Last night as part of our Wednesday evening VOICES speaker series, about 75 of us gathered in the church to hear Amazon executive David Ambroz tell some of his life’s story, which includes being removed from the custody of his mentally ill mother and entering the foster care system with his siblings 30 years ago, after years of neglect and abuse as a homeless and malnourished child. See https://www.davidambroz.com/memoir

If you happened to be there last night, I wonder: Is your heart still hurting, from what you heard? (I know mine is …) What images are lingering with you? What are you still chewing on? And what’s stirring in you, that you are being invited to act on, in a specific, tangible way?

Here’s one of the things I’m still digesting: that — alongside David Ambroz’ internal resilience — a litany of kindnesses, offered by way of “rare angels”, agents of grace, helped him become the human being he is today.

David’s litany of kindnesses includes the man with dreadlocks who allowed him and his family to come in from the deathly cold, one winter evening … the people who prepared and served meals in the churches and shelters where they found refuge … the woman named Holly who gave him a loving home ….

These “rare angels” were lifeboats in a sea of inhumanity, balm on the wound of perpetual invisibility, splashes of light on a canvas of grey.

Listening to David has made me think back on my own life. I am grateful not to have suffered what he had to endure and rise from. At the same time, I am mindful of my own litany of kindnesses offered by angels and agents of grace:

… the residents of Cody, Wyoming, who pulled over on the side of the road, to help me and my girlfriend Silke, when our car had engine trouble on our cross-country drive, in our twenties …

… the anonymous people in Chelsea in New York, who would just lift up the end of Ben’s blue and orange stroller, to help me carry him and it, down the stairs to the subway, without my even asking …

… the driver the other day, who stopped in a long line of traffic, to allow me to turn onto Lake Avenue from Kenmore …

… just to name a few …

What about you? Might you take a moment or two this morning, or whenever you are reading this, to remember and offer thanks for those angels and agents of grace who offered you kindness? Who helped you get to where you are, today? Who helped you become the person you are, today? How might you, yourself, be an angel and agent of grace for someone else?

As David Ambroz reminded us last night, offering kindness may be as simple and difficult as acknowledging the humanity — by gazing into the eyes — of someone you would rather not see.

Cristina