There is no doubt that God speaks to us through messengers, or, as I like to call them, earthly angels. One angel spoke to me last Saturday. She was disguised as a Salvation Army volunteer.

For I don’t know how many years, I have taken my mother to doctor appointments, to run errands and to do her grocery shopping. We were standing outside one of her local grocery stores where a Salvation Army volunteer was stationed, ringing her bell, overseeing the signature red kettle, and collecting donations.

It was a particularly trying year. My mother had broken her femur bone a year ago in the month of December. At the age of 91, it was very probable that she wouldn’t make it through the surgery or have any quality of life afterwards. But as she always does, she proved me and all of the doctors wrong. While she couldn’t walk a mile to her local store anymore, she was amazing in her recovery and determination to get on with life.

This month also marked the anniversary of the second year that I started my web consulting business and as the primary breadwinner for my family since my husband lost his job. With taking care of my mother, growing a business, and volunteering through my church, there didn’t seem to be enough hours in a the day or enough of me to provide for the people that depended me.

Mom had finished up her grocery shopping and we were exiting the store. My husband went to get the car while my mother chatted with the Salvation Army volunteer. The Salvation Army has been a charity near and dear to my mother’s heart and she always drops money into the kettle.

I proceeded to load up her groceries, made sure she had her purse and deposited the cart back into the row of other shopping carts along the outside of the store entrance. As I made my way back to the car, the Salvation Army woman said, “God is going to bless you.” My mind was focused on getting Mom settled and finishing our remaining errands in order to race back home to make a dish for our choir Christmas party that evening. I turned and said, “Thank you.” But then her eyes locked with mine until she was sure she had my undivided attention. There was an aura in that moment when she said, “No. God is going to bless you. God is going to bless you for taking care of your mother.”

I truly felt like she was an angel messenger sent from God and that God approved of me. So often I think that I am not doing enough, because my time is so divided.

Serendipitously, the sermon at church the next day was on the message from the angel Gabriel to Mary. Our pastor asked us to imagine in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season what it would be like if we went to Wal-Mart or your local grocery store and were greeted by someone that threw their arms around us and said, “Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you, do not be afraid, you have found favor with God!”

Okay, that might be a little creepy, but in essence, that is what the Salvation Army angel said to me. She told me that God would bless me. Can you imagine what the world would be like if we spoke words like the angel Gabriel and my Salvation Army angel?

I have been changed from this blessing. Instead of feeling not good enough, I feel God’s favor. How can you use your words to be a blessing to others?

Let me say the words from Gabriel to you: Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you, do not be afraid, you have found favor with God.

Pass the blessing on……

Do you find that you aren’t doing or being enough? Download this free eBook and audio book that will help you change that thinking. It’s called Bringing God’s View Into Focus to Live Life with Joy and Flow. I hope it blesses you!