Angels Among Us.

'Elijah Fed by an Angel' by Ferdinand Bol (painted between 1660 - 1663)

I often hear on television and in the news folks talking about angels. Whether as guardian spirits, protectors or holy interveners, angels exist as heavenly beings of pure joy that look out for our well being. They stop someone from dying, or losing a valuable possession. Perhaps they keep a child from being injured... or worse.

For those of you that know me well, you might be asking yourself...

"Why is Jared talking about angels? He's not even religious!"

You'd be correct in your query. I'm not religious. Normally, I wouldn't discuss a matter such as angels, but an event from today compels me to break from the norm.

While taking care of a business-related matter today, I crossed paths with an old, helpless woman. She called out to me from her dilapidated vehicle. "Sir... Sir... Can you help me?" She spoke with a tinge of desperation. I approached and asked what I could do to assist her. Apparently, her vehicle would not start and she hadn't been able to get someone to help her for a while. I raised her car's hood and could immediately see the issue -- her battery was covered with acid corrosion and the engine wasn't getting enough electricity to turn over. Thankfully, she had a soda pop in her car, which I used to clean the corrosion off. From that point, I pushed her car into a position where I could link my battery to her's and try to jump-start it. After a long bout of pushing her boat of a vehicle (a Grand Marquis to be exact) and giving her steering directions, we got things worked out just right. A few minutes later, her engine was running and she was ready to go.

Before she could pull off, she profusely thanked me and offered up $5 for my help. No matter how much I said no, she wouldn't take the money back.

"Young man, God put you here today for a reason. You were my angel."

With that, I smiled, wished her Happy Thanksgiving and she pulled away.

She didn't know anything about me, even my name. Nor did I catch her name. She didn't know where I came from or what my personal convictions were. Yet, her words got me to thinking.

What if angels are real?

Now, I don't mean that in a feathery wings and halos sort of way. But... what if angels walk among us all the time? What if they're sitting next to us on the subway, or standing in line behind us at the checkout register? What if we're the angels we've been looking for?

We can be good to our fellow man. Our actions reflect how we view ourselves and others. We can choose to value each other as equals and provide a hand when asked. We can choose to be the angels we seek, whether you're a Christian, Muslim, Jew, atheist... or anything on the spectrum of personal belief.

As we enter into the Thanksgiving holiday (my most favorite of all), I want to take a moment and show my gratitude to the nameless woman I met today. She taught me an unexpected lesson...

Within each of us is the power to be an angel. We just have to hear the call when asked to be one.