LETTERS: ENTERTAINING AN ANGEL UNAWARES

To the editor:

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. -- Hebrews 13:2

Probably the most well-known incident of entertaining an angel unawares in popular culture comes from the Christmas movie, "It's a Wonderful Life." As we know, George Bailey, played by James Stewart, was unaware that he entertained his guardian angel. And an incident that happened to me in 1996 may have placed me in the eyes of an angel too.

During the summer of 1996, while attending the University of Missouri-Columbia, I participated in a mentorship program with one of my professors. We added two months of intensive research to her ongoing manuscript writing.

One day during the time I had for lunch, I was tired of the lines to the fast-food places on campus, so I went to one of the university's convenience stores.

Outside, the sun was shining, and the temperature was about 90 degrees. The humidity was rising. As I entered the store, I noticed a nice-looking, young female reaching into a cooler for a bottle of Gatorade. She wore khaki shorts, a T-shirt and, I think, hiking shoes. Her clothes were soaked from the humidity, and she looked as though she had just come in from a rainstorm.

We arrived at the cash register at the same time, but she started to check out before me. When she tried to use her student ID card to pay for her beverage, the clerk said her credit was insufficient. She said she was an intern from Ohio and was working at the Recreation Center, so she thought that made her account acceptable. I assessed my wallet's holdings to see if I had enough money to buy her drink and mine. I had about $5. No more did the thought cross my mind to buy the drink for her than she turned to me and said, "How do you feel about buying this for me?" I said, "I was just thinking about doing that." We laughed at the irony.

For a moment, I thought she might be wishing only for a susceptible person to buy her something. When I bought the drink for her, all I expected was "Thank you." But as she turned away and walked toward the door, she said, "You'll have a higher place in Heaven for that." And as she drew closer to the door -- if my ears did not deceive me -- she said, "And I'll see to that." She walked around the corner and was gone.

That incident sent a chill through me like never before. I stood there for a few seconds in disbelief, as the people around me probably did. I walked around for a half-hour wondering if she were an angel.

Maybe I too entertained an angel unawares.

STEVEN R. BENDER

Cape Girardeau