A Facebook message sent accidentally to the wrong person turned into an unexpected blessing for a young mother of three who was in great need of help. Amy Rickel could never have imagined the events that would unfold in her life.
Back in 2016, Amy had just moved from Michigan to Green Bay, Wisconsin, so her kids could be closer to their dad. Unfortunately, she lost her job, her car broke down, and there were no openings in any shelters for her kids.
One day, she inadvertently sent a message to a complete stranger on Facebook, thinking it was her friend. What happened next was nothing short of a miracle.
“Hi Brian, wondering if you know a good Bible verse for someone to pray when in deep fear, weak, scared, and personal despair/lost breaking?” Amy wrote in the Facebook message.
She quickly realized her mistake and apologized. However, the man who received the message, Brian Van Boxtel, took it as a sign from God directing him to help Amy.
Brian recalls asking himself what Jesus would do in such a situation and remembers Amy ‘bawling and praying’ when he told her in a follow-up message that he was coming to pay for her motel.
On Brian’s advice, Amy set up a donation page asking for help. She wrote, “Any and all help will be welcomed and received with warm, loving, grateful hearts, and we, as a family, will pay it forward as soon as we are able. Thank you all in advance for even considering helping my family out; you may never know how much it will mean to me, but know that it will be everything at this time of year, knowing they are all warm and safe!”
The events that followed were beyond Amy’s wildest dreams. They restored her faith in humanity and renewed her faith in God.
Complete strangers came together to help. A woman named Kathy Schumann offered the use of her minivan to Amy, and a man named Chad Morack connected Amy with a medical recruiter when he learned she was a licensed practical nurse. The recruiter then secured a full-time job for Amy.
“[I’m] pretty amazed,” Rickel said. “I still kind of find it unbelievable… It’s totally restored my faith in more than just humanity, my faith in God.”
Brian could have easily ignored the message, and no one would have batted an eye if he decided not to help a random stranger. However, something prompted him to reach out to Amy. He acknowledged that God had put him where he was needed, saying, “I know that God had me in the right place at the right time, and so I listened to my heart.”
This story is a poignant reminder of how one small act of kindness, listening to one’s gut, and acting on it can have a huge impact on people’s lives. Just as Brian questioned himself and was led to help Amy, others came together to support her.
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