Angels in Diguise

I’ve seen and met angels wearing the disguise

 of ordinary people living ordinary lives.

- Tracy Chapman

Angels in disguise. I have seen them, have you? Just the other day, at the airport, a kind employee bumped me to First Class seating. I had not asked about different seating, and when he handed me my new boarding pass and commented that it was a better seat, I still did not understand it was in the First Class area. What a wonderful, unexpected gift! Today I want to share a particularly wonderful story from someone close to me. It is about her angel in disguise.

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

 ~Hebrews 13:2 NIV

It was a particularly difficult morning. Things were piling up one upon the other. Finances had been an issue for awhile now, but today was especially bad. A cashed check that was to be held for awhile had sent the checking account into a tailspin. Checks began bouncing right and left, and the fees began stacking up. She owed money to the kids school and money on a student loan. The charges from the bounced checks had people calling her as well. How was she to pay any of these things when the money was simply not there? Topping it off were the family medical issues, including the surgery of a loved one that very day. How could one person be expected to bear so much?

As she ended a cell phone call from yet another person demanding payment, she began to give in to the despair. Standing in the hallway of her children's school, her world seemed ready to crumble. "Are you alright?", the voice asked. Looking up she saw the face of another parent. "Yes, I'm fine.", she answered, her face belying the truth. "No, really, I want to know if you are alright.", the woman said. And so the words began to pour out, along with the tears. She shared everything with this woman she barely knew, and accepted her arms to comfort her as well. Her story told, the woman asked a question, "What can I do to help?" She began to refuse the kind woman's offer, but the woman was persistent. "No, I am serious, I want to help. I can help you.", she stated. "My checkbook is at home. Let's go there and discuss this.", said the woman.

 Upon arriving at the kind woman's home, she was asked a question, "How much do you need?" Surprised, she said, "I don't know when I can pay you back." "Who said anything about paying me back?", asked the woman. "Name a figure, don't be afraid. What do you need to get back on your feet?" Stunned, she replied, "About $2000." Without blinking an eye the woman began to write the check. In explanation the woman simply said, "I was feeling sorry for myself this morning. My husband has a long commute to work, and I was resenting that. Meeting you and hearing your problems put my own into perspective. It helped me feel better."

You never know when or where your angel will appear, or when you can be an angel for someone else. In Him ~Marla