Did I Just See an Angel in the Rain?

OK, 68,062 steps this week for a total of 265,479 steps since Memorial Day. With only 494,521 steps to go, the only thing that will keep me from making my goal is an unforeseen illness or injury. I have been sleeping so well, and I really feel like I’m taking advantage of this beautiful place we call Michigan. The lakes, the woods, the dunes…I’m hard-pressed to think of an area where you could find such a great combination of attractions.

One of the days that I walked this week was threatening rain. You know how it is: you wait for the rain to come so that the rain can finish so that you can walk in sunshine. You can wait all day this way. Since I decided I wasn’t going to let the weather dictate when I exercised, I set out with an umbrella. I hadn’t gone 50 yards when the clouds ripped from one end of the heavens to the other, dropping, deluging, precipitation.

I was glad for the umbrella, but I soon found that the only thing that stayed dry was my head. The raindrops were so big that they were splashing up onto my legs, my waist, and my arms as if I were walking next to a pool of kids doing one cannonball after another. I was thinking of turning around but, no, I had already made the commitment. And I was already wet! It didn’t stop my internal dialogue though: I cannot believe this rain! I know we need it since everything’s so dry, but did it have to start the minute I left my front porch? For crying out loud, God, can’t you help me out here?!?

God gave me my answer. This man – I prefer to think of him as an angel – passed me while riding a bike. He had Billy Graham hair under his helmet. He wore khaki shorts and a white shirt along with a backpack, and he didn’t look at all disturbed by the rain. He said, “I’m proud of you” and flashed me a huge smile before darting around the corner.

Could that message have come from God? Did God send me an angel to encourage me at the most perfect moment? Maybe the backpack hid his wings and the helmet hid his halo….

I like to think of it that way.

But maybe I’m asking the wrong question. Maybe I should be asking: Do I live my life in such a way that would make people wonder if they met an angel when our paths crossed? Do I care in such a way…serve is such a way…that I am the very voice, the very hands, of God?

Hmm….

Enjoy your day. Enjoy this blog.