Entertaining Angels

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

                                    Hebrews 13:2

 

Every single day of our lives the Lord is working. He works on us, through us, in us, and around us. He fits us into His plans, molding us as He sees fit to get us where He wants us to be. He takes a little from our lives here, adds a little there. Like a potter molding clay He smooth's out wrinkles on this side and creates something beautiful on that side.

If we climb out of bed in the morning there is a good chance that He will use us in someone’s life and may, quite possibly, use someone else in ours. Sometimes we never know the impact we have on another. The simple act of smiling at someone could change their lives.

But then there are the times when someone comes into our lives and we see the impact. Have you ever stopped to think about the sheer odds of what it takes for you to meet someone new? No matter who they are or what role they play in your life. You had to be there, in that spot, at that moment to meet them. And so did they. In our usually busy lives what does it take for two complete strangers to wind up in the right place at the same moment so that they can touch each other’s lives?

I’ve seen this happen in my writing, among the new friends I have made in the writing world. There is an author that worked closely with me this past winter. We stumbled on each other because I asked the right question, in the right place, at the right time. Through her guidance I learned a lot about what it takes to take my story and make it fit the guidelines set in place by agents and publishers.

Another author showed up in my life because I won several contests where her books were the prize. We exchanged several emails and through her I was encouraged. Later, the same woman judged a contest I entered. Her kind words of praise for my entry lifted my spirits and encouraged me in my writing in a way no one else has.

I’ve seen this same miracle happen in life, many times, but some of those chance encounters have meant so much more than others. The Lord has recently brought one of the most amazing women I’ve ever met into my life. I was drawn to her from the first moment we met. In only a few short months she has captured my heart. We are born into our families, blessed by the people the Lord has chosen to make a part of our lives through family ties, and then there are the ones that are family of the heart. This woman is that for me.

There are more of these people that have worked their way into my life in ways that should have been impossible. A close friend that became that simply because we were drawn to each other online, through conversations that held nothing of a personal nature until we are now more like sisters than friends.

Another friend I met when I was somewhere I did not plan to be, at a time I had no intention of being there, at a time that this friend did not want to be there either. And yet we were. Through a few short words, and a smile, we have become friends in a way that has touched me deeply and changed my life.

Dear reader, I am sure that there are people like these in your life. Friends you didn’t expect, strangers that may have only passed through your day but changed your life. Who are they? How did you meet them? Will you share some of these miracle friendships with us?