Kirkepiscatoid

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Every morning at breakfast, Team Pohick did a morning devotional based on Forward Day by Day. Wednesday's lesson was from Judges, Ch. 13, when Manoah and his wife got a lesson in recognizing angels. The commentary in FDBD talked about being smart enough to recognize angels when you encounter them. Here was their devotional lesson for the day (courtesy of Forward Day by Day):

Judges 13:15-24. Manoah did not know that [the man] was the angel of the LORD.

Do you believe in angels? I'm not talking about decorative figurines or the smiling cherubs of greeting cards. Angels are divine spokespersons. Do you believe in the kinds of angels who appear in the Bible?

There are two kinds of angels in the Bible. The first is impossible to mistake for anything else--a knock-you-down, in-your-face confrontation with the supernatural. Such angels usually say, before they get to their message, "Don't be afraid!" They say that because people are terrified of them.

The second kind of angel, like the one in today's reading from Judges, is usually mistaken for something else. Not only do they not frighten us, but we may not even give them a thought, so ordinary do they seem. Be careful, for you never know through whom the Lord will speak to you. Maybe through your child. Or your spouse. Or your boss. The postman, the cab driver, the person next to you in the checkout line, the politician you dislike, the homeless person on the street. Or that irritating, irascible jerk in the next office. Even your worst enemy. "Some have entertained angels unawares" (Hebrews 13:2).

Frank was having a bad day on Thursday. He discovered that he was going to have to remove all of the insulation under his house because of the risk of mold, and replace it. We went out and bought Tyvek suits and balaclavas, expecting to have to crawl around in the muck and goo of Frank's crawl space. Keep in mind the ages of Team Pohick range from 48 to 68. In other words, the spirit is willing but the knees, hips, and shoulders are weak! But just as we had resigned ourselves to the task, along came a group of age 20something Americorps volunteers, shown in the picture above.

Well, after that devotional lesson, we knew what angels look like, by golly! They were more than willing to do the work but didn't have the Tyvek suits....well, we supplied them, and it was all good!

If you have a chance, donate to Americorps. These are neat young folks. This group came from Cedar Rapids and although there is plenty of flood damage there for them to stay busy, some were dispatched to Iowa City. Some of them have previously learned about life the hard way, some are single parents, some are just not sure what to do next in life. But they are learning great lessons on volunteerism. We hope we gave them some degree of inspiration on the concept that volunteerism is a lifelong activity. Meanwhile, keep these angels unawares in your prayers.