Circus Tickets

We were in the lean years of our marriage, you know, the days of beans and rice every day for dinner. My husband’s 14-year-old nephew, Amir (the first of many relatives to come live with us), had just moved in, and times were tight. When my firstborn, Jahan, was about four years old, the Barnum and Bailey Circus was in town, and he wanted to go. I didn’t know how we were going to manage getting tickets, and it made me sad. I told him we could go next year when they came back. He didn’t complain.

I was at Winn-Dixie, a southeastern grocery store, in the produce department, when a bearded man approached me and asked if I could use four tickets to the circus! I can still picture his blue plaid shirt. I was flabbergasted and said yes, and he handed them to me and left. I just stood there looking at the tickets. When I composed myself enough, I looked up to thank the man, but didn’t see him anywhere among the produce. I started walking down the aisle, and the next aisle, and the next, trying to find him. I circled the entire store several times, but never found him.

Getting exactly four tickets for our family from a stranger who disappeared convinced me right then and there that out of love for a sweet, innocent little boy who never asked for anything, God sent an angel so my son could go to the circus.

Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, obedient to his spoken word. (Psalm 103:20)

It has been over forty years, and except for the grocery store, my memory of that time is vague. At the circus, I remember how nice it was to have decent seats in the middle section, where we could see everything below. My son’s full name is Jahanshir, which in Farsi means “lion of the world,” and I still have an image of the lion-tamer act.

I told my husband the facts about getting tickets from a stranger, but for a long time I never told anyone what I believed about it. I don’t really know why. Maybe I thought the people around me back then wouldn’t relate. Then one day, I told a like-minded co-worker, who got excited and said she had similar stories. Now I know there are people in my life with their own “God incidences” to share. These days, I seek to be an instrument of God’s care for others in whatever small way possible.

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”—Hebrews 13:2

Reflection: When has unexpected help felt like God’s love and care encircling you? When have you been the instrument of unexpected help for someone else?

Note: This post is adapted from my book Everywhere Love: The Highway Home.