In the Sacred Scriptures, Hebrews 13:2 says: “And do not forget to offer hospitality to strangers, for by doing this some have entertained angels without knowing it.” However, just the opposite happened to me in answer to a prayer one night when I was walking home alone on a long, dark scary road, and how I got there was just a lazy, very bad decision on my part. 

It was a pleasant fall evening, the kind where summer’s warmth lingers, and the neighborhood still buzzes with life.  My mother, craving a specialty sandwich from a local grill, asked if I could pick one up for her. Though I was not feeling well, I agreed, not wanting to disappoint her because I knew the feeling.  Afterall. it was not that far away, and I could be back in a breeze, so I thought.  What was meant to be a simple errand turned into a near disaster with a mysterious and eye-opening angelic encounter, I believe, who saved the day.

I headed out the door to get the sandwich and had just reached the sidewalk, when one of my male friends happened to be driving by with another friend.  He stopped and asked where I was going.  I told him and he said, ‘I can take you, since it’s right up the street.’  And like a dummy, I got in the car thinking I could get the sandwich even faster, but instead of taking me to the local grill, he diverted to a party, promising to return quickly.  Once outside of the party, I heard loud music and saw unfamiliar small groups of people standing around outside, and I declined to enter. He started begging me to go in and when I refused, he started calling me all kinds of names cussing me out and I decided I was going to walk home.  The distance was now about five miles from the grill and two to three hours walking because I didn’t realize until then just how sick I was.  I could barely walk and was very weak. 

I knew another person who lived adjacent to the house where the party was, going on and considered asking them to give me a ride, but quickly ruled that out because I knew they would tell my parents, and I didn’t feel like dealing with that and decided to walk taking my chances on a bus running late once I reached the main road.  The street I was on was dark, creepy, lined with bushes and about a mile before I would reach the main road.  I was paranoid and kept thinking something might jump out of the bushes.   This road was long, and I was sick, really sick, and I began praying.  I asked God to please let one bus be late so I could get home because I was sick and could barely walk.  I explained that I made a silly mistake and should not have gotten in that car, but I did not want to make a bad situation worse.  I was so glad when a random car would come by.  Just hearing the engines even if for a brief moment felt like I wasn’t the only one out there, and to see their lights made it that much better.  But once they were gone, paranoia would set in again.  However, I was constantly praying and asking for the bus to please be there. 

I was about five minutes away from the main road anxiously needing the bus to be late when suddenly out of nowhere, I hear a voice say, “Excuse me Miss, would you like a ride?”  In complete shock, I turned to look in the direction of the voice, and I looked and saw a big, beautiful car with bright lights sitting in the middle of the street, with the front passenger door, which was on my side, wide open, so wide that it was straight parallel to the car. I stood there completely stunned, staring back down the road, unable to understand why I hadn’t heard the car or seen the bright lights until I turned to look at him. At first, I was hesitant to respond, still processing what had just happened and how I ended up in this predicament in the first place.  He assured me by saying “Really, it’s ok.” 

There was genuine care in his voice and also something about the way he said it, as well as the concern in his facial expression that let me know that it was ok, and that he was a perfect gentleman.  So, I got in the car and thanked him, and we began driving.  Normally, I would not recommend getting in a stranger’s car, but because I had been praying to God for help, and I was really, really sick, and all caught up in a mess of a situation, this was my one and only opportunity now to get back home, safely and I had to take it.

Here is where it becomes other worldly.  After I thanked him, he continued to drive and when we reached the corner, I told him to turn right.  He said OK, nodding in agreement, almost as if he already knew which direction he needed to go.  Then he asked my name, and I lied, and he turned and looked at me with disappointment as if he knew I lied.  Then he asked what I was doing out there like that.  I lied again because I was too embarrassed to tell him I had made a really dumb decision.  And he turned and looked at me again as if he knew I lied again.  Then, feeling really down on myself I thought, most guys would have asked me for my phone number by now and he said nothing, which made me think I must be losing it.  Then he said, “do you have a boyfriend?”  With a big smile on my face, I lied again and said “Yes.”  And he looked at me again as if he knew I was lying and said, ‘Well don’t date the first person you meet.’  

That statement hit hard because now I know he knows I’m lying, but how? Why would he say that when I just said I had a boyfriend? How could he possibly know I was lying? But I should have listened to his advice because I did exactly what he said not to do and regretted it.  But instead of listening, I thought, who does this guy think he is to tell me who I can date?  He seems to want to talk about things that are uncomfortable and my own business.  He also seems to know when I’m lying, and I don’t want to lie anymore. He seems to be a very nice person, and I am truly grateful for his accommodation.

I had to change the conversation because it was becoming too sensitive, so I focused on the car.  I said, ‘This is a very nice car.’  And he said, ‘Thank you.’  Then I said, ‘I mean it’s really nice. This car is so nice, it feels like we’re floating down the street.’  And he burst into laughter.  I thought that wasn’t that funny.   So, I asked what kind of car it was.  He pointed to a label above the glove box that said, “Lincoln Town Car.”  I could not get over how smooth this ride was and started checking it out thoroughly. It seemed a bit strange that I didn’t feel any sort of bump in the road — at all.  I asked if he could turn the inside lights on so I could see the details, and he did. I started looking around inside the car, the armrest, even on the floor and noticed how perfect and clean it was. 

And I said, ‘I have never seen a car this clean before.’ He said it was a new car. And I said, ‘Even new cars have a little bit of dust or something in them.  This car doesn’t have a spec of dirt in it at all, not even on the floor!’  After laughing again, he pointed to a very, very small piece of cotton and said, ‘there’s some right there.’  At first, I couldn’t see it because it was so small, and it took me a minute to find what he was talking about, and I was relentless in my pursuit to find just one speck of dust.  When I finally saw what I thought he had pointed out, I said “This?” and he said “Yes.” and I exclaimed in kind of an adamant tone, “That ain’t no dirt!” And he busted out and started laughing again, really laughing.  I thought this guy keeps laughing at things that aren’t that funny. 

Before I knew it, he pulled up in front of my house.  I thanked him again and got out and went up to the porch, and was just about to knock on the door, when I realized I didn’t tell him where I lived.  First, I would never allow a stranger to know exactly where I lived. I would have had him drop me off at the local grill. After realizing this, I went back to the edge of the porch and saw him riding on down the street. From the streetlights, I noticed he was very big, and his body almost filled the entire driver’s side with his head kind of bent down at the top of the car.  I thought, “hmmm, that was strange.”  And instead of knocking on the door, I went to the local grill to pick up the specialty sandwich like I should have done in the first place.  I was suddenly not as sick as before.  And when I returned, my mother said, ‘it took an awfully long time for you to get back.’  I lied again and said, ‘it was really crowded in there’ but thinking, ‘you really don’t want to know what I just been through.’

There were things that happened that night that made me think, could the gentleman who showed me hospitality by giving me a ride home, could he have been an angel sent by God in answer to my prayers?  How was it that his car was suddenly in the middle of the street without me hearing it or seeing the lights when he pulled up?  How was the passenger door that wide opened so much so, that it was straight parallel to the car, and he was sitting behind the wheel on the driver’s side? And he was a very big man. Why would he suddenly turn and give me a disappointing stare each time I lied? How could he possibly know I was lying? How in the world did he know where I lived?  Then one day I happened to be reading a book about angels.  I read one story about a jolly angel, who is very big in size, who laughs a lot, and hangs around on street corners helping people.  He has been seen all over the world, helping people out of bad situations, and who has the same signature demeanor as the one I met.  I think I met him. I believe it was him that gave me a much needed and much appreciated ride. Yes, I do believe it was an angel who gave me the ride home.