From my July 6th post about our trip to Oregon over the 4th:
When we were in the florist shop, I had spied a tiny basket of silver
angel trinkets by the register. I bought one for Curtis and slipped it
to him, saying that I thought he could stick it in his pocket and hold
it when he wants to call on his angels for love and protection.
What I didn't say is that I bought two of those silver angels, and kept one for myself. When I went back to work on August 1st, I got in the habit of slipping it into my pants pocket; when I'd change clothes after work, I'd take it out and set it on the dresser. It quickly became a talisman for me, and during that stressful month at work, I'd occasionally stick my hand in my pocket and touch my angel to remind me to stay connected, to stay centered. But more importantly, to remind me to be kind. I was meeting lots of new students (I enrolled 46 new kids!) and their families, and because I was so busy, it would have been easy to let the stress make me cranky. But that little silver angel was a constant reminder to try to be an angel in those people's lives, if only for a few moments.
Fast forward to J's last trip to Portland... The last weekend he was gone, I was at work on both Saturday and Sunday. That Sunday morning, I'd started my day with a quick trip to the laundromat. While my clothes were washing, I zipped out to school to help my coworker finish a project. It wasn't until the next morning, when I dressed to head to work on Monday and reached out to grab the angel off the dresser, that I saw she wasn't there. I frantically searched around the bedroom floor and under the bed, thinking that maybe I'd tossed my pants over the footboard when I'd gotten home on Friday and that she'd fallen onto the floor. But in my heart I knew I must have left her in my pants when I'd tossed them into the washer. I didn't have time to go to the laundromat to check--it was a very hectic week. But by Wednesday of that week, I couldn't stand it anymore and drove to the laundromat before work to see if by some wild chance she might still be lying inside one of the washers or dryers. She wasn't, of course, and it was only then that I accepted that wherever she was, she was probably much more needed there than with me. I hoped she was bringing the kind of solace and reminder to the next person that she had given to me. But still, I was a bit heartbroken to have lost her. I had given one to my old friend to serve as a reminder that I really needed to give to myself.
Yesterday when I went to our P.O. box, we had all kinds of mail, including a key to a locker where they place larger parcels. J and I each had a package. His was full of CD's and promo materials from an old friend who wants to do some gigs with him again. Mine was from Sam. I opened it...and found this:
A large silver angel...with the serenity prayer etched into her body. I don't think I'd even mentioned to Sam that I'd lost my little silver angel. Also included in the package was a card that made me cry when I read it. (And if you read Sam's blog, you know she's a heart-tugging writer.) She'd written that she'd won the angel, that it had been sitting at her house for a month, and that she'd decided it would be happier with me.
Sam is an angel in my life. And in my better moments, I hope I've been able to be one for her. On the surface, we probably seem like an unlikely pair...vastly different ages...she's from the conservative South, I'm from the granola-crunching West...she's a devout Christian, I've got my own weird mix of spiritual mumbo-jumbo...and we've never met in person. But underneath those surface differences, we've found common heart ground. I guess one could say we've found the angel in each other. She is a huge gift in my life. Thank you, Sam. Thank you for reminding me to be an angel.
Today, I encourage all of you to put on your wings, if only for a moment. Sometimes one small act can result in huge ripples. Dare to be the one to place your fingertip in the water to start those ripples for someone...dare to spread kindness...dare to spread some angel love.
(I know it's a day early, but I'll make this my entry for this week's Love Thursday.)
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