How do you get on the television news in Wheeling, West Virginia? For me, it was in a very unlikely way. Phyllis called in response to an article in her local newspaper. The headline caption read WOMAN TRAVELING WITH ‘A PASS IT ALONG TEAM OF ANGELS FOR OTHERS.’
She asked how she could obtain some for the evangelism committee of her church. I suggested we meet at Perkins Restaurant. I didn’t know what she looked like so I asked each person entering “Are you Phyllis?’ as they walked into the pancake house. With each “no” I explained what I was doing, passing out angel pins, and asking folks to pass it along – when they see someone in need of a lift. They each shared a need with me.
“My sister-in-law just passed away. I just attended her funeral with my mother.”
“My husband drinks a lot and I can’t handle it.”
“This missing poster is the daughter of my friend.”
(Something inside of me ripped apart looking at the photo and description –terror shot through me.)
“My twelve-year-old grandson is in the middle of a sticky divorce and my daughter-in-law is trying to rake my son over the coals.”
A seventy-six-year-old lady was upset that her 54-year-old daughter was not practicing the faith in which she was raised. “My husband and I go to church every day…what did we do wrong?”
“My nephew is about to go to Iraq.”
Then Phyllis came in. She had a loving smile and a tender way of talking. She had experienced a lot of detours and difficult intersections in her life but maintained her “kindness style.” In a brief conversation she showed me that she was the type of woman who prayed for answers.
We just clicked. I gave her 121 pins. As we left the restaurant, lo and behold, she treated us to lunch and paid the check!
“After I left you,” Phyllis told me later, “I was so excited. I had to swing by the television news station. I had no connection to the news anchor, Lee Anne Towne, but with so much bad stuff happening in the world, I thought this would be a great human interest story – how often do we have an angel lady in our town?”
About ten minutes later, the Channel 7 News invited me to come to the studio. They aired the interview on the both the late night evening and early morning news.
Phyllis called me last week. She shared how she was using the pins, which some call tiny treasures.
“The pass it along team of angels project is still so new to me. I am excited about passing out the pins to people who are sad and blue. I am bubbling over. I decided that whenever I hear of someone who is going though a tragedy I would bring him or her an angel pin. I am so glad the newspaper had the article. I just want you to know that I am not “wasting” them. . Today, I went to visit an older lady and brought her cookies. I didn’t give her a pin. I have to really decide how to share these blessings. I didn’t think she was the type to pass it along.”
I knew what she meant by that – my vision is to give my angel pins to people who are carrying heavy loads, crying troubled tears, and need the strength to just take that next step on the difficult path they must travel.
Another note from Phyllis arrived just when I was beginning to wonder whether the whole angel pin project made any sense.
Right now I am holding onto a lot of the pins, waiting for opportunities to give them to people or send them out. My friend and I are sending out a few to people in our church because they have problems or sickness in their lives. I also took two pins to the grocery store because the lady who works there asked me to bring one in and give to one of the other workers, as she was flying to Europe with her sister and was really afraid of flying, so I told her to wear her pin and it would calm her. Then I gave one to a lady I met at the doctor’s office because I felt for a young person she has had a lot of problems.
“I know you will find one hundred and twenty-one people traveling through stormy seas, detours and difficult life intersections. I know you will, with your warm loving heart and the tiny treasures. I have no doubt that Someone will guide you – you won’t ‘waste’ a single one,” I reassured Phyllis.
I will keep you up to date on how I use the pins. Maybe I shouldn't be, but I am very selective on how I use the pins. It's like they seem very magical and holy to me.
Okay, Phyllis, let’s do it!
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