her, and she was able to do it.

In one of my favorite talks, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, "My beloved brothers and sisters, I testify of angels, both the heavenly and the mortal kind. In doing so I am testifying that God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in the challenges that we face... On occasions, global or personal, we may feel we are distanced from God, shut out from heaven, lost, alone in dark and dreary places. Often enough that distress can be of our own making, but even then the Father of us all is watching and assisting. And always there are those angels who come and go all around us, seen and unseen, known and unknown, mortal and immortal... Occasionally the angelic purpose is to warn. But most often it is to comfort, to provide some form of merciful attention, guidance in difficult times."

And in Doctrine & Covenants 84:88 it says, "I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up."

I love this idea. I like to believe that there are angels close by, right next to us, supporting us with their arms around us, helping us get through the hard things, just like I did for my student.

For me, I gain strength and confidence when I can actually, physically hold on to someone or be near them. Like when a friend puts her arm around me when I'm sad or when Trevor squeezes my hand when I'm nervous or when someone touches my arm when they're talking to me. I need that physical touch, that closeness, that proximity. But sometimes we don't have someone close by to hold on to. Sometimes we are alone. Or we feel alone. It's at those times that we can lean up against the heavenly help that is all around us to gain that needed strength, confidence, or comfort.

I know that help from the other side of the veil is available to us because I have experienced it. I felt that angelic help as I boarded the plane to go to Poland to start my mission. I felt it as I drove home after my appointment when I found out I was going to have a miscarriage. I felt it when the nurse told Trevor it was time for him to go before I went into surgery. And I felt it yesterday at school after I offered a heartfelt prayer in the bathroom during lunch when I wasn't sure if I would be able to finish what was turning into a rough day with my second graders.

Heavenly help is there. And it's close by.