Angels in Unexpected Places

Mary Wendroff is a special dear friend of mine. In appearance, we are very different.

Mary is a bleached blond. She shaves or tweezes her eyebrows so she has none, and then she draws eyebrows on with an eyebrow pencil. She wears false eyelashes! She wears bright make-up and is always perfectly made up.

I don’t dye my hair, don’t tweeze my eyebrows at all except maybe when my daughter Lauren gets after me, and I seldom wear make-up and very little when I do.

But who cares about appearances? Mary and I were friends the minute we met. Actually, we were friends before we had ever met. How could I not love Mary when she was so good to my daughter?

Mary was my former husband’s wife after me.

Mary's giant heart emphasizes the fact that angels can pop up everywhere, and their sweetness is long-lasting, actually unending.

I will spare you details and just give you an overall idea of what a good soul Mary is. She is totally the opposite of the stock stepmother.

Lauren was visiting her father in California. She was about seven. This was the first time Lauren met Mary. She and Lauren adored each other from the moment they met. Mary took Lauren places and showed her a good time.  It was Mary who bought Lauren new clothes. It was Mary who gave Lauren attention and made sure she knew she was welcome. God bless Mary.

Lauren’s father was supposed to accompany Lauren back east by a certain date. There was a court order that she not fly alone. He had been on the East Coast on business, and he had flown with her to California.

The date of her return came and went, and her father didn’t bring her. Furthermore, he refused to fly Lauren back. He refused to return her altogether.

On the phone, I asked Lauren, “Do you want to come home?” She whispered, “Yes.”

Just when my lawyer was telling me to fly back and kidnap Lauren, and I’m imagining how to do it, Mary called and told me not to worry, she was flying Lauren back the next day.

And she did. Unfairly, Mary was airsick all the way.

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The three of us, Mary, Lauren, and I have been good friends ever since. It’s easy to see why, isn’t it?

To wind up the story, Mary is no longer Mary Wendroff. She has remarried, and she subscribes to Heavenletters!

Angels come in many guises. Who are the unexpected angels you know?