“Hello, Mrs. Gallagher, my name is Mike and I received one of your Team of Angels pins when I came out of prison. I felt like it was a sign from my Higher Power. I am just calling to let you know what I did with the angel pin, because I know the message says to pass it along.”
Throughout life, he had been caught up in a lot of family problems and alcohol had been his means of coping. He had an impressive six years sober but the demands of taking care of a mother with dementia had drawn him back to his unhealthy old habits.
“After mom’s passing, I was devastated. I lost my sobriety and was arrested for a DUI. It wasn’t the first, I am ashamed to say, and my lawyer and family couldn’t cover for any more of my bad decisions. I had to go to jail.”
The message was on my answering machine. I wondered what the conversation would be about. Mike was in a Twelve Step recovery group and attended daily Alcoholic Anonymous meetings. He had seen a young woman, very distraught, walking to her car after the meeting. He went up to see if he could help. As she choked through her words, she explained she had terror-filled nights and painful bouts of depression, no medical insurance and couldn’t afford the right medicine – she had to depend on doctor’s samples, which were not dependable. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she couldn’t sleep because of her anxiety over the misery of a failed marriage. He gave her the Team of Angels pin for taking One Day at a Time. The following morning, she walked into the AA meeting room looking as proud as a peacock. She gave him a big smile and hug.
“Guess what, Mike”, she said happily, “I slept twelve hours last night after getting the pin.”
She was wearing the pin on a flamboyant green blouse with pink petunias.
“Joe, please don’t tell anyone but I am not going to pass this pin along…not until I am on the other side of this horrible disease.”
“Don’t worry, “ Joe told her, “ with that team of angels, you are well on your way to recovery. They worked for me and I know they will work for you too.”
Tears came to my eyes. What a blessing this little pin was for a struggling young woman! Thank you, God for giving this woman the gift of sleep, and for Mike passing along the Team of Angels!
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