Much more common are our encounters with human “messengers of grace.” Actually it seems like these are almost as rare as the supernatural variety. Let me share with you an encounter I had with one of these creatures and to be truthful, I’m not sure the impact on me was not supernatural.
A few years ago my wife and I changed the carrier for our long distance telephone at our home. After a little while we were dissatisfied and decided to go back to the original carrier. We became enmeshed in a corporate nightmare. We kept getting bills and statements from both, with charges from the company that we had left. We called and complained and tried to make it clear which company we preferred. They would either disagree with us, complicating things and making us angry. Or they would agree with us, makes us happy, and then go back to charging us for unfounded calls. We tried going up the ladder to supervisors and specialists who would again either disagree with us or just make us crazy. This went on for four or five months. I would spend sometimes two or three hours on the phone in the afternoon or evening arguing and threatening. It got me nowhere.
Then one day I was kicked upstairs to a lady by the name, if I remember correctly, of Angie. She spoke softly and was sympathetic. At first I was suspicious. She said she understood my frustration. I held the phone back and looked at it. Then she said she would advocate for me and make sure that the situation was corrected. She agreed with my position and was appalled at the treatment given me. She actually did what she said. I was so relieved that I felt emotionally drained and genuinely elated. I’m convinced that Angie was short for “angel.”
Angie was a messenger of grace. I’ve met a few over the years, one very recently. But they are rare. Even they may not realize the profound impact they may have in the lives of those they touch. To them it is just doing their job with a heart. To me it is a touch of grace.
© 2009, John C. Fitts, III. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 7 (2009).