Angel In the Parking Lot

Have you ever had a time when you would have sworn that you met an angel? Did she have beautiful blonde hair and a voice so calm it would bring you down from your biggest fear? My angel did. She was delicate and compassionate, and I was lucky enough to cross paths with her.

Last year was a terrible year for the majority of us. My year started out by getting laid off from my job, then becoming ill. I would begin to have atrocious pain. My body was as tired as it would be if I had pulled a truck barehanded for miles. The dizziness became unbearable and the headaches, debilitating. Living in my bed was my only option as I wasn’t well enough to do anything. As the months went by, I visited several different doctors and received several diagnoses. I tried to work when my place of employment opened back up for business. It didn’t go well. Being stuck at home and not being able to contribute was weighing on my independence and causing stress. I started to dabble a bit into handmaking clay pots and other various things such as painting, inside gardening, and sowing seeds to earn money. I would also sell most of my belongings. I had a beautifully glazed turquoise flowerpot that I didn’t want to give up but knew it was an eye-catcher and surely someone would love it and put it to good use. Surely, someone was interested. I planned to meet the buyer at a local grocery store. I was having a terrible time walking and moving around so my partner has to be with me every move I make. He drove me to the grocery store. I was finally able to get out of the car after struggling and I walked around to open the hatch to get the pot out. The hatch started to close on me trapping me in between it and the car. I was terrified. My partner was able to get it to stop and open it back up so I could get out. The buyer was sitting in her truck across from me and saw the whole thing happen and I could see the panic-stricken look that covered her face.

She got out of her truck and as I was walking toward her, she moved much like I did, painfully. She told me that she could see that something is causing me to struggle and ask me to please tell her.

We stood there beside her truck for what seemed like hours, talking about me. She wanted to know all about me. We hadn’t even introduced ourselves yet, that didn’t matter. She gave off this sense to me that felt calm and I felt like I was speaking to my grandmother who had just passed away. This lady had the same exact illnesses that I had just been diagnosed with. She knew what I was going through. I came there to meet her to sell her a flowerpot and in turn, I met an angel. She wanted to help me because she knew my struggles and what I was going through mentally and financially. She insisted that I share them with her, and I felt at peace doing so. We developed a friendship and she helped me to get back on my feet after losing my independence. She did more for me and my family than I could have ever asked for. She and a group of her friends helped me get my bills caught up, food in my house, and blessed me with friends that I really needed.

She is my angel. She told me that she didn’t need to buy the flowerpot, but she wanted to because she saw all of the things I was selling, and it made her feel something. I knew that surely, we met for a wonderful reason. We are able to share our illnesses together, but we have so much more in common. Her good deed was more than I ever imagined it would be. She deserves so much for being the angel that she is.

Since then, I have learned a lot about humanity and how it serves others. It doesn’t take much to help someone else. Whether it is helping a single mother, a disabled person, or buying someone a coffee, that good deed will make someone’s life a little better. We can all be angels in the eyes and hearts of others, especially in a time when our world needs a little more humanity, as it does now.