Angels Among Us

Well the girls and I have made it to Texas, but not without some drama, of course.  I will share all the "fun" details later but I have to go ahead and share this part of our trip with you.  You should first know that the night before I left at Bible study we talked about opportunities the Lord gives us to help, minister to or reach other people in some form or fashion.  We talked about how often we "miss out" on those opportunities and regret it.  It was a great discussion and fresh on my mind as I left for my trip.

On to the story, the girls and I spent several hours in Atlanta waiting for our plane which was delayed because of weather.  The girls were very good in the airport.  They were getting a little antsy right before we boarded, so like a bad mom I let them run a little of that energy off right in front of the gate.  The first class passengers were lined up and waiting. The first woman in line, who I apologized to for the craziness, just politely said, "They are so cute."

We were rushed on the plane in hopes to not delay take off anymore than it already was but on the runway a small thunderstorm delayed us once again.  All this to say that it made making our connection in Denver impossible.  I was of course panicked in the air and asked the flight attendant if I could get assistance getting to my gate because it was going to be so close.  The answer was no, so other than an announcement to let those that had tight connections get off first I was on my own.  You can only imagine how fast you can actually move down the concourse with 2 small children and a heavy carry-on bag.

As I was running off of the first plane I was met by that same polite woman who said my kids were cute in Atlanta.  Please keep in mind that her one comment was the ONLY interaction we've had up until this point.  Emphasis on ONLY interaction.  She sat in the front of the plane and we did not see her during the flight, (although she probably heard us,ha ha).  She came directly to me and said, "You are going to B23?"  I don't know how she knew that....I answered with a panicked yes and she said, "Okay, give me your bag, I am going to help you get there."  Her name was Nancy and in her cute business attire and heels she took my heavy bag, along with hers and ran with us down the concourse.  She then ran ahead of us, because we were having trouble keeping up to try and catch the plane.  I was overwhelmed to see this sweet stranger running with my bag.

Of course as soon as we got to the gate we saw our plane pulling away.  The United attendant simply said, "You have to go to gate B39 and they will set you up on a flight but it will be tomorrow."  As you can imagine....I fell to pieces, then of course Mary Selwyn did too.  It is 10:30 our time so we are all tired anyway.  Sweet Nancy just hugged me tight and said, "It is okay.  I'm going to take you to the Red Carpet Club Room, get the girls a snack and we will find you another flight and hotel."  All of which we did.  Then Nancy took us herself, instead of making us waiting for the shuttle, she loaded us up in her car and took us 25mins (out of her way I am sure) to our hotel and made sure we were okay.  When Nancy left us at the hotel, which she was hoping to stay at also but they were fully booked, I fell apart and began to cry again.  She gave me such a tight hug and just said she was so glad she could help me. 

Why in the world would Nancy, a complete stranger, wait just to help me????  She told me she just had a feeling I was going to need help.  Let me tell you I would have never made it without Nancy.  I do not know what I would have done.  How would I have gotten everything organized or gotten to a hotel or gotten United to pay for my hotel, thanks again to Nancy.  I wouldn't have, I would have been in the airport all night.  She was a true gift from God.  He very literally placed her on my flight to help me.  I believe He told her to wait for me because I would need help.  There is no other explanation for me.  You know the saying/song, "Angels Among Us" that was Nancy.  A huge blessing to me and the girls.  Thinking about her kindness even now makes me teary.

Back to my bible study, Nancy is a woman who did not miss an opportunity to help someone.  I don't know much about Nancy, I don't know for sure if she is a christian but I do know she is the epitome of a good Samaritan.  She didn't miss the opportunity to help me and she makes me want to look harder for opportunities the Lord may give me to help others.  Not just me, but all of our family is very thankful for Nancy.  Especially poor Shay who was a nervous wreck.  Thank you Nancy for helping us..... you will never know how much we appreciate you and thank you Lord for sending me Nancy!