{"id":1678,"date":"2022-05-27T09:33:44","date_gmt":"2022-05-27T13:33:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=1678"},"modified":"2022-05-27T09:33:44","modified_gmt":"2022-05-27T13:33:44","slug":"unexpected-angels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2022\/05\/27\/unexpected-angels\/","title":{"rendered":"Unexpected Angels"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mary Sue and I had been married for exactly six days.\u00a0
\u00a0
I wanted to do everything right to let her know that I was a person she could trust for \u2013 well, for the rest of her life.
\u00a0
It was the last day of our whirlwind honeymoon road trip to Florida.\u00a0 Her childhood best friend would be married the following day in Indianapolis, and we were eager to get home.\u00a0 It was late on a Friday afternoon \u2013 rush hour \u2013 and we made one final pit stop just outside Nashville, Tennessee.\u00a0
\u00a0
I had been the designated driver on this trip.\u00a0 But every mile I was fully aware that this was really her<\/em> car \u2013 a beautiful silver 1974 Chevy Malibu Classic.\u00a0 She had bought it even before we were engaged.\u00a0 Therefore I kept reminding myself to drive carefully, secure everything inside, and avoid all manner of scratches and dents.
\u00a0
I filled the tank and locked the doors, and we both made quick bathroom stops.
\u00a0
When we returned however, there was a problem.\u00a0 The keys weren\u2019t in my pocket.\u00a0 I could see them sitting on the front seat \u2013 right where I left them when I locked the car doors.
\u00a0
We tried everything we could think of to get back inside.\u00a0 How hard could this be?\u00a0 Someone gave us a coat hanger, which I cleverly used to lacerate part of the foam insulation designed to waterproof the driver\u2019s side window \u2013 something that got us no closer to springing the latch.\u00a0 Other folks came by and said semi-encouraging things like, \u201cOh, I did that once.\u00a0 Frustrating, isn\u2019t it?\u201d\u00a0
\u00a0
After about 40 minutes, the owner of the gas station suggested that we call the local Chevy dealership.\u00a0 Perhaps they could triangulate with the Chevy dealership in Indy where Mary Sue had bought the car, get the serial number, use that to create a new key, and deliver it to us before they closed within the hour.\u00a0 This was 1975 \u2013 eons before cell phones, Uber, websites, and keyless entry to automobiles.\u00a0
\u00a0
While I stood at the gas station pay phone talking to the local Chevrolet reps, Mary Sue remained by the car.\u00a0
\u00a0
Seemingly out of nowhere, a man who looked like he could have been an extra in The Godfather<\/em> approached my wife.\u00a0 Gaudy rings adorned his fingers.\u00a0 \u201cHaving a problem?\u201d he asked.\u00a0 She explained our predicament.\u00a0 Feeling a twinge of insecurity, Mary Sue excused herself to see if I was having any luck on the phone.\u00a0 Minutes later, when she returned to the car, the door was standing open.\u00a0 They keys were still sitting on the front seat.\u00a0 The stranger was nowhere to be seen.
\u00a0
Looking back, several thoughts occurred to us.\u00a0 We felt overwhelmingly grateful we still had our car.\u00a0 And we wondered if God had actually blessed us with an angel.\u00a0
\u00a0
If so, I realized I would probably have to revise my theology of angels.\u00a0 \u00a0
\u00a0
What seemed clear is that God loved us so much that in answer to our prayers he had sent a professional.\u00a0
\u00a0
In truth, God loves the world so much that he is almost always pleased to work through \u201camateurs.\u201d\u00a0 Whenever we are in spiritual need, he typically sends those who have never seen the inside of a seminary or received special theological training.\u00a0
\u00a0
If you know someone this holiday weekend who will need a word of reassurance, a compassionate hug, a gift of food or money, or a reminder of God\u2019s love and grace, who do you think he might send?
\u00a0
Get ready.\u00a0 He will be thrilled to send you<\/em>.\u00a0
\u00a0
With our hugs, gifts, and words of encouragement, we all get to be God\u2019s angels.\u00a0

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mary Sue and I had been married for exactly six days.\u00a0\u00a0I wanted to do everything right to let her know that I was a person she could trust for \u2013 well, for the rest of her life.\u00a0It was the last day of our whirlwind honeymoon road trip to Florida.\u00a0 Her childhood best friend would be married the following day in… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1679,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[373,447],"class_list":["post-1678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-angels","tag-serving"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1678"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1680,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1678\/revisions\/1680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}