Angel Midnight




	WRITE 2 THE HEART Stories that are aimed "Write 2 the Heart" November 27, 2002 Cheryl Speir, Editor, moderator@write2theheart.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to your latest issue of "Write 2 the Heart" ------------------------------------------------------------ Today you get two stories for Thanksgiving! One by Diane Dean White and the other by me. I hope you enjoy both. ------------------------------------------------------------- ANGEL AT MIDNIGHT By Diane Dean White ------------------------------------------------------------- One year while waiting to move into our own home, we rented an older house in town. It had bedrooms for our children, a nice kitchen, dining area and large spacious living room and enclosed front porch. Our bedroom was at the front of the house and the children's were next to the kitchen near the back. As many older spacious homes have, this one had a large attic that had been converted into a small studio apartment. The young man who lived there, was always polite but would soon be moving to another area and new job. The children walked to their schools across the street, and the play ground and library were close by. The apartment upstairs remained empty for sometime. With the coming of Thanksgiving, I was busy with preparations for the children and the activities they were involved in. Among my daily routine I hadn't notice the young mother and her little girl until after they had move in. I immediately placed some cookies on a plate and took our eighth grade daughter up the side stairway to greet our new neighbors. A young girl in her middle twenties stood in the doorway and stepping back, asked us to come in. Her young daughter spotted the cookies and gave us a bright cheerful grin. You could tell they were Mother and daughter each had lovely blond hair and kind smiles. I introduced my daughter and myself and we talked about the area for a few minutes and before leaving Mandy volunteered to watch the little girl if her Mother was in need of a babysitter. It turned out that she had her daughter enrolled in day care while she was at work, but Saturdays she might need to call on her. We assured her that was fine. A few days before Thanksgiving, I realized how much I missed our own stove and oven, which was packed away while we were renting. And I made a mental note to clean the oven before baking my pies. It was a gas stove, and although I liked cooking over gas I'd always had an electric stove before. We were planning on grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other family members to come and share the day. I also sent a note to the gal in the apartment and invited she and her daughter to join us. She stopped by later and thanked us but said they would be going home that night to visit her family for the holiday. Thanksgiving was just a few days away! That evening after the children were in bed, I remembered the oven and asked my husband if he would spray the oven cleaner inside and lay papers under it. He took care of it while I busied myself with other things, then we went to bed. A little after midnight we awakened to someone banging at the front door, and while grabbing our bathrobes, realized there was smoke all over the place. I ran to the children's rooms as my husband went to the door. There stood our new neighbor and her little girl. They had just arrived home, and she smelled smoke and called the fire department. Within minutes they came with the siren on and burst into the house. I had gathered the children onto the front porch, wrapped in blankets, far away from the kitchen area. Immediately the firemen realized where the smoke had started and what had happened. In my haste to have a clean oven, I forgot that paper to catch the grease doesn't go under a gas oven, and although it had taken a few hours, it had caught on fire and the smoke was spreading around the house. We felt awful. The damage was minimal, but most important was our three children who had been sleeping nearby were safe. After airing the house out, with the help of our friendly fire department, we went back to bed, thankful everyone was okay. Thanksgiving came and we enjoyed pies baked in a clean oven! A turkey, roasted in a clean oven and sweet potato soufflé, cranberry sauce, other vegetables and favorite dressings and trimmings. We were truly grateful for the Lord's protection over us and for a kind neighbor upstairs. As we looked forward to the Christmas holiday, I watched for our neighbor and her little girl, having made some eggnog and cookies, I wanted to invite them in. I also had a special gift for each of them. But, the truth was, after that evening when she came and knocked on our door, I hadn't seen them again. I made a trip up to their door and peaked in through the window, the place was empty, as if nobody had even been there. I tried contacting the landlord, but he didn't know anything about them. It seemed incredible, I wanted to thank them again. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized their short stay had possibly saved us all in an old house that could have gone up in flames so quickly. A Thanksgiving Day doesn't go by but what I think of the young mother and her entrance and exit in our lives. I will never know why she was coming home so late that night, she had been going to visit her own family for Thanksgiving. I know God brings many people into our lives for various reasons. An Angel? Perhaps. What I do know for certain, is that each Thanksgiving I remember an old house with young children, and I especially give thanks for the messengers He sent, allowing us to celebrate many more Thanksgiving Days. That is a special blessing from Him. "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Hebrews 13:2 KJV © Diane Dean White 2002 Thelamb212 @ aol.com (You are encouraged to write to the authors to let them know what you think of their story, just remember to remove the space before and after the @ symbol. The space is placed in the address to protect our writers from viruses and email harvesting programs. Have a comment on today's story? Send it to: moderator@write2theheart.com) ---------------------------------------------------------------- Diane is a former newspaper reporter and freelance writer. She and her husband Stephen are the parents of three grown children, and two grand-gals. They make their home on the South Carolina Coast where Diane continues her love for writing. Her new book BEACH WALKS, a collection of heartwarming stories, will be available in December. For more information visit http://bw.newsmoose.com/ BEACH WALKS - By Diane Dean White and visit her web page at: http://www.heartwarmers4u.com/members/?thelamb212 SEEDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT ------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------- Thanksgiving Baskets By Cheryl Speir ------------------------------------------------------------- This was the first time I had been asked to oversee the distribution of our church's annual Thanksgiving baskets for the needy. Each day the secretary would give me list of names and tell me Mr. J called. again. Getting the food together was easy. Local grocers donated turkeys. A high school athletic group held a canned food drive and prepared a presentation. Volunteers sorted the cans and divide them up. The boxes were given numbers to correspond to each family receiving one. I called the people who had been signed up and I explained that in order to pick up their box, someone in the family had to sit through a presentation given by the high school. When I got to Mr. J's name, his phone was disconnected. "Lord," I prayed, "somehow let this family hear what time to be here." It was raining hard the day of the distribution. I began placing frozen turkeys in 150 boxes to hand out when there was a knock at the door. Opening it, I found a woman wanting her and her sisters' box now. I explained that no boxes could be given out before the program was over. "Well, the twit that called me didn't say anything at all about a program," she announced indignantly "These young people have worked hard to collect the canned goods and have only asked for twenty minutes of your time." I wanted to say I was the twit so bad it hurt! She brushed my words aside. "It's not worth my time to sit through this, my sister is handicap and truly needs it, but I am going home," she said in a huff. "Couldn't you do it for your sisters' sake" I asked? She turned and glared at me. I was nearly finished with the turkeys when a soft, hesitant knock came from the door. Bracing myself, I fully expected to find someone else complaining about the "twit." I found a man using his body to shield three children from the wind and rain. He was holding a sad excuse for an umbrella. It was torn, broken, and offered very little shelter. The children reminded me of chicks under a hen's wing. A teen was looking over his dads left shoulder, a child looked out from under each arm. "I'm Mr. J, I called about a basket for my family. I heard on the radio that they were being given out today. Could you look on your list and see if my name is there? Since no one could reach me, I'll understand if it's not." His words were spoken softly and humbly. While he spoke, I watched the play of emotion on the children's faces. The teen was holding his breath. I saw clearly on the face of the two younger children that if their name wasn't on the list, there would be no Thanksgiving dinner. "Mr. J, your name is definitely on the list. I was praying that somehow you would hear what time to come." I heard the teen release his breath. The rain continued to fall and the wind continued to blow, but sunshine broke out on the faces in front of me. "Then we better hurry and find seats," he exclaimed. The rain no longer mattered; it was no longer something else from which to protect his children. The children began skipping and jumping. The teen ran a few steps ahead and turned to walk backwards. "We're gong to have turkey," I heard him say. The little boy turned to his sister, "I hope there is cranberry sauce, I love cranberry sauce." I saw her nod in agreement. After I watched them run to the church auditorium, I walked to the shelf and picked up a can. I placed that extra can of cranberry sauce in box number 118. Cheryl Speir moderator@write2theheart.com ---------------------------------------------------------------- I am the founder and editor of Write 2 the Heart. I live in South Mississippi with my wonderful husband and a spoiled fat cat whose picture is on Write 2 the Heart's web site. -------------------------------------------------------------- Letters From Our Readers -------------------------------------------------------------- Mary-Ellen...as always I enjoyed your writing this morning in Write 2the Heart! Your writing is always a blessing! Betty *** I thoroughly enjoyed "A Very Present Help." I could see myself when my daughter, the oldest of my children, left home. It was tough: especially her being a girl, but a kind sister-in-Christ gave me a little booklet entitled, "Mother, Let Go." It was awesome and by the time my son left home, I no longer dreaded my children's departures. Thank you, Mary-Ellen, for a great story of inspiration. Lots of love in Christ~~ Bonnie Q *** Cheryl, I'm happy for you. A new stove will be nice. I have an ancient Kelvinator, bought in 1952. Does that mean it's an antique (like me) The only thing wrong with it is the clock quit running, so the timer doesn't work. When one of the men from out local appliance store delivered our new Whirlpool refrigerator, (this is our third), about ten years ago, he said that Kelvinator stove will never wear out...it's electric. My youngest daughter would have loved to have it because the oven temperature always runs true. She has a nice new stove, but she said the oven is not as reliable as mine. My husband and I use the microwave 99.9% of the time now. It's so quick and easy. Enjoy your new stove! Happy Thanksgiving! Hugs, Pat --------------------------------------------------------------- Cheryl's Corner Tomorrow, we will be sitting down to a feast with our family and friends. As I count my blessings I will be counting each and every one of you. Thank you so much for the letters of appreciation and encouragement you have sent over the years. I want you to know you are all in my heart and in my prayers. God Bless Cheryl ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- © 2002 Write 2 the Heart Nothing may be reproduced or published without the written permission of the individual author or copyright owner. All rights belong to the authors. --------------------------------------------------------------- All subscriptions sent to your e-mail free of charge.