In February of 2002 I took a long-term substitute teaching position at a small, Catholic school in Loose Creek, Mo. That position sealed my understanding that God was calling me to be a teacher. In August of 2002, I began my teacher education program only to receive a call in October that the same small school needed me. A teacher had quit. I rearranged my newly laid plans and went back for another long-term subbing.

At the end of that second year, the school secretary gave me a framed saying, “Only angles can wing it. The rest of us have to work at it.” 

That saying sits on my bathroom counter today. Every morning it is my motivation to get going and work on making my day count. Every night it is my reminder that even the most imperfect days are days I did my best to keep up with the angels. 

Just last week I joined two of my colleagues, as we all waited for the copy machine to run our copies. We were discussing how things were going in our respective departments and one of the ladies gave an exhausted, “I never know what to expect, but I always do try to do a good job. I just keep trying.”

“Only angels can wing it. The rest of us have to work at it,” was my reply. I followed up with a quick hug and reassurance that she always made positive things happen when I asked her for help. (She works in tech support, so in reality she make A LOT of things happen for people in need.)

Sometimes the best way to be an angel is to wing it with the way we assist others and take leaps of faith. Those leaps of faith are often found in the good we do. We can only hope and pray that what we do is just the right way to get things to work out.

The message I hope most will take away from today’s post is that we can only make things happen if we try.

We are not angels and the outcomes of our efforts will rarely be perfect.

It is with a wing and a prayer that we do our best each day to be the perfect version of ourselves and continue to keep up with the angels.

The easiest way to soar with greatness is to put positive purpose behind the energy we use to show love, support, and dedication. We just have to keep working until we earn our own halo and wings.

By: Melanie A. Peters

P.S. Don’t forget those angels have their work cut out for them too.