File #1090: "Mosaic_Spring_2004_12.jpg"
Description
Blessed
Laura Brown
When someone mentions an angel, one picture enters our mind. This image is a heavenly being with wings, wearing white and a halo. However, an angel can come in many different forms. Most people do not believe in angels. I haven't always been a believer, but then I never had a reason to believe. After you have heard my story, I hope you will share in my belief that angels to exist here on earth.
This life changing event took place some 14 years ago in Livonia, Michigan. At this time, things in my life seemed to be going from bad to worse. I was recently divorced from an abusive husband and was trying to raise two young children without any real help to speak of. I had just started a new job at Big Boy's restaurant when my daughter cam down with pneumonia. My employer was less than sympathetic, so I was let go. This forced me to seek government help.
My attitude was as bleak as the weather. It was a cold day in December, just a couple of weeks from Christmas. When I arrived at the unemployment office, there was a long continuous line that zigged and zagged throughout a room as large as a gymnasium. I was not looking forward to waiting in line for three hours with my two children. Everyone in line was making small talk with the people standing around them.
The Unemployment office is not a popular place for making new friends, but you make polite conversation to help pass the time. The man in front of me commented on how cute my children were. "How old are they?" he asked. I replied, and more questions followed. "What brings you to the unemployment office?" he inquired. Before I knew it, I was telling him my life story, sharing details of my life I generally wouldn't tell a stranger. There was just something so familiar about him.
He was a short older gentleman who looked to be in his early fifties. He had dark skin, and he appeared to be Mexican or of Latin descent. He talked of his family. He said he had two daughters and that I reminded him of his older one. He reminded me of my recently deceased ex-father-in-law, who was short, kind and Italian. There were other similarities as well. I guess I felt a kinship with this man. Finally, we reached the front of the line. We wished each other a "Merry Christmas." He said, "I know everything will work out for you. You are a strong woman." We parted and went our separate ways.
After speaking to the case worker, I was sent to a table in the back of the building to fill out several forms. I must have been at it for at least twenty minutes when I felt someone tapping me on the shoulder. I turned around and there was the gentleman I had just shared my life story with. He handed me an envelope and said, "This is so your children can have a Merry Christmas." I was so shocked I didn't realize what was happening. I took the envelope and opened it, and there were two hundred and fifty dollars inside. I looked up to say "No, I couldn't possibly take this," but he was gone. Then my emotions started to overflow, and I burst into tears. Never had I dreamed anything like this could happen.
Later that evening I shared the story with a friend. As I told her the story we both felt a tingling rush through our bodies. We were both covered in goose bumps. I still get that same feeling today, reliving the experience with you. I wanted so much to thank this man for his generosity. Without his gift Santa would not have visited my children that year. His act of kindness was more than that because I felt I had been blessed by an angel in, of all places, the unemployment office!
Laura Brown
When someone mentions an angel, one picture enters our mind. This image is a heavenly being with wings, wearing white and a halo. However, an angel can come in many different forms. Most people do not believe in angels. I haven't always been a believer, but then I never had a reason to believe. After you have heard my story, I hope you will share in my belief that angels to exist here on earth.
This life changing event took place some 14 years ago in Livonia, Michigan. At this time, things in my life seemed to be going from bad to worse. I was recently divorced from an abusive husband and was trying to raise two young children without any real help to speak of. I had just started a new job at Big Boy's restaurant when my daughter cam down with pneumonia. My employer was less than sympathetic, so I was let go. This forced me to seek government help.
My attitude was as bleak as the weather. It was a cold day in December, just a couple of weeks from Christmas. When I arrived at the unemployment office, there was a long continuous line that zigged and zagged throughout a room as large as a gymnasium. I was not looking forward to waiting in line for three hours with my two children. Everyone in line was making small talk with the people standing around them.
The Unemployment office is not a popular place for making new friends, but you make polite conversation to help pass the time. The man in front of me commented on how cute my children were. "How old are they?" he asked. I replied, and more questions followed. "What brings you to the unemployment office?" he inquired. Before I knew it, I was telling him my life story, sharing details of my life I generally wouldn't tell a stranger. There was just something so familiar about him.
He was a short older gentleman who looked to be in his early fifties. He had dark skin, and he appeared to be Mexican or of Latin descent. He talked of his family. He said he had two daughters and that I reminded him of his older one. He reminded me of my recently deceased ex-father-in-law, who was short, kind and Italian. There were other similarities as well. I guess I felt a kinship with this man. Finally, we reached the front of the line. We wished each other a "Merry Christmas." He said, "I know everything will work out for you. You are a strong woman." We parted and went our separate ways.
After speaking to the case worker, I was sent to a table in the back of the building to fill out several forms. I must have been at it for at least twenty minutes when I felt someone tapping me on the shoulder. I turned around and there was the gentleman I had just shared my life story with. He handed me an envelope and said, "This is so your children can have a Merry Christmas." I was so shocked I didn't realize what was happening. I took the envelope and opened it, and there were two hundred and fifty dollars inside. I looked up to say "No, I couldn't possibly take this," but he was gone. Then my emotions started to overflow, and I burst into tears. Never had I dreamed anything like this could happen.
Later that evening I shared the story with a friend. As I told her the story we both felt a tingling rush through our bodies. We were both covered in goose bumps. I still get that same feeling today, reliving the experience with you. I wanted so much to thank this man for his generosity. Without his gift Santa would not have visited my children that year. His act of kindness was more than that because I felt I had been blessed by an angel in, of all places, the unemployment office!