Angels are out there...

 
THE LULU CHRONICLES

LuLu-ism #54: You've got all you need... bless others who don't.

           
            That Christmas, she sat in our living room in the most comfortable chair we could find.  She was a large, old woman, and she talked funny.  Why mom insisted we invite her to Christmas dinner was beyond me.  My brother and I were instructed to mind our manners or else.  So after watching her inhale enough mash potatoes, gravy, cornbread stuffing and lemon meringue pie to ground Santa’s most reliable reindeer, we sat by Mrs. Parks and listened politely to her stories.

            I don’t know when it happened, but somewhere between pie and more pie, this generously-sized woman captured my heart.  We became fast friends that day and were to remain so until her death right before my wedding. 

            Her stories of her homeland, England, entertained me for hours.  Her hearty laughter and wicked sense of humor touched my core and awakened in me the most delicious possibilities.  She was a free spirit, a true woman of God and the best storyteller and dream planter I have ever known.

            That Christmas I learned many lessons.  Big is beautiful.  It pays to be polite, when your mother gives you that look, and true blessings are usually never expected.  But blessed I was by a very wonderful, very precious angel.

            This Christmas it could pay you to entertain the unlikely.  I know for a fact, angels are out there.