Angel Unaware

by David R. Darrow 7" x 5" (17.78cm x 12.7cm)
Oil on Panel SOLD Collection of Patricia Harris
Ragley, LA – USA

About This Painting

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unaware. —Hebrews 13:2

My wife Teresa and I recently ate dinner at a popular Carlsbad restaurant with outdoor seating — which we were quite grateful for during California's record heat wave. The seating outdoors is casual: picnic benches.

Sometimes when we eat out there aren't enough tables for everyone. Sometimes people are just standing off to the side with a very discouraged look on their faces. We usually break the unwritten American Federal Law against such a thing and invite strangers to join us at our table. [gasp] No, really, it's true.

This sweet little 3-year-old "angel" graced our table as a guest. Her family, not wanting to impose on us, sat on the opposite bench of our table, facing the other direction.

I suppose the parents were more attentive than most I see. They attended to her often, conversed with her, made sure she was fed. But a lot of the time the adults only engaged the other adults at the table, and this little angel just entertained herself. Sometimes she went off into a long stare, seeing nothing but what was playing in her mind, and I wondered what she was thinking.

As I snapped a few candid pictures of her (which I later based this painting on) I thought of my own daughter Lauren, now 14 and how I have often thought of her as an angel... my personal princess... a gift from God. At 14 now — though quite beautiful — she no longer looks like the tiny little angel I remember so vividly as if it were only a month or two ago.

I wondered if this little girl's parents had any idea how fast their daughter was really going to grow up.

Someone once said, "I've never heard of a man on his deathbed saying he wished he'd put more time into his business."

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As with many of my paintings, I like to give them titles that have more than one meaning.

It occurs to me that this little angel is still so innocent, and unaware of the world she must grow up into, which along with its blessings can bestow deep pain, too.

God bless the little ones.

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