Angels drive little red cars and big black trucks

The writer of Hebrews has told us in his gospel, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware,” (Hebrews 13:2). Well, what if we turned that around a little bit? What if we said, “sometimes angels, whom we are unaware of, at times, entertain us?” And by “entertain”, I don’t mean “put on a show”, like something you would see on television, but the word means, “to be hospitable towards, or, to show attention unto someone”. Can I say that? I think so. Let me explain. I mean, there are times when we, that is, you and I, are the ones who are being shown hospitality by “angels unaware”. I think you’ll see what I mean.

Last Wednesday afternoon, my wife and I had dental appointments in Corsicana. When we left home, everything with our transportation was all right. Our truck had plenty of gas and plenty of necessary fluids in the engine to get us there and back. However, when we left the dentist office, I sensed that there might be something wrong with the engine. It worked all right, but something seemed to be out of sync, before we left to find a place to eat, which is our usual modus-operandi whenever we make such a trip. When we came out of the restaurant, and got into our truck, and turned on the ignition, I said to myself, “Boy, I sure hope we can start the truck and get to our next destination”, which happened to be Walmart. Again, nothing went wrong, but there was that old feeling, something just wasn’t quite right. Well, after spending about an hour and a half in Walmart, and what we had bought was loaded into the truck, then that “something wrong” showed up. The truck wouldn’t start. Not even a “click” from the motor, just deader- than-a-doornail! So I started looking for someone who might could give us a boost.

It wasn’t long before my first angel, my “angel that drives a little red car” stopped behind me, with his wife and children in tow. He asked, “Man, is your battery dead?” To which I replied in the positive. He then got out of his little red car and opened his trunk and pulled out a portable battery starter kit! I had never seen one of those and now I have to get me one! It’s not but about four inches by eight inches with two short battery cables attached. When he put it on my battery, he said, “OK, now try it.” Folks, that’s all I needed. It started right up! I told him he was a “lift-saver” and my wife and I headed for home, minus the stop at Aldi’s for more groceries. But the test came when we reached home. I pulled up into the carport, turned off the truck, and tried to start it again. Nothing. Not even a “click”. Deaderthan- a-doornail!

All day long, Thursday, I put a charge on the battery, and, nothing again. Not even a “click”. Well, we didn’t really have to go somewhere that day, so I tried again the next morning, Friday morning. Same result. Deader- than-a- doornail. Then I called a friend, my other “angel”, who happened to be at the church at the moment, and asked him to drop by on the way to his home inorder that we could discuss and see what else I might need to do. Oh, by the way, my first angel’s name was John, and my second angel’s name was Rick, and he drives “a big black truck”. After looking things over, he checked out the cable connections, and sure enough, they were loose, which meant that I was not getting a good connection between my starter and my battery. With a pair of pliers, he tightened the connections up, and “ba-room”, the engine started right up, and it’s been doing so ever since then! Give thanks for small favors, you know?

My conclusion? Angels don’t always come with wings and halos. Sometimes they drive little red cars or big black trucks! So the next time you find yourself having car trouble, look for that little red car or that big black truck. Who knows what your angels might be driving?