Jim and Stephen, 4 mo.

ANGEL UNAWARE

“Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.  Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!” Hebrews 13:1-2 NLT  

            We tend to remember all those heart-stopping, hair-raising moments with our children.  Don’t we?  Such times when remembering, even after 40 years, still makes our heart stop and our breath catch.  And yet we may never know when we have Devine help or protection in our lives.

It seemed the year that Stephen was two there were several of those incidences that made his father and I get on our knees and pray earnestly for the safety of our small son.  Good thing there are guardian angels!

Just before Stephen’s second birthday Jim, his father, and I moved from Alaska to Trinidad Colorado so Jim could go to gunsmith school. The only place we could find to live was a small apartment in the upper story of an old house; complete with a turret in the living room no less.   I was not fond of living above another family in a house that was not very sound proof, sharing a yard and worrying about how much noise a two year old and our Golden Retriever, Kinji was making.  However it beat living in a small three man tent pitched in a barren, completely gravel camp ground, with not even one single tree.  So we took the apartment and moved in with our meager belongings.

            There was a fenced in yard with good chain link gates that the owners assured me were always closed and an outside set of stairs we could use.  Even though we tied Kinji up at night and when we were gone, I always made sure he was loose when Stephen played in the yard, since he was Stephen’s buddy.  The house was situated in a hilly residential area on a fairly well traveled street.

            One day I heard the outside door slam shut and Stephen’s slow steps as he climbed down the steep stairway to play in the yard with Kinji.  I was on the phone so didn’t pay too much attention, knowing he was safe and secure in the yard.  Ten minutes later I finished my phone call and looked outside for the inseparable pair.  Peering out every window in the one bedroom apartment, I did not see either dog or boy.  Not too worried, I started doing some cleaning. 

Often Stephen would go into the house below and visit our landlords who loved him and fed him tortillas with butter and sugar. He called them cookies.  I usually could hear him below calling, “Cooookie, cooookie” and chatting away with the elderly lady and her daughter and son.

            However, I soon realized I was not hearing a childish voice or a slamming screen door from below.  A bit concerned I ran down the stairs and searched the yard. No little boy.  No golden dog.  Knocking on the lower back door I asked if they had seen him.  No, they said, he had not been down. 

            Now really concerned I looked around the yard again and noticed the front gate off the street was open.  My heart fell to my knees! And fear surged, making me light headed.

            Running out to the sidewalk I yelled, “Stephen! Kinji!”  I looked up and down the street and saw no little boy and no dog.  I ran up the hill and looked down a side street. I saw nobody.  Where to look? I ran down the hill a couple of blocks looking down side streets.

            “Jesus please keep them safe!” I prayed as I ran. “Help me find them, please Lord!”

            My heart was pounding out of my chest.  I broke into an immediate sweat.  Dread filled my heart.  What to do?  Should I call the police?  Try to get Jim?   Jim had our only rig, so I decided to go back and call him at the school, then get on my bike and ride around searching. 

            I had stopped and was going to turn around when I noticed a lady walking up the hill towards me, several blocks away. She held a small boy by the hand and beside the boy was a big golden dog. 

            “Praise the Lord!”  I yelled and took off running.

            When I ran up to them, Stephen was grinning at me sweetly. I could do nothing but grab him up and hold him close for a long moment.

            The lady was smiling gently. “I saw these two walking on the sidewalk a few blocks down.”  She pointed down the hill.  “I figured they broke out from somewhere.”  She laughed then patted Kinji’s head.  “This guy was right by his side, staying between him and the street.  Quite a dog you have here.”

            I thanked her and squatted down so Stephen and I could give Kinji a big hug.  I talked to her a bit then walked back home. I asked the landlord if we could put a chain and clasp, something Stephen could not get undone on the gates, which he promptly did. 

            It wasn’t until later, I realized I hadn’t gotten the nice ladies name or found out where she lived. I would have liked to get to know her more and thank her again.  I thought, well surely I will see her around the neighborhood when I was walking or riding my bike. 

            So for the couple of months that we lived in that house, I walked often, pulling Stephen in his wagon, with Kinji beside us, hoping the lady would see us and come out to visit.  But to no avail.  I never saw that kind lady again. 

Could it be this kind stranger who had helped my two year old son as he wondered down a busy street with only his dog by his side could have actually been an angel?  Did I actually look into the eyes and talk face to face with an angel without being aware?  Could be.

Jim, Stephen (2) me and Kinji