angels don't always have wings

Sometimes we get so caught up in the idea of angels that we forget to look around us.

They don't always have wings. They don't necessarily wear halos. Sometimes they look just like you and me.

I read a story about the terrible bus crash near Mackenzie, BC, on November 4. A woman shared what happened when she and her husband, Rich, witnessed the crash.

Before she could even blink, Rich was out of their car, running down a steep embankment towards the overturned bus.

He didn't know what he would find inside. He didn't wait for someone else to arrive.

He had emergency medical responder training, and he put those skills to work. He shut off the bus, which was filling with gas, checked passengers, performed lifesaving interventions and helped organize the response before emergency crews arrived.

His wife's account says he helped save several lives.

Think about that for a moment.

People were hurt, frightened and waiting for help. Cell service in the area was poor. And there was Rich.

Just an ordinary person who chose to act when it mattered most.

Of course, the emergency responders, ambulance crews, nurses and everyone who came together to help deserve enormous recognition. But I think Rich deserves to be recognized, too.

His wife's words stayed with me. She said that if she were ever in a situation like that, there would be no one else she would want arriving first.

That says everything.

We hear so much about the bad things happening in the world. Cruelty, indifference, greed and people looking the other way.

But there is another side to humanity.

I've met angels. Perhaps you have, too.

They are the people who show up when you need them. The strangers who stop to help. The people who give without expecting anything in return. The ones who remind us that compassion hasn't disappeared.

I don't think angels need wings.

Sometimes they drive down a highway, witness a terrible accident and run towards the people who need them.

Sometimes their name is Rich.

There is still so much good in this world. Let's remember to recognize it, celebrate it and, whenever we can, be a little bit of it ourselves.

Because hope isn't always something we wait for.

Sometimes it's something another human being brings us.

#AngelsAmongUs #EverydayHeroes #Humanity #Hope #Compassion #ActsOfKindness #MackenzieBC #GoodPeople #BeTheGood #HopeIsAlive