So there's this movie called Constantine. Maybe you've heard of it and maybe you should definitely see it. It has Keanu Reeves and Shia LaBeouf and a handful of other splendid actors in it, and it's basically about this fallen angel who tries to redeem himself by sending demons back to hell and stopping the devil's son from being born to a mortal woman with the help of the angel Gabriel.
OKAY. COOL.
One of the concepts Constantine introduces is the existence of half-breeds, which are either angels or demons who live in our world, sort of "influence peddlers". They walk among us to give us courage or to tear us apart. I'm pretty sure I don't believe in demons taking human form on earth, but lately I've been recognizing the angels around me.
How can I deny it? There's the manager at Chipotle who tirelessly makes sure I am always out on time to make it to Disneyland, even coming in over an hour early himself to count my drawer when I'm cashier. There's the kind old coworker at Autopia who, when he found out I was sick and was concerned I wasn't eating, disappeared for a moment and came back with a cup and plate to share his vitamin water and cashews with me. There's the friend who sends me random Family Guy clips to tell me she misses me, the friend who checks up on me every time I tweet something negative, the friend who makes sure I've put my college applications in, the friend who sends me a Facebook message just to tell me she's thinking about me and hopes I'm having a better day than the day before. There's the cousin who makes sure I'm making blog posts and still makes me feel like I'm a part of her life even though she's married and we're three states away. There's the sister who sends unsolicited playlists of beautiful music, the mother who sends care packages with Easter baskets and Les Mis and chocolate, the father whose prayers I can feel, the brother who lightens my day with text messages like "I don't have to dance in Be Our Guest anymore cuz I was at church instead of rehearsal on Sunday! #perksofbeingamormon". There's the boyfriend who is always there and always supportive and always loving and always the most incredible thing I have ever found, surprising me with dinner just because he can or bringing me an entire pharmacy when I have a cough or pretending that I'm doing fantastic when I'm standing in the 50 MPH batting cage freaking out and not hitting a single ball.
And those are only a few of them.
Maybe none of these people have wings. Maybe they grew up in dingy apartments in downtown L.A. or made mistakes that kept them from showing their face in church for long, painful months. Maybe they struggle to pay their bills and their dad's chemotherapy costs and have to take the bus to work every day. Maybe they have tattoos and addictions and their own half-breed demons to deal with. Maybe they don't even believe in God. But they are angels, at least to me.
In the end, we all can be and probably are someone's angel. So do something nice today, if even just for a stranger.
This concludes this public service announcement.
