Have you ever entertained an angel unaware? I know what you're
probably thinking, "Well, Rebecca, that's a silly question. How
would I know? Doesn't the Bible say we minister to them
"unaware"? Hebrews 13 starts out, " Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." O.K. yeah, good point... How 'bout this: Do
you ever THINK you've entertained an angel?
I think Ronnie and I tried to minister to one
recently! This may not seem like a big deal to you, but I am almost
convinced God sent an angel across our path, perhaps even my
guardian angel. By the time you hear the end of the story you'll see how
God used our effort to supply my need :) Angel or not... God is really,
really cool!
So...on with the story. Late one afternoon Ronnie and I headed to
a friend’s wedding in Orlando. We were both starving. I hadn't
eaten much all day. For one, I had been too busy, but mainly I hadn't
eaten much because we were supposed to meet a good friend in Orlando that night
at the Dessert Lady! (O.K....ever heard of that place? Me neither,
but supposedly her desserts are to die for! ) We pulled off
onto an exit headed for a Chic-fil-A to get dinner before we met our friend.
As we exited down the off ramp, a light rain began to fall and I noticed
a man standing at the bottom of the hill at the red light. He instantly caught
my attention and I said, "Ah... if I had an umbrella in here, I'd throw it
out there to him."
It so happened that our place at the red light landed the man
right outside Ronnie's window, close enough for him to make eye contact
with us. Sure enough, he stood holding a cardboard sign with black marker
writing. Actually, I don't even know what the sign read. I just
noticed the word, "homeless". As we waited for the light to
change the man made awkward continual eye contact with us, throwing these
passive-aggressive, pleading looks our way.
The man became the topic of discussion during the ever-enduring
red light. Ronnie noticed right away that his clean-shaven, manicured
go-tee and rather clean - albeit- wet clothes showed that the man didn't appear
to be too homeless. We wondered if he was indeed homeless and
questioned if he would take anything other than money if we offered it to him.
All the while, the middle-aged, greying man cast occasional, yet purposed
eye contact, starring straight at us and ignoring the other cars in line.
Relief swept over me as the light finally turned green. Just as we pulled
off, I caught one last disgusted glare from the man that seemed to say said,
"You people with your cars and homes are all alike..."
I can't speak for Ronnie, but I have never given anything to
people holding signs on the side of the road, especially ones who give
disgusted looks to those they are asking to help them. It's not because I don't
want to help. I do, if they really need it. I've actual experienced a sort
of homeless before and I understand desperate. My heart goes out to
people in need. It's just that I don't know if I should believe them or not. And
I've always heard you shouldn't give them money. Because of all that, the
thought to help this guy never seriously entered my mind. But as we
pulled away Ronnie said, "We could buy him a sandwich if you want."
Immediately, my heart quickened. I'd love to do that and felt very
impressed that God would have us do it. I piped up, "Yes, lets do
it."
We bought the sandwich and backtracked to the exit. Ronnie pulled
off to the side of the road to deliver our hot meal to the clean-shaven man
standing in the rain. But the man was gone. I mean gone... like he
had vanished. It hadn't taken us long to get the food. We couldn't
imagine where he could have slipped away so quickly. We rode over to the
gas station and Ronnie jumped out to see if he had dashed in there for cover
from the rain. He was no where to be found...
I remember thinking, as we finally gave up the search for the man,
the impression to buy this sandwich was so strong and the whole experience so
odd, I knew God meant it for someone. Obviously the roadside stranger
wouldn't be the recipient, but in my heart I figured God had something up His
sleeve. My curiosity grew in anticipation as to what God had planned.
We finally made it to our hotel and longer story short...our plans fell
through to meet our friend. The only problem being that I still hadn't
eaten enough at supper. I had rationed out my food intake, saving for
the Dessert Lady and now we weren't going...
My sinking energy level from the stress of the week and bad meals had
begun taking its toll. Like the straw that broke the camel's back, I was
wiped out and didn't know how to snap out of it. This may seem
really silly to you, but at the end of the day, I was the one who ate the
sandwich...the glorious, 2 hour old, cold, Chick-fil-A sandwich! I
gobbled it up like a homeless person who hadn't eaten for days. Here's the
kicker... I don't even like Chick-Fil-A, but at that moment it tasted
like The Loop to me! The sandwich hit the spot like a weird
magic potion that brought life back into my soul.
I can't prove it, but I believe the stranger on the side of the road may
have been an angel sent by God to help his weary daughter. No, I hadn't
experienced a life or death situation, but I needed the encouragement of knowing
I have a God who sees right where I am. The fact that He loves and cares
enough to make provision for my future needs warmed my heart and ensured me I'm
safe in His care :)
He feels the same about you! He cares enough to assign an
angel specifically to you. And even better than that, He sent His Holy
Spirit to be your constant Companion and Guide. May you know His comfort
today. May your heart be set at rest knowing He is with you. He
sees you. He is, as we speak, providing for what you will need in the
moments and days ahead :)
Hope
& Glory! To You ~ Love
Rebecca
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