Angels
Unawares
A Valuable Lesson From a 'Dirty Child'
Nancy
Johnson
circa
Summer of 1987
Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
For
in the same way you judge others,
you
will be judged, and with the measure
you
use, it will be measured to you.
-- Matthew 7:1
This
Scripture has always been so important in my Christian life, and when
I was a younger woman I prayed fervently for sin in me to be revealed.
One
happy summer morning, my husband and I decided to go to a favorite coffee
shop for a cup and the companionship we always found there. Our teenagers
were already out playing a game of basketball with the neighborhood
kids, and we had to get them to move so we could back out of the drive.
My husband had a request of our son, so he stopped in the middle of
the group, and I listened as they all chatted and laughed.
As the conversation was winding down and I knew we were fixing to continue
our backward trek, a small boy rushed to my car window and gripped the
door. I quickly shooed him away. Any onlooker would have
thought my concern was strictly for the child's well-being. But
God and I knew better.
As
we rounded the corner at the end of our block, I began to sob.
My shame was enormous. I'd seen this dirty child, and was repulsed
at his being so near me. He was filthy, and smelled, and he looked
me right in the eyes! The angel had delivered a message from God
that was so hard for me to admit. I wasn't aware at the time
that the child had been an angel. Because I was crying so hard
at my revealed sin, we had to return home without our morning coffee.
Later, when the kids came in, I asked who the boy had been, intending
to make amends for what was in my heart, somehow. The kids never
saw the boy, and I never saw him again.
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,
for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Hebrews 13:1-3
I learned
some very valuable lessons that day, and I thank God for the revelations
He made to me through that little angel. My walk with Him has
changed, because God took the time to answer my prayer in that most
graphic way. And I feel compelled to share this very personal
experience.
Angel Stories 
