Icy winds were whipping my hair across my face as I stepped out of my warm car. I pulled my bank card from my purse and stepped over to the gas pump, going through the routine that we all go through to fill up our cars with the liquid gold, willing every drop to stretch a little farther. Little did I know that this time, it would be different.
I was having trouble getting my card to work on the pump machine, as technology and I usually seem to butt heads. I was turning to go inside to get the cashier to help me, when I heard a car pull up behind mine, and a soft voice emerging from the inside of the car.
"Hey there, do you think you could help me when 'yur done?"
"Sure," I told the woman happily, and meaning it too. I wasn't sure what she needed help with, I noticed that she had an older car and seemed she might be a little older as well, but I felt complete peace about it.
I finally got my car all gassed up and went over to the woman's car, seeing how I could help.
She awkwardly fumbled with her keys a minute and told me in her thick southern drawl that this is what the problem was. I looked at her dashboard, trying to decipher if there was something mechanically wrong. It seemed okay, and then I thought, oh maybe she needs me to push her up to the gas pump.
I asked her and she laughed at me, and dove in.
"I'm a cancer patient. I'm on chemo, and I have congestive heart failure. I don't really have a dime to my name, and I just need to get home. Can you help me at all?"
My heart broke for this woman in an instant. I looked at her, saw that she had no eye brows anymore, and the hair on her head was a wig. While I am by no means the richest person in the world, I knew I had to help this woman.
I knew that it was moments like this where I am blessed to be a blessing.
I handed the woman a bill, and she seemed slightly overwhelmed. She quickly opened the car down and got out saying "Let me give you a hug!"
So there I was, standing out in the freezing cold at the gas station, hugging a woman I had never met before in all my life. I asked her her name, and she told me it was Diane. We talked for a few minutes longer, she asked about my Arizona license plates and I explained that I had moved here to work with Adventures in Missions.
She told me a bit about her story, only a brief snippet, but I could hear the fear in her voice. The pain that she has and is enduring. How she is battling cancer and congestive heart failure at the same time. How her friends are passing away. I wondered if she had anyone at home. What her whole story was.
Quickly, before I could get it out of my mind, I asked if I could pray for her. She grasped my hand so tightly as I prayed over her.
We talked for a few more minutes, she gave me one more tight squeeze, and I got in my car and she went inside the gas station so she could pay to put gas in her car. We parted ways and as I started the engine, I just wanted to cry out for Diane. I wanted to show her more how valued she is, how worthy. How much she was a blessing to my heart in that moment.
I got to thinking. Usually when someone does something "miraculous" for us, we say that it was an angel. People have indeed had encounters of angels on earth, and God has shown up in amazing ways. Yesterday, I think Diane was my angel.
Someone who reminded me how to be human. How to be who God has made me to be, that I am the person whose heart breaks for the ones that are passed over by others. My heart weeps for the least. Diane showed me how blessed it truly is to be a blessing.
Diane was my angel in disguise.
Today I looked up what her name means.
God has a funny sense of humor.
Diane means divine, heavenly.
Who is your angel in disguise today?
I was having trouble getting my card to work on the pump machine, as technology and I usually seem to butt heads. I was turning to go inside to get the cashier to help me, when I heard a car pull up behind mine, and a soft voice emerging from the inside of the car.
"Hey there, do you think you could help me when 'yur done?"
"Sure," I told the woman happily, and meaning it too. I wasn't sure what she needed help with, I noticed that she had an older car and seemed she might be a little older as well, but I felt complete peace about it.
I finally got my car all gassed up and went over to the woman's car, seeing how I could help.
She awkwardly fumbled with her keys a minute and told me in her thick southern drawl that this is what the problem was. I looked at her dashboard, trying to decipher if there was something mechanically wrong. It seemed okay, and then I thought, oh maybe she needs me to push her up to the gas pump.
I asked her and she laughed at me, and dove in.
"I'm a cancer patient. I'm on chemo, and I have congestive heart failure. I don't really have a dime to my name, and I just need to get home. Can you help me at all?"
My heart broke for this woman in an instant. I looked at her, saw that she had no eye brows anymore, and the hair on her head was a wig. While I am by no means the richest person in the world, I knew I had to help this woman.
I knew that it was moments like this where I am blessed to be a blessing.
I handed the woman a bill, and she seemed slightly overwhelmed. She quickly opened the car down and got out saying "Let me give you a hug!"
So there I was, standing out in the freezing cold at the gas station, hugging a woman I had never met before in all my life. I asked her her name, and she told me it was Diane. We talked for a few minutes longer, she asked about my Arizona license plates and I explained that I had moved here to work with Adventures in Missions.
She told me a bit about her story, only a brief snippet, but I could hear the fear in her voice. The pain that she has and is enduring. How she is battling cancer and congestive heart failure at the same time. How her friends are passing away. I wondered if she had anyone at home. What her whole story was.
Quickly, before I could get it out of my mind, I asked if I could pray for her. She grasped my hand so tightly as I prayed over her.
We talked for a few more minutes, she gave me one more tight squeeze, and I got in my car and she went inside the gas station so she could pay to put gas in her car. We parted ways and as I started the engine, I just wanted to cry out for Diane. I wanted to show her more how valued she is, how worthy. How much she was a blessing to my heart in that moment.
I got to thinking. Usually when someone does something "miraculous" for us, we say that it was an angel. People have indeed had encounters of angels on earth, and God has shown up in amazing ways. Yesterday, I think Diane was my angel.
Someone who reminded me how to be human. How to be who God has made me to be, that I am the person whose heart breaks for the ones that are passed over by others. My heart weeps for the least. Diane showed me how blessed it truly is to be a blessing.
Diane was my angel in disguise.
Today I looked up what her name means.
God has a funny sense of humor.
Diane means divine, heavenly.
Who is your angel in disguise today?
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