Did I entertain an angel? I wonder

Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. This is a story about entertaining angels unawares. One of her eyes stuck out from her face, it looked like a bluish white marble, her mouth opened to speak and there were no teeth, she was using a cane to hobble along and her clothes were dirty. I was looking for the newest flavor of diet Snapple, not thinking of anything but how happy Chloe’ would be that I had found her new favorite drink. I heard a rustle to my right and looked up to see this battered looking old woman coming right toward me, she spoke, “Lady do you have a few dollars you can give me to buy myself a T-shirt and some food? I’ll love you forever if you will.” My first instinct was to sniff the air for alcohol, I did, there was none detectable. I answered her “Is what you need in this store?” “Yes’m it is, I’ll love you forever if you can help me.” She was pleading, my heart was touched. “Go and gather what you need and meet me at the cash register, I will pay for whatever you get.” Her face lit up as she went off saying “I’ll love you forever.” I finished looking around for what I needed and I didn’t see her as I went to the front, but I heard her “Hey lady, here I come”, she continued her crippled walk toward me, smile on her old face. She put her things on the counter, a boxed mac and cheese dinner, a T-shirt, and a Gatorade. I said “Are you sure that’s all you need?”,”Yes’m it is, I’ll love you forever.” I had the cashier scan her things and bag them before he did mine. She asked him to double bag it so it wouldn’t break, then she took her treasures and turned to me, “Can I give you some love?”, her arms reached out and I walked into them. As she hugged me she whispered, “God bless you, I’ll love you forever. I gotta hurry so I don’t miss my bus!” I wasn’t more than two minutes behind her, I walked out to see if she was at the bus stop, there was no bus stop no bus and no lady, she had vanished into thin air. I looked up and down, as heavy, old and crippled as she was she couldn’t have gone far, but she was no where to be seen. It gave me a chill. Had I entertained an angel, unaware? I thought of the lyrics to a Phil Collins song, Another Day In Paradise
She calls out to the man on the street “Sir, can you help me?
It’s cold and I’ve nowhere to sleep, Is there somewhere you can tell me?” He walks on, doesn’t look back He pretends he can’t hear her Starts to whistle as he crosses the street Seems embarrassed to be there Oh think twice, it’s another day for You and me in paradise Oh think twice, it’s just another day for you, You and me in paradise She calls out to the man on the street He can see she’s been crying She’s got blisters on the soles of her feet Can’t walk but she’s trying Oh think twice… Oh lord, is there nothing more anybody can do Oh lord, there must be something you can say You can tell from the lines on her face You can see that she’s been there Probably been moved on from every place ‘Cos she didn’t fit in there Oh think twice. 
 Whether this lady was an angel, or someone that needed help from a stranger, I felt I had seen God and strangely, I saw Him in me. How wonderful to feel that you have been the hand of God on earth. Somewhere someone is “loving me forever”, thank you Jesus.

7 Replies to “Did I entertain an angel? I wonder”

  1. Reblogged this on Harolene.com and commented:

    She said she had to catch a bus, but when I followed her out he had totally disappeared, was she an angel? I wonder.

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  2. I love that passage. My mom taught it to me when she took in an old man who supposedly wandered off from home in Iowa or somewhere. Could have been Alzheimers, but he found us down in Texas in his old beat up Chevy. We took him in for a couple days until we found an airline ticket to send him home. And then he disappeared in the airport.

    But you know what? I think the writer of Hebrews had Genesis 18 in mind, at least in part, when he (she?) wrote that verse. Go check it out carefully. Abe does not know the strangers trespassing his front yard when he get Sarah to make like 75lbs of bread and kills the fatted calf. We, the readers know who the guest is, but this is never revealed to Abe.

    But then finally, there is that Judgment passage in Matthew 25 about the goats n sheep, and Jesus tells us that … among all the other poor and marginalized people we meet … the stranger we take in is HIM.

    I love your story. I love that you saw Jesus. I think you are exactly right about that! I hope he visits again soon. And I hope you join Abe in the AWE that produces.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I am awed and humbled! Thank you. There are more for real experiences perhaps I should share them also. You made my whole day‼️😇

      Liked by 1 person

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