Entertaining Angels

Forget not to show love unto strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Hebrews 13:2


No doubt about it, these two Sister Angels showed hospitality and love to a stranger: me  This week, one of the sisters passed on to entertain the angels in heaven.

I met the Sister Angels six years ago when I worked for the small college in the new town I had moved to. I was as lonely and homesick as I had ever been and spent many early days wondering what I had done to deserve this banishment to the remote desert of Southeast New Mexico. As a New Age Northern Liberal, I wondered  if I would ever again come across people who might satisfy the longing for connection I felt my new home lacked. Then one afternoon, Sister Angel Number One walked in to sell me advertising. Not an unusual solicitation for the position I held, but the aura about the sales rep made me take a few extra minutes to inquire about her work.  Details of the initial conversation are long forgotten but the impression the Sister Angel's presence made on me has remained. 

A couple of day's later, our paths crossed again in a different setting but for the same respective purposes. No doubt about it, our paths were ordained to cross. We coordinated calendars for a coffee and I had a date with two Sister Angels.

Kathryn was in town with her sister, Kristen, for the next several weeks to drum up advertising for the local chamber's promotional piece. Kathryn's home base was Washington and Kristen's was Texas and New Mexico was a state both of them wanted to explore.  

Raised an only child, I found it fascinating to listen to the sisters describe their relationship--from the competitive years of their childhood to the camaraderie of their adult years. At a place of truce, the Sister Angels had come to a time in their lives where they were recovering from the effects of their youthful choices and competitiveness with each other. Working in tandem as they were, they saw the work projects as a vehicle for healing their relationship. For me, their presence was a healing balm for the grieving heart I held in my chest from the homesickness for the friends I had left to move to New Mexico. These Sister Angels had a presence about themselves that reminded me of the relationships I felt I had forsaken to be be with my husband for the work he pursued. 

With their mutual gift of building rapport with people, they welcomed me into the intimacy of their Sisterhood. For the few weeks they were here, we met as regularly as our schedules allowed. They shared with me their journeys, laughter and love for each other. They introduced me to the mentors who helped them along their way, such as the Hugging Saint.  They showed me through their acceptance and confidence that their relationship with God couldn't be interfered with and neither could mine if I stayed true to The Spiritual Path. God would jealously protect our relationship from other's judgement and criticism. 

Then, just as quickly as they arrived they left. 

Kathryn and Kristen shortly afterwards made decisions to do different work. Their vehicle for healing their relationship was no longer needed because they had arrived at their destination. And that was a blessing because Kristen began to suffer a series of health issues. 

But because of who they are and the love they left with the people they met, friends all across the country have rallied for Kristen and her family. One illness was conquered and then another arrived. During this last one, karma came to rest at the foot of Kristen's bed and it came in the form of love that friends and family held in their heart for her. Tributes are being paid this week to an angel that all of us who knew her are aware was in our midst.