ANGELS IN OUR MIDST

For months I was filled with depression
in a world that was definitely blue,
so one day I woke up and decided
I would walk for a mile or two.

Just off the main road a lady
was washing her car in the drive,
and from the look on her face I could see
she was happy to be alive.

She waved her hand in a greeting,
her smile as wide as the brim on her hat,
so I thought I would stop for a minute
and perhaps have a neighborly chat.

I guess she could sense I was lonely,
for she graciously invited me in
for a cup of hot coffee and doughnuts;
then I heard her story begin.

She told me that she'd lost her husband
and her son had died in the war;
her daughter was a paraplegic
and had recently wrecked her new car.

As I listened to her I wondered
how she could wear a smile on her face,
because I knew that I would be desolate
if I were put in her place.

And then she proceeded to tell me
about how God had taken her pain,
replacing her misery with healing
so she could be happy again.

"Oh, yes," she proclaimed, "I still miss them,
but Jesus is a wonderful friend;
for He gave my life a new meaning
and He helped my heartache to mend.

"It's the devil who wants us to suffer
and wallow in pity and doubt,
but God gave us a world of beauty,
and loving is what He is about."

When I left her I felt such elation
that I wanted to shout and sing,
and I knew that a heavenly Being
had gathered me under His wing.

I walked in the sunshine for hours,
and then I stopped by her house once more,
but there were boards nailed on her windows,
and a padlock secured her door.

I inquired of her next-door neighbor,
and he scratched his gray head and said,
"For two years that house has been empty,
and for two years that lady's been dead."

Copyright © 1999 Ruth Gillis

Previously published in the March 1999 issue
of The Inspirational Poet