The Date:                      August 21, 2009; 3:30 p.m. Central Standard Time

The Place:                     Nails 2000, Dallas, Texas

The Human Form:          Two women; one approximately 25 years old, the other approximately 50

Dear Girlfriends,

I was in a hurry as I raced into my favorite nail salon for a quick manicure. My heart was pounding and my adrenaline was pumping - not because of my quick pace, but because of fear and anticipation. In my arms - for the first time - I carried my book.

It was an early edition, hot off the press and literally, just minutes before leaving my office, I opened the long-awaited package from my publisher that contained the single copy.

Excitement and a sense of accomplishment washed over me - for about 15 seconds, only to be immediately replaced with FUD: fear of failure; uncertainty of my next steps; and doubt. Lots of doubt: What in the world was I thinking, writing a book?

But like a bystander who can't turn away from the scene of a gory accident, I couldn't put the book down. As I drove to the nail salon, the book sat on my lap, the pink cover looking up at me. Although I placed it in the passenger seat after I parked (not intending to take it into the salon with me) like a newborn, it somehow made its way back into my arms and I rushed in.

Sitting side by side at the first nail station were two women who looked up as I walked in. As I hurried by them, they stopped me. "Whose book is that?" one of them asked. I answered dumbly, "Mine." They giggled, "No. I know it's yours. Who wrote it and what is it about?" A little embarrassed, I told them that I wrote the book and that it was a devotional for women.

The angels getting coats of pink polish swooned over the cover and asked if they could look through it while I had my nails done. I vapor-locked. "Well. Yes. Of course." "Oh, Lord," I thought, "Here it comes." As I handed the book to them, I thought to myself, "This is going to be embarrassing."

I could hear the younger angel reading aloud to the older angel, but I couldn't tell what she was reading...but once, I thought I heard them giggle. By the time I finally got the courage to turn around and look at them, they were both crying. CRYING! Oh, good grief! I never figured it would be so bad that women would cry!

When they finished their manicures, my Nails 2000 angels brought the book back to me, telling me how one of the devotionals particularly touched their hearts. As they left, they hugged me, applauded me, and celebrated with me. In less than 60 seconds, two total strangers - one named Caroline and the other named Venise - angel-bombed me with encouragement.

Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up. Proverbs 12:25

My angels could have kept to themselves - but instead they started a friendly exchange with a total stranger. My angels could have curbed their enthusiasm - reserving their positive energy for each other or someone else. But my angels with the perfectly-manicured nails taught me a powerful lesson on August 21, 2009: You never know when your extension of warmth and kindness might just turn another person's FUD into absolute delight!

Getting "the full treatment" at my salon,

Ellen

Posted by Ellen on February 19, 2010 5:40 PM  |  Category: An Angel Bombing