Every so often, there are stories in the newspapers and online – you know the type. A local citizen in the right place at the right time saved a life: saved a child from drowning, a resident from a burning house, or even just called for help which came to the rescue. It is wonderfully inspiring to read these stories, and sobering, too, to realize that one day it could be you in their position.
Yet there is a host of other people – normal, everyday people; the kind you run into at the grocery store – that save lives, too. They get no credit. Sometimes they get no thanks. Occasionally, they do not even know the magnitude of what they did. Their names aren’t printed in the newspaper, nor are their pictures. They are kind hearted souls who do what they feel called to do, and touch others very deeply. Then they continue on their way. In a fast-spinning, increasingly careless world that is leaving broken pieces of broken people in its wake, they put hearts back together again and leave healing in their footsteps. It would be encouraging if the people they saved would pay the favor forward. Yet this is no requirement. These good individuals would do what’s right even if it were to be unappreciated forever.
They don’t always save physical lives. Some very well may, but not most. No, a majority of these people will save hearts, souls, and spirits. When you cry silently at night, they are the ones who will just touch your shoulder to say, “I am here.” Their kind hearts don’t even need words. They are the ones who will stay up all night with you if you need to talk – never mind sleep, and never mind if your tears fall on their blanket. They hold you close. You don’t even need to make a sound, they will wait for you to speak. And if you can’t, or won’t, speak, they’ll hold you just the same.
They will tell you – and they will mean it, too – that they love you. That you are not a disappointment to them. That they do not want you to change who you are, even when you feel the pressure of the world against you. They will not say you’re perfect, because no one is. But they are the ones who tell you that you are precious just the way you are. They will hold your hand; let you cry on their shoulder; pray for you; and bring a smile to your face at last. Sometimes you know, sometimes you don’t, that they just saved you by allowing you to keep living as yourself.
These people are angels. They are our sisters, brothers, friends, and neighbors. They are strangers sometimes, because even a smile as you pass by can brighten a day, heal a heart, and lift a spirit. They save us, maybe even many times over. We often don’t even appreciate the full gravity of our situation, until years later when we realize what a role they played in keeping us alive – truly alive inside.
So here’s to the angels who will wake up at three o’clock in the morning so you can lean on them; who will listen in silence, then offer encouragement, and not a dismissive word; who will put their hand on your shoulder to let you know they’re just there for you; who won’t push you to speak; who stop what they’re doing to give you a hug; who, when no one else notices, will ask, “Are you okay?” with a deep meaning that’s hidden in those words, which only you will understand; and who will bring a smile to your face when you thought you could never laugh again.
Here’s to the angels. You deserve a love deeper than the ocean.