Angel Unaware
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and today we’re talking about angels. And I’ve got my friend Shauna Amick to help me talk about it. Hi, Shauna!
SHAUNA: Hey there, Joni!
JONI: And not long ago, you heard me say something on the radio program. What was it?
SHAUNA: Well, you talked about a song. And that specific song always makes me think of Hebrews 13:2 which says, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
JONI: You know that was the title of a book from what, the 60s? I think Dale Evans Rogers, she chose that title for the book she wrote about her daughter Robin, who has Down syndrome. And remember that her and her husband Roy Rogers – famous guy – always sang, what was it …
JONI and SHAUNA: (singing) Happy trails to you, until we meet again!
JONI: Okay, so, what does that song have to do with angels unawares?
SHAUNA: Yeah, it doesn’t sound like it would have anything to do with it, right? But, of course, “Happy Trails” makes me think of Dale Evans and Roy Rogers and their little girl, Robin, who had Down syndrome and a heart defect.
JONI: Well, Robin, I think, was born – what around 1950? – with Down syndrome. Tell me – I think that’s the same heart defect that your daughter with Down syndrome has, right?
SHAUNA: That is typically – that AV canal defect – is what folks with Down syndrome often are born with. (JONI: Okay.) And today, people with these very serious heart defects, they can have open heart surgery, and they lead long, happy, healthy lives – just like my daughter, Sarah. But back in 1950, well,
sadly, that type of advanced medical care – it just wasn’t available yet, and so Robin’s life, well, it only lasted two short years.
JONI: What a difference just a couple of decades makes in medical care. But you know, that little girl, Robin, she did have a ministry. Because even though doctors told Dale and Roy Rogers to put Robin in an institution and forget her – did they really say that?!
SHAUNA: They sure did.
JONI: Oh, my goodness. Roy and Dale just wouldn’t hear of it. They took Robin home, and they loved on her just like any of their children, and I’m so happy to report that little Robin, she didn’t live or die in vain, did she?
SHAUNA: Quite the opposite! Through all the challenges that come alongside disability, that we know of, well, you know Roy and Dale, they drew closer to God and closer to each other through them. Jesus used Robin in such powerful ways in Roy’s life. He just started sharing his faith during his shows. You know, he was always portrayed as a cowboy. And of course, as a result, he had a big following of little boys who wanted to grow up to be just like him someday. They both took that honor of being role models to children very seriously. And during Roy’s shows, well, he would start signing Christian hymns, and he would tell his audiences that real men go to church.
JONI: You know, I was at a Cracker Barrel just a few weeks ago, and I saw – you know, they put up old antique things on the walls – and there was a lyric sheet for “The Bible Tells Me So,” by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. (singing) “What do we know, the Bible tells us so.” So, you’re right; they did a lot of Christian hymns back then.
SHAUNA: They sure did. He even had a spotlight made that was in the shape of a cross, and he would shine it during all of his rodeos.
JONI: Go figure! Really?
SHAUNA: Yep. And when Robin was born, Roy says he started reading his Bible like never before, and he realized that true success in life is spiritual.
JONI: Yeah, you know, just listening to you – and I haven’t read her book in ages – “Angels Unaware” – it is so clear that God used Robin (SHAUNA: That’s right.) to literally transform her parents’ lives. And a lot of other children who followed Roy and his testimony in Christ.
SHAUNA: Well, I’m so glad you said that, Joni. Because Roy and Dale, they also encouraged other parents to bring their children with Down syndrome to their shows. And before that – that was unheard of. So he educated whole communities on the value of people with intellectual disabilities who were before, rarely seen in public.
JONI: And, friend, Happy Trails to you, as you are drawn closer to Jesus through this story. Because you might be sharing your hospitality with who?
SHAUNA: Angels unaware.
JONI: That’s right.
