Just as I got my halo on straight, the doorbell rang. My first angel had arrived!
I called to my daughter Christie to open the door. Once the other guests arrived I hoped we’d have room in the house for all the wings.
It was my 50th birthday and I’d chosen a special theme: Come as an angel. I would be surrounded by friends, family and love. What more could I ask for on my birthday?
I took one last glance in the mirror. For Donna to be here, I thought. That’s what I would ask for on my birthday.
Before she passed away, my eldest daughter was always with me on my day of celebration. It just wasn’t the same without Donna at the door, her arms full of the pink roses she gave me every year.
I put on a brave smile for my daughter Christie’s sake and ushered my first guest through “the pearly gates,” that is, into my living room.
I knew I’d hit on something special with my angel theme, but considering all the angelic signs I’d gotten over the past weeks, I wondered if the theme hadn’t chosen me instead of the other way around.
“Let’s get older in style: angel style!” I’d told my girlfriends when I started the planning. I was determined to celebrate life the way Donna always had.
The first step had been to give the house a good dusting. I got to work on my bookshelf. I pulled out a devotional book and thumbed its pages. A greeting card fell out onto the floor.
An angel with feathery wings and a flowing gown graced the cover. Donna had given it to me for another birthday. Inside she’d written, “Mom, you are one of God’s very few angels left on earth. I love you so much.”
My first sign. It had felt a little like Donna was planning the party with me. Even if it was from heaven.
At work I’d invited our new receptionist, Mary. “I’ll come dressed as an angel and give a presentation on the meaning of your name,” she said. “I call it an angel visitation.”
Another sign? I longed to be convinced that Donna would be at the party with me at least in spirit.
Another guest arrived at the door, and I welcomed her with a refreshment. My eyes fell on the empty vase on the side table. It had been a gift from Donna.
Of course she’d filled it with a dozen of the most beautiful pink roses I’d ever seen. Perhaps I should have bought pink roses for myself this birthday, I thought.
I was thankful to have Christie here to celebrate with me, but there was still an emptiness inside. Just like Christie, or any child, Donna was irreplaceable. I wasn’t sure I was ready for this party, after all.
The sound of the doorbell ringing again woke me from my daydream. One by one my angel guests floated in wearing wings and halos. Everyone dressed the part. But no one topped my new friend Mary from the office.
“You look heavenly!” I said when she made her grand entrance. “If I didn’t know better I’d think I was standing in the presence of a real angel!”
We both giggled.
“And no angel would arrive empty handed,” Mary said, and reached behind her back.
“But I said no—” Before I could finish my sentence, Mary pulled a bouquet of pink roses from behind her wing. Talk about a sign! It was as if Donna had sent those pink roses to me herself!
Mary’s angel visitation was authentic. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind: I was standing in the presence of a real angel. An angel with a birthday message that truly came from heaven.
The emptiness in my heart had been filled, as Donna’s pink roses had once filled my vase.
