Angels and Elevators

Sometimes I wish we were given warnings upon waking up.

"Good morning, Anna!  Today's gonna be one of those rough ones.  Put on the right socks, please."

Then there are days I know had I been warned of the coming events, I never would have gotten out of bed.

Sometimes we have to be taken off guard so that we end up in the right place at the right time.

Which is what happened this morning.

I was sitting on a bench, listening to my iPod, waiting in the lobby for economics class to start.  It was too early in the morning for any significant thoughts to be racing through my head.  I was lost in the music when the elevator doors opened.

I was just looking straight ahead when a tall, black girl step off the elevator.  And just as the elevator doors closed I remember seeing a short, white guy staring out.  We made brief eye contact before the doors completely shut.  "She was just on the elevator with an angel," was the very first thought that popped in my head.  

An angel.

Why in the world did I have that thought?  

Fo a moment the girl stood in front of me, staring awkwardly ahead of her as if she was waiting on me to say something.  I took one earbud out to ask if she was okay (and I secretly wondered if she had seen him and thought he was an angel too).  But before I could get a word out, a very large, white woman came bursting through the hallway doors.

She ran up to the girl and got in her face - aggressively, yelling words I didn't even understand.  The girl just froze, looked to the ground and then at me.  Immediately I took both of my earbuds out of my ears and the large woman's attention was pulled from the elevator-girl and fixed on me.

She stared at me.  Defiantly, without blinking.  Pointed at me and called me a very derogatory name, and then said: "look away from me.  Over there.  Look over there.  Do not look at me.  Look away from me now, (insert racial slur here)!"  I stared.  And kept staring.  Partially because I was frozen.  And partially because I recognized this.  I knew what this was.

When I didn't look away, the woman backed off and quickly ran down the hallway.

I stood up and asked the elevator-girl what in the world just happened.  She shook her head and replied that the woman had been on the elevator with her on a lower floor.  On their ride together, the woman had threatened to kill the elevator-girl.  In her rage, the woman had gotten off the elevator early, only to run into the elevator-girl in the lobby again.  Right in front of me.

Elevator-girl and I exchanged names and I went into economics class.  Elevator-girl is from Africa.

It wasn't until I was sitting in class that I was reminded of the "angel".  The angel who had been riding the elevator during the entire altercation.  The one who had made brief, brief eye contact with me seconds before I came face to face with the enemy.  I was convinced.

Do you ever wonder what someone sees when they look at you?  Do they see Jesus?  Do they see light emanating from your face?  Do you realize, as a believer, you have the power to bind spirits and cast away demons?  That you literally irritate the hell out of the forces of darkness, because you keep shedding light on their shadows?

I've been praying for open eyes.  For God to show me what's going on - to give me a glimpse of His angel armies and for scales to fall away.  I know I sound crazy.  But I know I witnessed part of the battle this morning.  I never even prayed, you know?  I didn't sit there and pray "God, bind the evil spirit that is threatening us right now."  Or "in the name of Jesus, I command you to leave!".  Wish I'd thought of that.

No.  I just needed to be sitting there.  I needed to not look away.  I needed to be a witness.  I needed to let Jesus do what Jesus does.

Hmm.  What a way to start your Thursday, with a few angels and demons.