Divine Appointment #1: Angels Unawares

 

Divine Appointment # 1: Angels Unaware

My mother died in 2018 unexpectedly due to a fall and a broken ankle. It was one year and sixteen days after the death of my dad.

On a cold, cold, cold Saturday not too many weeks since her passing, a gentleman rang our doorbell. When I saw him, I immediately thought “Jehovah’s Witness.” He wore a long, black wool coat—the most expensive winter coat I think I’ve ever seen with a matching “newsboy” cap. A new leather binder rested easily in the crook of his right arm.

He greeted me and I responded. He then was fumbling a little with the binder and papers. I knew he wanted to share his Watch Tower views with me. Suddenly, he stopped. He then asked the following question (something to that effect) “have you been experiencing grieving lately?” I immediately told this total stranger that my mother had died very recently. He put the set of papers back in the binder and searched through his repertoire and handed me a paper about dealing with death and grief. I thanked him.

Then he left my porch. I laid the papers on the coffee table and went back to the door. He had vanished into the bitter cold; no cars were awaiting him on the street and he was not on any other neighbor’s porches. It was as if he had not been on my street at all, except my house and my porch.

I was somehow comforted by this gesture. I shared this story with my son’s mother-in-law as we often exchange spiritual nuggets. She immediately quoted Hebrews 13: 2 back to my mind, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

Sometimes divine appointments don’t seem like that’s what they are at all. I normally would have just thanked this Jehovah’s Witness and state that I was comfortable with my religion and that would have been the end of it. Oh, we of little faith. What a blessing I would have turned away.