Dilemma Angel
I had arrived at the San Diego Airport early enough to be in the
first group to board the Southwest Airlines plane. To explain for
those of you who don't have the pleasure of flying Southwest, they do
not assign seats but issue boarding passes based on "first-come,
first-serve." I headed for the first available aisle seat, settled
in, and after everyone was on board was delighted that no one had
taken the dreaded "middle seat" resulting in a comfortable and
relaxing flight for me to Phoenix.
However, a few minutes later the stewardess asked for a volunteer to
give up a seat so that a father and handicapped son could sit
together. I volunteered, and moved up one row -- into the dreaded
middle seat, of course!
A comedy routine then ensued with the stewardess telling me twice
that they didn't need my seat and I could move back and then twice
again that they did need it! By this time, everyone around me was
joking and the stewardess had promised me a free drink for my
inconvenience and we were trying to get the ante up to a lobster
dinner!
I finally decided to stay in the middle seat and as the flight took
off began a conversation with the woman in the aisle seat. We
eventually learned that we attended the same church in Mesa, Arizona.
She then shared with me that her son-in-law, age 26, had recently
been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. The doctors said there
was no cure but that with chemotherapy and radiation they might buy
him two years. My son had also had cancer when he was 20 and we
shared some of the heartbreak of having a young person we love so
tragically stricken.
This young man and her daughter have two children -- ages 2 and 7.
The young man's father had given him $1,000 and told him to do
something fun with it (not pay doctor bills, etc.) So he thought he
would like to take his wife to Hawaii but the children were clamoring
for a trip to Disneyland. The $1,000 wouldn't do both and he
certainly didn't have any extra money to spend on such things.
My seat-mate continued the story with tears in her eyes, and told me
that earlier this week, the family (her son, his wife, and two
children) had been at the dentist. The receptionist knew about her
son's illness and asked how things were going. He brought her up to
date and then mentioned his dilemma –- Hawaii with his wife or
Disneyland for the children.
Unknown to them, a man in the waiting room overhead this
conversation. When he returned home, he shared the story with his
wife. The wife called the dentist, obtained their names, called her
travel agent and booked them a trip to Disneyland -- limo, breakfast
with Disney characters, the whole nine yards!
When she called the family to tell them about it, my seat-mate's
daughter-in-law was hesitant to accept such a wonderful gift from a
stranger. The generous woman replied, "Do you believe in angels?" The
young mother said, "Yes." "Well," the woman said, "so do I! I
have
been very blessed in my life and I have a 38-year-old son and
grandchildren. I can afford to do this and I would like very much to
do it."
So this weekend the family will go to Disneyland thanks to a
wonderful, kind woman who believes in angels! I wasn't sure before my
recent flight if I believed in angels, but now I have no doubt that
they exist – in you and me – and in all people who know how blessed
their lives are and who listen for the opportunity to help others.
"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers:
for thereby some have
entertained angels unawares." (Hebrews 13:2
KJV)
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