The first time I met an angel, I was at an elementary school field trip attended by nearly the entire Oklahoma City metro area. Multiple schools from multiple districts had sent busloads of students to the event center.
I honestly can’t remember anything about the program except some guy standing on stage, singing about er-er-er-erosion and explaining the importance of lakes and streams.
I dunno. For a field trip, competing with trips to the skating rink and zoo, it ranked pretty low on my favorite’s list. That… and I was pretty sure we were going to a laser light show. I don’t remember why I thought it, but I kept waiting for some cool 90’s tech production to begin….
And it never did.
But a light show was about to begin just outside. Springtime storms had moved into the area just as the program was ending and every teacher decided to try and be the first ones out.
It was total chaos – 10,000 students and teachers leaving the arena at once.
“Follow the classmate in front of you,” Our teacher shouted down our row. “Everyone stay together.”
Obviously, that’s always the goal… staying together… but on this day… well.
I was near the back with just two or three kids behind me in our group of about twenty-five. The boy in front of me had straight-light brown hair, and I made sure that no matter what happened, he was right in front of me.
The boy, on the other hand, didn’t pay such close attention.
As I followed him out of the event center and into the rain, and we raced through the parking lot in a long line of students, snaking our way past moving buses and toward the safety of our own.
We climbed onto the bus, soaking wet, thrilled to be out of the storm, and immediately I realized I didn’t recognize one person looking back at me.
This time, I turned around and the boy with the brown hair followed me. About four of us wandered back out into the very busy parking lot, and started to walk… somewhere.
The storm was getting worse, and we didn’t know where we were going, but we knew we couldn’t stay where we were. Bus after bus began to pull out and we all felt unseen and very unsafe.
That’s when she showed up.
This woman carrying a wide umbrella wearing a white wind suit (YES 90’S FASHION!) came out of nowhere and asked if we were lost.
I burst into tears. “Yes!” As if we would never be found… as if our teacher would leave the event center and drive all the way back to school before realizing we were sitting on the curb in the thunderstorm.
“Yes! Can you help us!?”
I remember her answer very clearly.
“Yes! I know where your teacher is! Let’s go this way!”
I didn’t think about her answer until later that night when I was tucked safely into my bed. “I know where your teacher is.”
She took us under her umbrella and walked us straight to our bus. As the doors opened and everyone began to climb inside, I remember turning around to thank the woman, but she was gone. I looked up and down the row and out across the parking lot. But the kind woman in the white wind suit had vanished.
To this day, I think about how she didn’t ask us our names, we didn’t have any identifying school shirts on… and she never asked who our teacher was or what school we went to.
She just looked at us and told us she knew where our teacher was… and took us right to her.
As I was falling asleep that night, I remember my momma saying, “I’m so glad that angel came to help you.”
It was the first time I remember speaking to one.
I know that angels are real. I have had conversations with angels (who didn’t show up to my house wearing wind suits,) but who came with strategies and messages from the Throne Room of Heaven. I have seen Heavenly beings both in church services and in places you might not expect.
And I know that people have interactions with angels more than we realize.
Tonight, before you go to sleep, I want to offer this comforting Truth. Throughout Scripture we hear story after story of people interacting with angels. They come to protect (Daniel 6:22). They come to bring messages (Luke 1) They come to fight spiritual battles (Daniel 10). They come to minister to the saints (Hebrews 1:14).
As a matter of fact, Hebrews 13:2 says, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” This verse likely points back to a story found in Genesis 18.
We know we can call on the Lord, and He will send His Holy Spirit… but what a fun truth to remember that angels just may pop in and out of our lives as well… bringing wisdom, keeping watch over us, and acting as messengers from Heaven.
What do you think? Have you ever met an angel?
