ANGELENA’S ANGELS
Angel from: angelartbyeve.com
I suppose angels have been part of my life ever since I could talk. Drawing pictures of angels with wings was a regular part of Sunday School, especially around Christmas time and I lost count of the times I played an angel in a school play because I am fair with blue eyes and I could sing. One fond memory I have is of sitting with my mother, now passed into spirit, and watching a tiny white feather settle on my hand. “You’ve been touched by an angel,” she said in her matter of fact voice. As a chorister in a church choir from the age of seven, I loved singing about angels and became very familiar with the many references in the psalms, hymns and anthems, my favourite being, “ Angel Voices ever singing.” Even my name was given to me because it was hoped I would have an angelic singing voice!
As I grew up I turned away from the church, religion and all things supernatural, yet I soon realised that my angel wasn’t about to turn away from me even though by the time I was a student I no longer believed in such’ fairy tales’. I didn’t like the idea of anyone knowing everything about me, every thought and action as I was told my Guardian angel did.
I first realised that my angel had not abandoned me when I was in hospital having my second daughter. It was almost to the day that my mother died very peacefully after a short encounter with the dreaded cancer. Sad but exhausted I lay in my hospital bed and had a strange sensation that I was being wrapped in a blanket and held close. I began to feel light and abnormally relaxed. There at the foot of my bed was a column of golden light that it seems only I could see. No sooner had I blinked than it had disappeared. I couldn’t explain but I just knew that my angel had come to be with me during that very difficult time. Growing older and more aware of my own spiritual development has brought me closer to angels. They communicate with me in all sorts of ways but mainly through feeling. Fifteen months ago, just before Christmas, my dearly loved partner, who was our choirmaster and organist, had told the choir he wanted a Christmas service dedicated to the angels. How did I suddenly become aware that this was his last Christmas? An hour before he died I had a visit, again in the form of light which filled my darkened study. That was my message.
Today whenever I feel low I read a novel. There is usually the word Angel somewhere hidden in the pages of the book. Coincidence? My rational brain would like to tell me so but it happens too often.
So, what are angels? The dictionary definition is that it is a spiritual being who attend to God and are messengers of God. All kinds of people have seen angels whether they are religious or not. It is said that people see them in all sorts of different ways – even though they do not have physical bodies, angels appear to us in a way they know we will recognise them. Angels are mentioned in nearly all of the major religions and are mentioned about 300 times in the Bible. In Job ( 38:7) it seems that angels were enjoying life before the world was created and they were given the task of looking after people. One of my favourite references is in the Psalm 91 “ For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands lest thou dash thy foot against a stone”. In Hinduism, people give daily offerings to angels and it was the Angel Gabriel who spoke to Mohammed thus leading to the birth of Islam.
I have since learned that angels work through us by sending spiritual and healing energies, signs and omens. We can invite angels into our lives and ask for help. I tried doing this but at first thought ideas I came up with were a product of my imagination. As I practised meditation and worked on developing my higher self I realised that I was more open to the messages which I received, not only for my benefit but for that of other people. Love, the most powerful force in the universe, without prejudice or intolerance, helps us to make that connection.
I have talked to people who say it was an angel who, pulled them away from an approaching car, rescued them unharmed from a house fire, calmed them during a crisis, wiped their tears at a graveside and held them until they escaped from pain into sleep. Guardian angels in particular do seem to appear at the point of utter despair, helping us to face the future.
Children are very much tuned into their guardian angels. My younger daughter talks about ‘ Michael’ frequently. “ How do you know his name? “ I asked. She looked at me with a bemused expression. “ Because I asked him of course”. How sad it is when children lose this ability or more commonly realise that not everyone shares their experience and so don ‘t talk about it.
So why is it considered to be just myth, fairytale, rubbish or wishful thinking when people dare to mention encounters with angels. So many people are focused on the material rewards of life and have no time, or maybe lack the courage to look deeper into their spiritual nature which is waiting to be awakened. We all need to open the window a bit more, step out of the box as the management consultants say, and sense that wonderful unconditional love, feel encouraged by the support and protection offered by our everyday angels doing everyday jobs, just for us. The above was written by Angelena Boden.