In September 1960, I woke up one morning with six hungry babies and just 75 cents in my pocket. Their father was gone. The boys ranged from three months to seven years; their sister was two. Their Dad had never been much more than a presence they feared.
Whenever they heard his tires crunch on the gravel driveway they would scramble to hide under their beds. He did manage to leave $15 a week to buy groceries.
Now that he had decided to leave, there would be no more beatings, but no food either. If there was a welfare system in effect in southern Indiana at that time, I certainly knew nothing about it. So, I scrubbed the kids until they looked brand new and then put on my best home-made dress, loaded them into the rusty old 51 Chevy and drove off to find a job.
The seven of us went to every factory, store and restaurant in our small town. No luck.
The kids stayed crammed into the car and tried to be quiet while I tried to convince whomever would listen that I was willing to learn or do anything. I had to have a job.
Still no luck. The last place we went to, just a few miles out of town, was an old Root Beer Barrel drive-in that had been converted to a truck stop. It was called the Big Wheel.
An old lady named Granny owned the place and she peeked out of the window from time to time at all those kids. She needed someone on the graveyard shift, 11 at night until seven in the morning. She paid 65 cents an hour and I could start that night.
I raced home and called the teenager down the street that baby-sat for people. I bargained with her to come and sleep on my sofa for a dollar a night. She could arrive with her pajamas on and the kids would already be asleep. This seemed like a good arrangement to her, so we made a deal.
That night when the little ones and I knelt to say our prayers, we all thanked God for finding Mommy a job. And so I started at the Big Wheel.
When I got home in the mornings I woke the baby-sitter up and sent her home with one dollar of my tip money–fully half of what I averaged every night.
As the weeks went by, heating bills added a strain to my meager wage. The tires on the old Chevy had the consistency of penny balloons and began to leak. I had to fill them with air on the way to work and again every morning before I could go home. One bleak fall morning, I dragged myself to the car to go home and found four tires in the back seat. New tires!
There was no note, no nothing, just those beautiful brand new tires. Had angels taken up residence in Indiana? I wondered.
I made a deal with the local service station. In exchange for his mounting the new tires, I would clean up his office. I remember it took me a lot longer to scrub his floor than it did for him to do the tires.
I was now working six nights instead of five and it still wasn’t enough. Christmas was coming and I knew there would be no money for toys for the kids. I found a can of red paint and started repairing and painting some old toys. Then hid them in the basement so there would be something for Santa to deliver on Christmas morning.
Clothes were a worry too. I was sewing patches on top of patches on the boys pants and soon they would be too far gone to repair.
On Christmas Eve the usual customers were drinking coffee in the Big Wheel.
These were the truckers, Les, Frank, and Jim and a state Trooper named Joe. A few musicians we’re hanging around after a gig at the Legion and were dropping nickels in the pinball machine.
The regulars all just sat around and talked through the wee hours of the morning and then left to get home before the sun came up.
When it was time for me to go home at seven o’clock on Christmas Morning, I hurried to the car. I was hoping the kids wouldn’t wake up before I managed to get home and get the presents from the basement and place them under the tree. (We had cut down a small cedar tree by the side of the road down by the dump.) It was still dark and I couldn’t see much, but there appeared to be some dark shadows in the car or was that just a trick of the night? Something certainly looked different, but it was hard to tell what. When I reached the car I peered warily into one of the side windows. Then my jaw dropped in amazement. My old battered Chevy was filled full to the top with boxes of all shapes and sizes. I quickly opened the driver’s side door, climbed inside and knelt in the front facing the back seat.
Reaching back, I pulled off the lid of the top box. Inside was whole case of little blue jeans, sizes 2-10! I looked inside another box and it was full of shirts to go with the jeans. Then I peeked inside some of the other boxes. There was candy and nuts and bananas and bags of groceries. There was an enormous ham for baking and canned vegetables and potatoes. There was pudding and Jell-O and cookies, pie filling and flour. There was whole bag of laundry supplies and cleaning items. And there were five toy trucks and one beautiful little doll.
As I drove back through empty streets as the sun slowly rose on the most amazing Christmas Day of my life. I was sobbing with gratitude and I will never forget the joy on the faces of my little ones that precious morning.
Yes, there were angels in Indiana that long-ago December. And they all hung out at the Big Wheel truck stop….
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
SPECIAL GROCERY LIST
Louise Redden, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face, walked into a grocery store. She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge a few groceries.
She softly explained that her husband was very ill and unable to work,
they had seven children and they needed food. John Longhouse, the grocer, scoffed at her and requested that she leave his store at once.
Visualizing the family needs, she said: ‘Please, sir! I will bring you the money just as soon as I can.’ John told her he could not give her credit, since she did not have a charge account at his store. Standing beside the
counter was a customer who overheard the conversation between the two. The
customer walked forward and told the grocer that he would stand good for
whatever she needed for her family.
The grocer said in a very reluctant voice, ‘Do you have a grocery list?’
Louise replied, ‘Yes sir.’ ‘O.K’ he said, ‘put your grocery list on the scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in groceries.’
Louise, hesitated a moment with a bowed head, then she reached into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head still
bowed. The eyes of the grocer and the customer showed amazement when the scales went down and stayed down. The grocer, staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said begrudgingly, ‘I can’t believe it.’
The customer smiled and the grocer started putting the groceries on the other side of the scales. The scale did not balance so he continued to put more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more. The grocer stood there in utter disgust. Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement.
It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer, which said: ‘Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands.’
The grocer gave her the groceries that he had gathered and stood in stunned silence.
Louise thanked him and left the store. The other customer handed a fifty-dollar bill to the grocer and said; ‘It was worth every penny of it. Only God Knows how much a prayer weighs.
She softly explained that her husband was very ill and unable to work,
they had seven children and they needed food. John Longhouse, the grocer, scoffed at her and requested that she leave his store at once.
Visualizing the family needs, she said: ‘Please, sir! I will bring you the money just as soon as I can.’ John told her he could not give her credit, since she did not have a charge account at his store. Standing beside the
counter was a customer who overheard the conversation between the two. The
customer walked forward and told the grocer that he would stand good for
whatever she needed for her family.
The grocer said in a very reluctant voice, ‘Do you have a grocery list?’
Louise replied, ‘Yes sir.’ ‘O.K’ he said, ‘put your grocery list on the scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in groceries.’
Louise, hesitated a moment with a bowed head, then she reached into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head still
bowed. The eyes of the grocer and the customer showed amazement when the scales went down and stayed down. The grocer, staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said begrudgingly, ‘I can’t believe it.’
The customer smiled and the grocer started putting the groceries on the other side of the scales. The scale did not balance so he continued to put more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more. The grocer stood there in utter disgust. Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement.
It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer, which said: ‘Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands.’
The grocer gave her the groceries that he had gathered and stood in stunned silence.
Louise thanked him and left the store. The other customer handed a fifty-dollar bill to the grocer and said; ‘It was worth every penny of it. Only God Knows how much a prayer weighs.
Perception
Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.
4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk..
6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.
45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a
short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces
ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a true story.
Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the
Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and
people’s priorities.. The questions arose: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected
context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made…. How many other things are we missing?
4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk..
6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.
45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a
short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces
ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a true story.
Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the
Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and
people’s priorities.. The questions arose: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected
context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made…. How many other things are we missing?
Just Check’n In
A minister passing through his church
in the middle of the day,
Decided to pause by the altar
and see who had come to pray.
Just then the back door opened,
a man came down the aisle,
The minister frowned as he saw
the man hadn’t shaved in a while.
His shirt was kinda shabby
and his coat was worn and frayed,
the man knelt, he bowed his head,
Then rose and walked away.
In the days that followed,
each noon time came this chap,
each time he knelt just for a moment,
A lunch pail in his lap.
Well, the minister’s suspicions grew,
with robbery a main fear,
He decided to stop the man and ask him,
‘What are you doing here?’
The old man said, he worked down the road.
Lunch was half an hour.
Lunch time was his prayer time,
For finding strength and power.
‘I stay only moments, see,
because the factory is so far away;
as I kneel here talking to the Lord,
This is kinda what I say:
‘I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD,
HOW HAPPY I’VE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHERS FRIENDSHIP AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.
DON’T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY,
BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS JIM CHECKING IN TODAY.’
The minister feeling foolish,
told Jim, that was fine.
He told the man he was welcome
To come and pray just anytime
Time to go, Jim smiled, said ‘Thanks.’
He hurried to the door.
The minister knelt at the altar,
he’d never done it before.
His cold heart melted, warmed with love,
and met with Jesus there.
As the tears flowed, in his heart,
he repeated old Jim’s prayer:
‘I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD,
HOW HAPPY I’VE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHERS FRIENDSHIP AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.
I DON’T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY,
BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS ME CHECKING IN TODAY.’
Past noon one day, the minister noticed
that old Jim hadn’t come.
As more days passed without Jim,
he began to worry some.
At the factory, he asked about him,
learning he was ill.
The hospital staff was worried,
But he’d given them a thrill.
The week that Jim was with them,
Brought changes in the ward.
His smiles, a joy contagious.
Changed people, were his reward.
The head nurse couldn’t understand
why Jim was so glad,
when no flowers, calls or cards came,
Not a visitor he had.
The minister stayed by his bed,
He voiced the nurse’s concern:
No friends came to show they cared.
He had nowhere to turn.
Looking surprised, old Jim spoke
up and with a winsome smile;
‘the nurse is wrong, she couldn’t know,
that he’s in here all the while
Every day at noon He’s here,
a dear friend of mine, you see,
He sits right down, takes my hand,
Leans over and says to me:
‘I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, JIM,
HOW HAPPY I HAVE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND THIS FRIENDSHIP,
AND I TOOK AWAY YOUR SIN.
ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR YOU PRAY,
I THINK ABOUT YOU EACH DAY,
AND SO JIM,
THIS IS JESUS CHECKING IN TODAY.’
in the middle of the day,
Decided to pause by the altar
and see who had come to pray.
Just then the back door opened,
a man came down the aisle,
The minister frowned as he saw
the man hadn’t shaved in a while.
His shirt was kinda shabby
and his coat was worn and frayed,
the man knelt, he bowed his head,
Then rose and walked away.
In the days that followed,
each noon time came this chap,
each time he knelt just for a moment,
A lunch pail in his lap.
Well, the minister’s suspicions grew,
with robbery a main fear,
He decided to stop the man and ask him,
‘What are you doing here?’
The old man said, he worked down the road.
Lunch was half an hour.
Lunch time was his prayer time,
For finding strength and power.
‘I stay only moments, see,
because the factory is so far away;
as I kneel here talking to the Lord,
This is kinda what I say:
‘I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD,
HOW HAPPY I’VE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHERS FRIENDSHIP AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.
DON’T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY,
BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS JIM CHECKING IN TODAY.’
The minister feeling foolish,
told Jim, that was fine.
He told the man he was welcome
To come and pray just anytime
Time to go, Jim smiled, said ‘Thanks.’
He hurried to the door.
The minister knelt at the altar,
he’d never done it before.
His cold heart melted, warmed with love,
and met with Jesus there.
As the tears flowed, in his heart,
he repeated old Jim’s prayer:
‘I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD,
HOW HAPPY I’VE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHERS FRIENDSHIP AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.
I DON’T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY,
BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS ME CHECKING IN TODAY.’
Past noon one day, the minister noticed
that old Jim hadn’t come.
As more days passed without Jim,
he began to worry some.
At the factory, he asked about him,
learning he was ill.
The hospital staff was worried,
But he’d given them a thrill.
The week that Jim was with them,
Brought changes in the ward.
His smiles, a joy contagious.
Changed people, were his reward.
The head nurse couldn’t understand
why Jim was so glad,
when no flowers, calls or cards came,
Not a visitor he had.
The minister stayed by his bed,
He voiced the nurse’s concern:
No friends came to show they cared.
He had nowhere to turn.
Looking surprised, old Jim spoke
up and with a winsome smile;
‘the nurse is wrong, she couldn’t know,
that he’s in here all the while
Every day at noon He’s here,
a dear friend of mine, you see,
He sits right down, takes my hand,
Leans over and says to me:
‘I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, JIM,
HOW HAPPY I HAVE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND THIS FRIENDSHIP,
AND I TOOK AWAY YOUR SIN.
ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR YOU PRAY,
I THINK ABOUT YOU EACH DAY,
AND SO JIM,
THIS IS JESUS CHECKING IN TODAY.’
About Faith
Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it . . . . It is by faith we understand that the whole world was made by God’s command so what we see was made by something that cannot be seen . . . . Without faith no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that He is real and that He rewards those who truly want to find Him. Hebrews 11:1, 3, & 6
The Good New show how God makes people right with Himself — that it begins and ends with faith. As the Scripture says, "But those who are right with God will live by trusting in Him." Romans 1:17
WE have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do , but we do not give up the hope of living. We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed . . . . So we do not give up. Our physical body is becoming older and weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day. We have small troubles for a while now, but they are helping us gain an eternal glory that is much greater than the troubles. We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see . . . .
II Corinthians 4:8 – 9, 16 – 18
Faith is the belief that God is real and that God is good . . . . It is a choice to believe that the one who made it all hasn’t left it all and that He still sends light into the shadows and responds to gestures of faith . . . .
Faith is the belief that God will do what is right.
God says that the more hopeless your circumstances, the more likely your salvation. The greater your cares, the more genuine your prayers. The darker the room, the greater the need for light.
God’s help is near and always available, but it is only given to those who seek it. Max Lucado — He Still Moves Stones
God never promises to remove us from our struggles. He does promise, however, to change the way we look at them. Max Lucado
The Good New show how God makes people right with Himself — that it begins and ends with faith. As the Scripture says, "But those who are right with God will live by trusting in Him." Romans 1:17
WE have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do , but we do not give up the hope of living. We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed . . . . So we do not give up. Our physical body is becoming older and weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day. We have small troubles for a while now, but they are helping us gain an eternal glory that is much greater than the troubles. We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see . . . .
II Corinthians 4:8 – 9, 16 – 18
Faith is the belief that God is real and that God is good . . . . It is a choice to believe that the one who made it all hasn’t left it all and that He still sends light into the shadows and responds to gestures of faith . . . .
Faith is the belief that God will do what is right.
God says that the more hopeless your circumstances, the more likely your salvation. The greater your cares, the more genuine your prayers. The darker the room, the greater the need for light.
God’s help is near and always available, but it is only given to those who seek it. Max Lucado — He Still Moves Stones
God never promises to remove us from our struggles. He does promise, however, to change the way we look at them. Max Lucado
The Guardian Angel Series – by Sigmund Brouwer – Entry #1
Angels never complain.
You humans, on the other hand, are so childlike that your constant whining to God often tempts me to roll my eyeballs in disgust. Yet I don’t. First , angels don’t even have eyeballs to roll. Second, rolling eyeballs is a silent way of complaining, and for those of you who weren’t paying attention, I’ve just made it clear that angels don’t complain.
Writing isn’t easy for many humans, from what I can tell. But let me stress that it seems infinitely slower and more cumbersome for an angel. (Cumbersome. Kum-burr-sum. If you watch too much television, you may have difficulty with the size of this word cumbersome word. Kum-burr-sum. It means bulky awkward to handle, a big load.)
See, if you ere another angel, we would just have a meeting of minds, so to speak. In an instant, you’d know everything I wanted you to know. Neither of us would have to say a single word, let alone write it out.
At this point, I expect you are curious about how this meeting of minds works between one angel and another.
Good! Curoisity is one of the nice childlike things about you humans. But don’t expect me to give you the answer. There are many questions that won’t get answered for you until you are on the other side of life. Deal with it!
If you continue with me , I promise to answer a lot of other questions. You will have to pay attention, though. Otherwise, don’t waste your time reading more. There’s always television. Or nose picking, which is at least useful and has the same entertainment value. Especially to angels, who may be invisible and watching when you least expect it.
Have I established, then, that it has taken a lot of effort for me to put this into your words and that you will get answers worth learning? Good! Show your gratitude and stay with me.
Even though I won’t promise a happy ending.
What? you say, "not fair?" Who says it’s supposed to be fair? When I’m sent from heaven as a guardian, I sure don’t get that promise. I’ve seen it end happy for the ones I’m sent to guard and I’ve seen it end sad.
That might sound mean and horrible, but it’s not.
Whatever happens to the people I’m watching over — happy or sad — works to the greater good of those who believe in our Father and His love. Think of His work as a beautiful paintion. When I’m stuck in a particular place and time on earth to watch over someone, I see only what you see: individual brushstrokes. The little bits and pieces that make up the painting. I trust all of those burshstrokes will make sense when our Father has finished the entire painting, though. You should too. Life will be easier on you that way.
As for a happy or not-so-happy ending for each person under my watch, learn and remember an important concept. Maybe the most important concept. Ready?
You humans are given the freedom to make choices.
Yes! Choices! You are responsible for what you do. Don’t blame other people. Especially don’t blame me or other angels.
Choices!!
Imagine you’re in a room with a screwdriver in your hand. You have a choice. Jam it into a nearby electrical outlet? Or not? You may think that’s an obviously easy choice. But in guarding different people through centuries of your human history, I’ve seen a lot of things that, in comparison, make jamming a screwdriver in an electrical outlet look like a smart thing to do.
AD. means Anno Domini. Latin for "the year of our Lord." At least you humans have had enough sense to keep track of time from the birth of Jesus, the Son of our Father.
The 1300′s were not pleasant, fleas, lice, no soap, no showers, no toothpaste. The humans in Europe had just spent centuries of short life spans and miserable living conditions because of all the knowledge that had been lost after the fall of the Roman Empire.
You humans, on the other hand, are so childlike that your constant whining to God often tempts me to roll my eyeballs in disgust. Yet I don’t. First , angels don’t even have eyeballs to roll. Second, rolling eyeballs is a silent way of complaining, and for those of you who weren’t paying attention, I’ve just made it clear that angels don’t complain.
Writing isn’t easy for many humans, from what I can tell. But let me stress that it seems infinitely slower and more cumbersome for an angel. (Cumbersome. Kum-burr-sum. If you watch too much television, you may have difficulty with the size of this word cumbersome word. Kum-burr-sum. It means bulky awkward to handle, a big load.)
See, if you ere another angel, we would just have a meeting of minds, so to speak. In an instant, you’d know everything I wanted you to know. Neither of us would have to say a single word, let alone write it out.
At this point, I expect you are curious about how this meeting of minds works between one angel and another.
Good! Curoisity is one of the nice childlike things about you humans. But don’t expect me to give you the answer. There are many questions that won’t get answered for you until you are on the other side of life. Deal with it!
If you continue with me , I promise to answer a lot of other questions. You will have to pay attention, though. Otherwise, don’t waste your time reading more. There’s always television. Or nose picking, which is at least useful and has the same entertainment value. Especially to angels, who may be invisible and watching when you least expect it.
Have I established, then, that it has taken a lot of effort for me to put this into your words and that you will get answers worth learning? Good! Show your gratitude and stay with me.
Even though I won’t promise a happy ending.
What? you say, "not fair?" Who says it’s supposed to be fair? When I’m sent from heaven as a guardian, I sure don’t get that promise. I’ve seen it end happy for the ones I’m sent to guard and I’ve seen it end sad.
That might sound mean and horrible, but it’s not.
Whatever happens to the people I’m watching over — happy or sad — works to the greater good of those who believe in our Father and His love. Think of His work as a beautiful paintion. When I’m stuck in a particular place and time on earth to watch over someone, I see only what you see: individual brushstrokes. The little bits and pieces that make up the painting. I trust all of those burshstrokes will make sense when our Father has finished the entire painting, though. You should too. Life will be easier on you that way.
As for a happy or not-so-happy ending for each person under my watch, learn and remember an important concept. Maybe the most important concept. Ready?
You humans are given the freedom to make choices.
Yes! Choices! You are responsible for what you do. Don’t blame other people. Especially don’t blame me or other angels.
Choices!!
Imagine you’re in a room with a screwdriver in your hand. You have a choice. Jam it into a nearby electrical outlet? Or not? You may think that’s an obviously easy choice. But in guarding different people through centuries of your human history, I’ve seen a lot of things that, in comparison, make jamming a screwdriver in an electrical outlet look like a smart thing to do.
AD. means Anno Domini. Latin for "the year of our Lord." At least you humans have had enough sense to keep track of time from the birth of Jesus, the Son of our Father.
The 1300′s were not pleasant, fleas, lice, no soap, no showers, no toothpaste. The humans in Europe had just spent centuries of short life spans and miserable living conditions because of all the knowledge that had been lost after the fall of the Roman Empire.
The Guardian Angel Series – by Sigmund Brouwer – Entry #3
How I know what our Holy Father wants me to do, is impossible to explain. The closest you would understand is a form of instinct, but even that is a bad explanation. All I can tell you is that at any given moment, I just know. Not even angels know what is in the mind of our Holy Father.
As for protecting people, angels have many different methods. You’d never suspect most of them as belonging to an angel; gust of wind, maybe a tree falling across a road to keep a driver from the next corner where a bridge is out. A barking dog that causes you to take a different path. That sort of thing.
If you want to read some classic examples, go to the Bible. I wish I could tell you I was one of the angels in the lion’s den with Daniel, but others were sent that time. Believe me, we all heard plenty about it from those angels later. You know, like sometimes when your friend gets back from a really fun vacation and goes on and on about all the details.
Here’s where you should probably learn more about what angels can and can’t do.
We can’t create. That’s something only our Father can do. Let me just say, if you could have been there at the beginning, the very beginning, you would be the biggest believer in the universe. Yes that beginning of time! Of the universe! Not that I was there. but the great thing about the spiritual world is that time and space don’t form a prison for us like they do for you. Believe me, you’ll find out someday, on the other side. By then, you’ll be glad you trusted in our Father.
As I was saying, since time and space don’t bind us, we angels have a good idea of what it was like at the beginning of creation. "Spectacular!" doesn’t do it justice. It’s just beyond comprehension. Then again, if you television watchers got off the couch and walked through the woods and took a close look at our Father’s handiwork every once in a while, you might get an inkling of how incredible it was.
What else can’t angels do?
Angels can’t change substances. Again, only our Father can do that. So don’t come to me and ask for that lump of lead to be changed into gold. I’m not a fairly godmother. And yes, I’ve had that request before.
Angels can’t alter the laws of nature. Again, only our Father can.
Same thing goes for miracles. Angels can’t perform them. Only our Father can.
Here’s something that might surprise you. Angels can’t see into your heart. After centuries and centuries of experience with you humans, however, we can make some pretty good guesses. Some of you wise guys might be saying, hey, no problem, any good doctor can get a good view of the human heart. But that’s not the heart I’m talking about — and you know it.
Angels can’t change your hearts either. Remember that thing called "choice?"
Anyway, that’s a lot of what we can’t do.
It’s good to keep all that in mind because the fallen angels can’t do any of it either. Fallen angels. That would be Satan and his gang. They can’t do any of our Father’s special stuff either. No creating, no changing of substances, no altering the laws of nature, and no searching or changing the hearts of people.
Why’s that important to remember?
Too many humans worry about demons because they believe demons have special power. Not so! Good thing, because I have plenty of stories about their bad intentions and how we’d been sent in by our Father to protect you against them. Nasty bunch, those guys! Of course, they’ve known for a long time that when they picked sides, they picked a loser — Satan himself! For eternity! That would make anyone bitter.
Here’s what’s really important to remember about the fallen angels; "Misery loves company!"
They want as many of you to lose your souls to the Evil One as possible. They cackle with hideous glee every time one of you dies before making a faith decision in our Father. It’s hard to decide what they like most — the horror that overwhelms you on the other side when you immediately comprehend what it will be like to spend eternity among them jor the shock when you discover there was moe to life on earth than life on earth.
For the most part, then, an angel’s job is to protect you long enough for you to make your decision. Do you want eternal light? Or eternal darkness? Yes, your earthly life has great value to our Father — that’s why He designed it for you to be able to enjoy so many things about it. But far more important to Him is the destination of your soul. What you do with your choices. And don’t fool yourself. All of you choose. Deciding not to choose is just like choosing against Him.
As for protecting people, angels have many different methods. You’d never suspect most of them as belonging to an angel; gust of wind, maybe a tree falling across a road to keep a driver from the next corner where a bridge is out. A barking dog that causes you to take a different path. That sort of thing.
If you want to read some classic examples, go to the Bible. I wish I could tell you I was one of the angels in the lion’s den with Daniel, but others were sent that time. Believe me, we all heard plenty about it from those angels later. You know, like sometimes when your friend gets back from a really fun vacation and goes on and on about all the details.
Here’s where you should probably learn more about what angels can and can’t do.
We can’t create. That’s something only our Father can do. Let me just say, if you could have been there at the beginning, the very beginning, you would be the biggest believer in the universe. Yes that beginning of time! Of the universe! Not that I was there. but the great thing about the spiritual world is that time and space don’t form a prison for us like they do for you. Believe me, you’ll find out someday, on the other side. By then, you’ll be glad you trusted in our Father.
As I was saying, since time and space don’t bind us, we angels have a good idea of what it was like at the beginning of creation. "Spectacular!" doesn’t do it justice. It’s just beyond comprehension. Then again, if you television watchers got off the couch and walked through the woods and took a close look at our Father’s handiwork every once in a while, you might get an inkling of how incredible it was.
What else can’t angels do?
Angels can’t change substances. Again, only our Father can do that. So don’t come to me and ask for that lump of lead to be changed into gold. I’m not a fairly godmother. And yes, I’ve had that request before.
Angels can’t alter the laws of nature. Again, only our Father can.
Same thing goes for miracles. Angels can’t perform them. Only our Father can.
Here’s something that might surprise you. Angels can’t see into your heart. After centuries and centuries of experience with you humans, however, we can make some pretty good guesses. Some of you wise guys might be saying, hey, no problem, any good doctor can get a good view of the human heart. But that’s not the heart I’m talking about — and you know it.
Angels can’t change your hearts either. Remember that thing called "choice?"
Anyway, that’s a lot of what we can’t do.
It’s good to keep all that in mind because the fallen angels can’t do any of it either. Fallen angels. That would be Satan and his gang. They can’t do any of our Father’s special stuff either. No creating, no changing of substances, no altering the laws of nature, and no searching or changing the hearts of people.
Why’s that important to remember?
Too many humans worry about demons because they believe demons have special power. Not so! Good thing, because I have plenty of stories about their bad intentions and how we’d been sent in by our Father to protect you against them. Nasty bunch, those guys! Of course, they’ve known for a long time that when they picked sides, they picked a loser — Satan himself! For eternity! That would make anyone bitter.
Here’s what’s really important to remember about the fallen angels; "Misery loves company!"
They want as many of you to lose your souls to the Evil One as possible. They cackle with hideous glee every time one of you dies before making a faith decision in our Father. It’s hard to decide what they like most — the horror that overwhelms you on the other side when you immediately comprehend what it will be like to spend eternity among them jor the shock when you discover there was moe to life on earth than life on earth.
For the most part, then, an angel’s job is to protect you long enough for you to make your decision. Do you want eternal light? Or eternal darkness? Yes, your earthly life has great value to our Father — that’s why He designed it for you to be able to enjoy so many things about it. But far more important to Him is the destination of your soul. What you do with your choices. And don’t fool yourself. All of you choose. Deciding not to choose is just like choosing against Him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)