Angel on Earth - Patricia Gallagher

Patricia C. Gallagher Rights Offered
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Doing Good, for Goodness Sake!

By

Patricia C. Gallagher

An angel on earth, oh yes. I do believe. Celestial assistance intertwined with my problem. It seemed far-fetched, but it did happen, on April 5, the day I moved to Main Street in Norristown.
After experiencing the shifting cloudy shadows of a difficult period in my life, I went to live with my mother. With an infinite variety of cartons, crates, and barrels of the cherished belongings of my four children, we filled my mother’s basement. Rather than placing our household goods in a temporary storage facility, we stacked them on her pool table, ping-pong table, and then filled the perimeter with boxes lined side by side, and floor to ceiling.
Six months later I found a house that I could afford and eagerly looked forward to moving day. The night before settlement, all of my plans
shattered. My three friends who had volunteered to help, canceled one by one. The truck rental company called to advise me that they were not able to provide what I needed. I had no one to help me with the move, and I felt blinded by the tasks ahead of me.
Feeling quite discouraged, I went to the basement and had a lonely vigil with the boxes. As I reminisced, I tried not to let the veil of sadness overwhelm me. I knew that a plea to God for assistance was called for. I smiled to myself as I thought, If God can move mountains, then surely this little move should be a piece of cake.
But there was no one left to call! I had called everyone that I thought “owed me a favor,” and the kids were all in school.
I picked up the local newspaper classifieds hoping to patch together a network of handymen with trucks for hire. I doubted that on such short notice it was even a possibility. I called several phone numbers and got recorded messages. I left my name, number, and a brief message that I needed assistance the following day by noon. Frustrated, I wanted to forget the whole thing. All of my plans were going into a spiraling descent.
There was another classified ad that drew my attention. In a boxed ad I read, “Man will help you with any job, errand, willing to assist, no fee.” I made one more call. Should I risk, let alone accept, an offer from a total stranger?
“Trish, this man has a caring heart. You can trust him,” I felt the Lord speak to my spirit.
I placed the call.
The next morning I went to the Title Company to sign the settlement papers. All went well, and I left with my keys and a welcome home gift from the realtor. I let the tears flow and muttered to myself, “What home? What if I never find anyone to help me move?”
It was cold and sleet began to fall. I shivered as I checked my phone messages at an outdoor pay phone. There was only one response to my previous evening calls; it was the mysterious man who would help, for no money! I called and asked if he had a truck.
He politely answered that he had a van, and he could take the seats out for more space. He asked when I needed assistance.
“As soon as possible, preferably in an hour, about noon,” I said.
He asked for directions and said he would meet me at my mother’s house. I asked again about the fee. He assured me there was none.
I looked across the street and saw a U-Haul rental facility. Although I had no experience driving a truck, I went in and rented a large one.
A very clean-cut man in his early thirties arrived and helped me for three hours. We loaded the truck to capacity. My mother invited him in for coffee and he explained that he was “between jobs” and had some time on his hands. He had asked God for spiritual guidance, and he was led to put the ad in the paper.
As the only person who responded, I was the benefactor of a spiritual reward. He took no money. He did all of the heavy work, no money and no strings attached. He was just doing good, for goodness sake! A faithful witness to the random act of kindness movement, an anonymous person filling a temporary void in his life, reaching out to help another, with no expectations. An angel on earth!
Was there a lesson here? This man seemed to have captured the essence of a moment in time. He lifted himself out of the shadow of a job loss, focused his problem through a spiritual lens, and turned his empty moments in time, to doing good. His name? His address? I don’t know. With each heavy box, he also lifted my heavy heart. He taught me a lesson. We all have something to give! Huddled close to the boxes, in my new home on Main Street, I thanked God for the angel on earth.