We began navigating through the crowds to make our way to our car. The four of us were laughing and still in amazement over what we just witnessed.

In the midst of our carefree night, we began walking towards a fully pregnant woman with a sign that read, “Homeless and Helpless.” Her eyes were turned down grazing pedestrian’s footsteps as they passed her. My heart sank and both children looked back at me with that “look.” It’s the look of this doesn’t make sense, what should we do?

When children don’t understand something they look to their parents to help make sense of their experience. And as I too walked passed her my mood changed, and I felt an ache in my heart for this woman. Almost instantly I thought about my own pregnancies at her stage and my children’s lives.

Our pace slowed and a man and woman a few feet in front of us stopped, began going through their wallet and turned around. They made their way back to her and deposited some money in her cup.

We did the same.

Yesterday I was stopped at a red light, with a woman pacing and her own sign that read, “Please Help.”

I sat there for what seemed like forever and looked her directly in the eyes. Tears began to well in her eyes. The only thing I could do at that moment was pull out my change bag in the console of my car and deposit in her cup what was left.

As I rolled up my window and watched her continue to the next car, I noticed something. I noticed that every car rolled down their window and put something in her cup.

Kindness is contagious in even the smallest of measures. Watching the couple pause and go back to put money in the pregnant women’s cup prompted me to pause and go back. Rolling down my window might have prompted the car in back of me, and so on.

There is a children’s parable called the Little Soul and the Sun. It’s about the angels that come into our life to remind us of who we are and to teach us lessons. It is available here.

I can’t explain why my life’s journey is quite different then the women I came into contact with recently. The best way that I can explain it to my children-and myself-is every human being is an angel sent down from the heavens. They all have different guises to remind us of our own humanity and that there is more to a human being than we see with the naked eye. We come from the same place.

“Always remember,” God smiled, “I have sent you nothing but angels.”