"You've Been Gifted" follow up...

On December 4, '09, I wrote about the initiative our church did during the month of December called "You've Been Gifted". (story here) There were so many stories that came in of random acts of kindness, and were posted on our church's website, though now they are gone. I wanted to share one story with you that was sent to our pastor. It is particularly touching.

"I was in the Super Walmart in Streetsboro this weekend and asked the Lord before entering the store to lead me to someone who needs a blessing. I really felt the presence of God while choosing a check out aisle. I ended up behind a woman in one of those wheelchair type carts the store offers and she was with her adult daughter. They were having trouble paying for their purchases and were trying to use different credit cards. It was obvious that this was the person God has chosen for me to "gift".

I stepped next to the lady and said " Merry Christmas why don't you let me pay for you today." The cashier overheard me and said " you can't do that" and I asked "Why not?" and she turned the cash register's monitor toward me that showed her total bill was $192. I said "that's OK our church asked us to look for opportunities to bless others this Christmas season" I then handed her the "You've Been Gifted" card.

The lady in the wheelchair began crying really hard and her eyes were red; she grabbed my face in her hands and said, "thank you very much-- I didn't think kindness like this still existed." She then said "the reason I am shopping today is to buy clothes for my husband's funeral this weekend!"

The cashier heard this and raised her hands in the air (and held them there) and said "praise God!" she then asked where our church was and said she would like to go to a church where people are as nice as me.

At this point I was feeling awkward about all the attention and started to babble phrases like "its not a big deal" and " I have a lot of money" --how embarrassing is that!

However, after all was said and done it really felt great to "team up " with God and be a part of blessing some else."

My random act of kindness didn't cost nearly as much in terms of money, and I don't know what the outcome was because I was able to do it anonymously, but I know I was just as blessed. I also did the Christmas Jar that I wrote about here. In fact, we had friends over on Christmas Eve (before all the excitement started with my mother-in-law and the ER) and our friends had also done one, so we got to excitedly share our stories with each other. I don't want to go into any more detail in fear of being "found out"!! But it sure was a lot of fun, and who wouldn't like to be blessed with an unexpected jar full of money on Christmas Eve from a secret friend or even from a stranger? I'll be starting to fill a new jar this week for next Christmas. I wouldn't miss out on this for anything!

I stumbled into a blog that a young gal, Katrina, is writing and she has determined to do a random act of kindness every day. You might like to check it out here. I have found it to be quite inspiring! But the best news is that when I went to read her post today, I found out that she committed her life to the Lord yesterday! If you feel so led, go over and give Katrina some encouragement. The angels are rejoicing and so am I!

God bless us, everyone!

Angels in the ER...

My son brought this book for me to read while we were having our belated Christmas celebrations this year. It was written by one of the elders at his church and thousands of copies have been sold. Having just gone through the recent Emergency Room experience on Christmas Eve with my mother-in-law, I found the book to be very interesting. It gives a lot of behind-the-scenes information.

It was not lost on me that night that even though we had our own Christmas interrupted, we sat there watching many health care people as well as security guards, cleaning people, and others who were working while their children and spouses were at home. Every chance I got, I said, "thank you for working tonight".

This book is mostly not about the supernatural and the miraculous as the title might imply to some. It is about ordinary people who live and work in an extraordinary way to serve others. Some of the stories are heart-wrenching and there are no easy answers. It is written by a Christian from a Christian perspective, and he shares how he sees the hand on God in many amazing situations. I don't think I'll ever be quite the same now that I have read this book. I highly recommend it. You can get it at any major book store or on line by clicking here: Amazon

Angels unaware...

Angels Ministering to Christ in the Wilderness

by Thomas Cole

When I was a child back in the '50's, I remember reading a little book by Dale Evans Rogers called Angel Unaware. It is the story of the little daughter of Dale Evans and Roy Rogers, named Robin Elizabeth, who was born with Downs Syndrome and who only lived 2 1/2 years. The title of the book is taken from the biblical passage Hebrews 13:2, "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares".

A description of the book from Amazon.com:

"Though Robin's time on earth was short, she changed her parents' lives and even made life better for other children born with special needs in the years to come. Angel Unaware is Robin's account of her life as she looks down from heaven. As she speaks to God about the mission of love she just completed on earth, the reader sees how she brought her parents closer to God and encouraged them to help other children in need. This book...changed the way America treated children with special needs..."

I think that was probably the first time I really thought much about angels, and not only has the story stuck with me, but the belief that angels are real and can take on many forms to perform their duties. Angels are referred to throughout the Bible, and I find them to be quite intriguing creations.

It's probably really hard to know for sure when we have had an encounter with a real angel sent from God. I'm certain there are many instances that we have been helped by an angel that we have been totally unaware of. But here is a story of something that happened to me and my husband a couple of years ago. I do believe it was a real life angel encounter!

Our older son and his family live in South Carolina, and especially now that we have grandchildren there, we try to run down from Ohio to see them several times a year. Unfortunately, I'm not recalling the exact date of this particular visit, but I know it was over a Labor Day weekend, and I'm thinking it may have been in 2004.

In any event, we set out to leave for home right after breakfast on Tuesday after the holiday weekend, which was approximately a 10 hour road trip. We knew the weather forecast was calling for rain because there was a hurricane moving from the Atlantic across the region (Frances?). We hoped to get a head start and head north as quickly as we could.

To back up just a bit: I am a very good traveler under perfect conditions. That means no rain, sleet, snow, fog, and no darkness. One of the demons I fight is my fear of the combination of highway speed and bad weather. It's just a big issue with me and I have no idea why. But I can have a serious anxiety attack when the conditions are "wrong". My husband is a great driver in any weather so it has nothing to do with him. (Probably more about my sense of the loss of control!)

We got about an hour up I-77N when the heavy rain started. I have never in my life experienced rain like that. It was coming down like it was the end of the world. Before too long, we could not see a thing in front of us. I was so terrified I thought I was going to die from not being able to breathe. We had to go quite a while with our wipers on full speed, not that it helped. Pretty soon, the rubber part of the driver's side wiper started inching up the metal blade. It was flopping all around and totally unable to clear the windshield to provide the least bit of visibility. Out of my side window, I thought I saw a sign for a gas station at the next exit. My husband somehow got us off the highway and we pulled into a tiny station with a little convenience store.

I was shaking so badly and I didn't even want him to get out of the car into the rain coming down in heavy sheets. But he went into the little store to see if someone had a tool he could use to try to fix the wiper blade. He came back to report that they did not. I just started to cry. I felt so helpless and scared of the long trip ahead of us. Just then, a small pickup truck pulled into the space beside me. I told my husband, "I bet that guy has some tools!"

While the man was inside the little convenience store, my husband tried one more time to fiddle with the wiper blade. Just then, the man appeared before him and asked if we needed some help. Hubby explained about the wiper and the man went to his truck to get a tool and within seconds it seemed, had our wiper fixed. We never had a chance to thank the guy...he was gone as quickly as he had appeared on the scene. All of this happened in what could not have been more than 3-4 minutes.

While I still didn't want to get back onto the highway, my husband wanted to persevere. Gradually we drove out of the heaviest rain, but it did continue to rain the entire way back to Ohio.

I really was too engrossed in the circumstances at the time to think this man could have been an angel. But looking back, I am fully convinced in my own mind. And totally grateful. What do you think?

Have you had an experiences that made you think twice about the reality of angels?

"Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?" Hebrews 1:14