It was finally hot and humid as summer approached, and the ground began to sweat. The kids wanted ice cream. I parked in front of the shop, left the windows cracked, and turned off the car.
I reminded them, “Don’t open the door for anyone. Stay seated.”
I ordered one small cherry vanilla ice cream, a small Oreo, and a kids’ chocolate in a cup. Then I sat at a table near the pickup window.
As I waited, a woman with a rich-brown complexion shuffled out from the side of the building. She asked the other parishioners, “Can you buy me some ice cream today?” No one answered. They all looked away.
Then she made her way to my table and sat down. I greeted her with a simple, “Hey, how are you?” At the time, it felt like a rhetorical question. Even though dirt and holes riddled her entire outfit, she had a radiant, unforgettable smile. She took off her backpack and began wiping it with a napkin. That napkin could never clean that backpack-it was filthy.
I asked, “What’s your name?”
She smiled and said, “Angel.”
From there, she mentioned her twenty-one-year-old son, whom she hadn’t seen in a while. She went on telling tangled stories that made little sense. Then she turned, unzipped her muddy backpack-clearly she’d been living outdoors, maybe in the woods with others-and pulled out a rectangular box, about the size of a small jewelry box. On top, the word TREASURE.
As Angel opened the box, she declared that the enemy was going to restore everything stolen from her. Then she quoted:
And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
Joel 2:25
Apparently, the word of YHWH had reached her at some point in her life. The box was empty, but Angel kept declaring her blessings.
“Sir!” the cashier shouted. My order was ready. I reached into the bag, took out one of the cups, and gave it to Angel. She was overjoyed to receive that four-dollar ice cream. But she needed more than ice cream or a burger combo. She needed a touch from the Most High God, YHWH.
“Can I pray for you?” I asked.
She agreed.
I prayed for her as everyone else looked on, eating their ice cream. Tears streamed down her face as she received ministry.
So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
2 Corinthians 4:18
Angel’s spirit was high, even though her situation seemed so low. She fixed her focus on the unseen-the things she could not yet see-while believing they would one day appear. The treasure box was empty, but her heart was full of joy.
I found a treasure in an unseen woman named Angel.
I ordered another ice cream and quickly returned to the car. “Dad, who was that woman?”
She was an Angel. I thought to myself.
“She is a homeless woman named Angel.”
Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!
Hebrews 13:2
