Entertaining Angels

My little sister, Nikki, came over Friday night after she & some friends had finished up their Christmas shopping. As we sat in our living room chatting, she began to share a story with us...{let me just add that when us McManus girls get together there is ALWAYS a story to be told & it usually has many different voices ;) } As we sat there listening to her tell us about the encounter she had with a stranger earlier that day I couldn't help but feel proud of her & convicted at the same time. This wasn't one of those laugh-so-hard-you-almost-pee-your-pants type of stories that one usually gets from her...it was definitely one that tugged on your heart. I called her today to confirm that I had her permission to share this & she requested that I keep the lady's name private.


This was the story she shared..."I was heading to get gas after work today & when I pulled in there were like tons of cars in line so I went down the street to the other station that I rarely go to...I was out there pumping gas when a lady came up to me asking if I could take her to a town that I had never heard of & I said that I didn't know where that was but that I could take her somewhere here in Walnut Ridge. She accepted my offer & asked me to take her to Walmart & if I would let her use my cell phone, I said yes. She loaded my car up with all of her bags she was carrying & she began calling around trying to get people to come pick her up. The whole way to Walmart I just kept praying that God would give me the words to say. As the lady was quietly talking I couldn't help but overhear that she had just been to court & "they" were coming to get her kids & she asked the person on the line if "he" had thrown all of her stuff out into the street yet. My heart was breaking & my mind was wandering, thinking about her loosing her kids & her boyfriend/husband kicking her out...I could tell by her conversationg that the person on the line didn't want to come get her & they were passing the phone to others around them. Finally she got someone that agreed to pick her up as long as she would buy their gas, she expressed to them that she had no money & begged them to still come. I looked in my purse & got a $20 out & handed it to her, she just looked at me & said "thank you so much"...she told them that she only had $20 & they agreed to come get her. We spoke for a bit & she shared with me that she had just found out that she had cancer. This broke my heart. She was about to get out of the car when she said "I feel like you are a person that has faith & I was wondering if you would pray for me". Of course I was excited that she requested this, so I asked if I could right there in the parking lot. She said yes but I think she was shocked that I wanted to pray with her instead of for her. So I just grabbed her & started praying & we were both crying & I was just snotting haha & I mean, it was such an amazing thing for me; whether it blessed her or not, I felt God move. When she went to get out I asked if she had a bible & she said no, so I offered her mine. She was like "wow, really? are you sure?" I think she knew that it was something that was important to me, I mean I have like 7 bibles but the one that I had in my car was my favorite. I said that I hated that it had my name on the cover but I wanted her to have it anyway & I think she cherished that my name was on it. So I took all of my notes & old bulletins out & handed it to her. I gave her my phone number & told her that if she ever needed prayer I would be there for her. When she walked away I just sobbed there in the car for what seemed like forever & thanked God for putting her in my path. When I got to the dorm to pick everyone up to go shopping they thought someone had died by the look on my face. So I told them & of course, they all cried with me..."

I swear my little sister has the most incredible experiences out of anyone I know. God has blessed her with a special gift, I truly feel like people in need are drawn to her. No matter how bad of a mood shes in, others can still see the love of Christ in her. Whats amazing to me is that she had a horrible day that Friday & was in an awful mood yet she still chose to be used by God & her day improved greatly. Now Nikki is not perfect, haha she has many faults...as do I. It blows my mind how often things like this happen to her & with God's guidance she reaches out & touches stranger's lives without batting an eye. A few times I have been present when God has put someone in our path & she has just jumped at the opportunity to help them. I don't mean to toot her horn, if anything I'm tooting God's horn & His power to work through His children {did I just say toot on here? haha}. I aim to make it a daily prayer of mine for God to draw me closer to Him no matter what I must go through to get there. At first I was worried when I heard about her giving people rides & or money because I feared that she was being taking advantage of...She has told me that she has to follow what she feels like God is telling her to do & not just make a decision based on her impulses or emotions at the time. Who knows, some of the individuals that she has helped could be angels in disguise...

Hebrews 13:1-3 says, "Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."

I pray that I leave my heart open for God to work through me this Christmas season & always, & that I make it a resolution to share His love to others & bring Him the glory...

p.s. I follow the Leading & Loving It women's ministry blog thanks to my friend Heather telling me about it! Anyway, I ran across this blog post on it this morning & I think you should check it out. The video on it had me in tears, good tears though.