Robin Leach, host of the former Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous is one of many celebrities who have angel stories to share. A few years ago he told his to listeners of WYLL Radio in Chicago.
Christmas was approaching and Robin had invited over some friends who, he knew, might otherwise spend the holiday alone. They would have a feast, he promised. Robin would bring the wine, and his best friend would provide the food, including a turkey with all the trimmings.
“On Christmas eve, I phoned the friend who was supposed to provide the food,” Robin says. “I wanted to find out how large the turkey was. But my friend insisted that it was his job to buy the wine, mine to provide the food.” Due to this misunderstanding, each man now had a trunk full of wine. But there was no food of any kind, and worst of all, no turkey.
It was much too late now to find a store open, let alone a bird to buy. But the men decided to try anyway. After several disappointments, they tried a 7-11 store. “Do you sell turkeys?” Robin asked the owner.
“Nothing but burritos,” he answered.
Discouraged, the men started toward the door, and then noticed an elderly woman who seemed somehow to emerge from the back of the store. Why would she shop this late? “I have an extra turkey at home,” she said, approaching them. “You’re welcome to it. Just follow me.”
Surprised, the men looked at each other. What could they lose? They followed her car to a run-down neighborhood not far away. The woman probably needed the turkey more than they did, Robin thought, looking at the dismal surroundings. I’ll pay her generously but add something extra as well.
In a few minutes, they pulled up in front of a modest house, and followed the woman inside to the kitchen. Sure enough, she opened her freezer and at the bottom was a turkey. There were also frozen bags of potatoes, brussel sprouts, cranberry sauce, rolls—everything for a Christmas meal.
“Take it all,” the woman insisted. They couldn’t! “What about your own Christmas” Robin asked her. “You don’t understand,” she smiled. “I know what it’s like to be hungry, one Christmas I went without a turkey too.”
“But…” They weren’t poor, Robin wanted to explain to her. They were just careless and perhaps not as grateful for the blessings their lives as they should be. But that would change, he promised himself. Quietly he slipped some bills in a kitchen drawer and helped his friend load up the bounty. Everyone would have a feast after all, thanks to a woman whose name he did not even know.
The following day was perfect in every way. The dinner was exceptional, and at the end of dessert, everyone toasted the generous lady, their Good Samaritan. Had her holiday been as happy as theirs? “I know! Let’s go over to her house and thank her personally!” someone suggested. A great idea, they all agreed.
Robin and his friend knew the route very well and led the guests right to the spot. But there was no house, only a vacant lot with nothing but weeds.
The guests got out of their cars and stared. “You must be mistaken, Robin,” one said. But he was not. He knew it. Families on both sides of the lot came out to see the visitors. “There’s never been a house there,” they all agreed. “Not in all the years we’ve been here.”
Robin spent the next hour driving around the neighborhood, just in case he had been wrong about the location. But he never saw the house or the woman again. Today Robin believes the entire episode was a miracle.
But why? I still wonder. There didn’t seem to be the “usual” reasons for a miracle: poverty, health issues, fear, loss…Do you have any thoughts on this? I’d welcome them.
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