Hannah my Angel...?

I am completely trapped, Hannah has me well and truly pinned. For the next three minutes while the band play a benediction I feel her sobs, I feel her tears on my cheek..

Hannah's small hand shook mine. She was pleased to see me and oozed full hearted love. Hannah is a member at Maidstone Salvation Army and she is welcoming me to the service. Hannah in her thirties has Downs Syndrome.

The service has been great, creative and meaningful and people have responded positively to the challenge to think through what it is to 'come to Jesus', what it is to allow God to minister to us, to identify 'our angels' Matthew 4:11.

As the time of reflection comes to a close we sing 'I surrender all' and I start thinking through the ongoing coincidence of the words we are singing with the words I read in today in two reflections independent to each other, one by Henri Nouwen the other Thomas Merton about the fist. We sing through the verses and I think through concepts of attachment and detachment that Merton speaks of in describing the 'art of gaining ground through dying a little'. The song comes to a close and a small hand on my shoulder gets me to turn around. It is Hannah, she is crying, she stands and hugs me while I sit. I'm not big on hugging but it seems that Hannah is!

OK - I am feeling embarrassed - I can't even turn my head to see who is looking in on our cameo. I am completely trapped, Hannah has me well and truly pinned. For the next three minutes while the band play a benediction I feel her sobs, I feel her tears on my cheek. For the next three minutes I work through my discomfort and realise that for reasons I have yet to process Hannah is ministering to me. For the next three minutes I slowly recognise that this is a deeply spiritual moment for me, I identify that Hannah is my angel. I gained ground today and in those three minutes something died!

In those three minutes anything within me anything like a fist became an open hand of surrender.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Your story touched my heart... I was reminded of the scripture Psalm 91:11 which states

"For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways."

Often times, we envision the angels we cannot see; very rarely do we think of those who God has placed on earth to minister to us.

God Bless you for sharing.
3:06 AM
Isaiah43 said…
Something which has brought me to tears many times is the honesty of people who minister through their blogs. To be so honest about yourself to complete strangers is a beautiful and strong thing! Thankyou
8:52 PM
Evie said…
Wow! Thanks for sharing an intimate moment with your friend Hannah, but most importantly in your relationship with the Lord. Oh that I would be sensitive to know when the Lord sends people as angels to minister to me. Hope you won't mind if I share this with our cadets in prayers tomorrow. Blessings!
5:27 PM
Gigi said…
HE is such a mystery......
5:44 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A bit of sally bashing....

Came across a good bit of Sally bashing over at salvationsoldiers I have to say we try and make sure that everything we raise goes into projects that build local community in Poplar but hopefully if you read this blog you get that sense anyway.
Read more

Lost Voices of Mission...Fred Brown

Image
Along the world famous Oxford street in London's Westend; nestled in among the classy frontage of designer shops there is almost an unnoticeable, unimpressive wooden door. It is more or less alongside The Regent Hall's main entrance onto the busyness of Oxford Street. People pass the wooden door oblivious to the equally unimpressive wooden steps that go up three storey's to what was Regent Hall's youth club. When I was 10 I played on these bare wooden steps totally unaware of the significance behind and upon which I played. Many years later I discovered a university youth work course - as an induction to Youth Work - stopped outside this insignificant wooden door to point out that Youth Work as we know it in the UK started behind this door. ...whether that be the surbanite flower people that flooded the Westend to express their free love; or the hard core drug community this unimpressive wooden door became the 'portal' that blurred encounter between church an...
Read more

Types of Christian Spirituality...

Image
It is easy to think and to limit ourselves to a single approach to Christian spirituality. A 'if it works for me it should work for you approach' tends to narrow our appreciation of other ways which actually impoverishes our experience of spirituality. Urban T. Holmes has developed a means of exploring spirituality and helps develop an appreciation through discovering links between spirituality, temperament and predisposition. The diagram illustrates his ideas together with potential inherent dangers. The vertical continuum speaks and helps us understand our relational orientation to God. This ranges from engaging with God through understanding and theological process to a more emotive response. Horizontally speaks of a persons preferred means of pursuing the spiritual life. Kataphtic speaks of affirmation and the need of something tangible in an individuals spirituality- this may take the form of worship, art, even imagination with the use of metaphors, symbols and images play...
Read more