I believe. Do You? In angels? I believe that angels walk among us. And I believe we are able to see them sometimes and sometimes we are not. I want to tell you about the time that I know I was in the presence of an angel. There is no doubt in my mind. I know she was an angel.
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. ~Hebrews 13:2
I have to give you a little background. I worked in the non-profit world for over thirty years. I loved it. I loved being out in communities and doing what I could to help communities grow and develop sustainable plans for continued growth. I did a lot of grant writing and worked very hard. For the last 10 years of my non-profit work, I ran my own non-profit. I founded it, had a Board of Directors and headed up the programs run within the organization. It was very, very busy, but also very rewarding. We had a lot of success and positively contributed to the communities in which we were working. I will always be grateful for the work I was part of.
As wonderful as it was, there would also be times in which I experienced tremendous burn-out. My mother used to always tell me, “It’s because you are always giving and not getting back”. And, of course, I was getting back, but it was hard to see it in the moment. So severe burn-out would sometimes consume me.
It was during one of these burn-out times that I had to attend a community meeting about a grant that we were to be heading up. The meeting went fine, progress was made on the grant and partnerships were solidified. I decided to head back to my office and send out an email to our Coalition members that I was going to take a couple of days off just to regroup and refocus.
As I was driving, I saw an elderly African-American woman walking and carrying a Wal-Mart bag. It was February and for Alabama, it was cold. And she was wearing only a thin jacket. I slowly pulled up beside her, let my window down and asked if I could drive her somewhere. She said, “Oh yes, Mrs. Bentley”. I was shocked. I had no idea who she was. She had never been to one of my meetings and I made it a point to know all the parents and grandparents of children who were in some of the youth programs. But for some reason, I didn’t ask how she knew me. I don’t know why.
She’s getting in the car, getting her seat belt on and I asked, “What are you doing walking in such cold weather”? She said, “Oh, is it cold”? It had to be in the 20’s and she’s acting like she doesn’t feel it. She smiled really big and said, “Maybe the Lord is keeping me warm”. I smiled too and said, “Yes mam”.
I have to stop right here and just point out something. I consider myself to be a very spiritual person. Some of it comes from my raising and some of it comes from my life experiences.
But, she was more than a spiritual person. It was like she radiated goodness. Something was shining from her…you couldn’t see the rays, but you could feel them.
I’m driving slow because I find myself wanting to extend our time together. I asked her where she was going. I told her that I had to make a stop by the Post Office and she said, “Oh that’s where I am going too”.
I started to tell her what I do–let her know about some programs she may want to become a member of and she said, “Oh I know all about what you do, Mrs. Bentley. And I just want to tell you that you do gooooood work. You have helped so many people and don’t you ever forget it.”
To say that “my heart was full” is an understatement. I couldn’t hold back the tears.
I said, “Oh if you only knew how I needed to hear those words”.
She said, “Oh, I know, I know. Sometimes you need to hear from someone other than God, don’t you? But you just need to know that you are doing great work. But listen to your heart. Even if it is great work, it just might not be the work you are supposed to be doing. Listen to your calling.”
I just nodded my head and thought, “Who is this woman”?
By this time, I am pulling up at the Post Office. I said, “I am just going to pull up to the side of the sidewalk and I am coming around to open the door for you. The sidewalk is a little raised and I don’t want you to trip getting out of the car.”
I put the car in park, got out and walked around the front of the car, opened her door and she was gone. The door had not opened. But she was not in the car or on the sidewalk or inside the building. I spent 15 minutes looking for her. She was nowhere to be found. I asked several people inside if they had seen her come in. They all said that they had not seen her.
I drove back to my office. Sent out my email and took a couple of days off.
It took me another couple of years to finish out all federal grants, transfer management of our Coalition, and close grant programming, but I finally “listened to my calling” and dissolved my non-profit in 2013.
The Horse Mafia Company is the result of me listening to my calling.
Thank you, Angel, for getting in the car with me that day and for letting me see you and talk to you for a few minutes. I will forever be grateful.
Sending you blessings of love, gratitude and a little angel feather from Sterrett, Alabama!
Charity
Copyright © Charity M. Richey-Bentley 2018
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