I’ve always been a believer in Angels. And this time of year I especially feel them. Call it the Christmas spirit or just the “magic of the season”, but I often feel that there are heavenly hosts surrounding us at any and all of life’s twists and turns. Maybe that’s just my Pollyanna take on things, but I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one. 

     I try and keep these posts as non controversial as possible and it is never my intention to push my personal views or opinions on anyone choosing to read this, but as I can only draw on my own experiences so sometimes those probably show through and at times a little brighter than others. Still, just a fair warning, this is a little “church-ier” than some of my others, so if you bow out now, we’re still “ALL GOOD”. 

   Which leads me to my next encounter with the angels. I can remember being a very little girl and watching the Nativity pageant at my church where all the angels would crowd around the manger and tell the Christmas Story and all the “grown up girls” got to wear the pretty costumes with the wings. Oh how I longed to be an angel in that pageant someday. And when I was in high school, I was finally given role of the “Angel of The Lord”. I was kinda a drama geek in high school and out of all the different parts I got over the years, that small one in that church pageant was probably one of my favorite and most meaningful. 

    I was recently having a conversation with one of my two year old twin neighbors. (Yes, those are always the most enlightening talks), but they have a little Nativity set up on their kitchen table with the basics. I was quizzing “Vivi” on it & said, “who is in the manger?” & she said, “Baby Jesus!” And I said, “and who is his Mommy?” She said, “Mary!” “And who is that next to Mary?” “Joseph!!” “And who is on top of the manger??” “The Angel!” 

    And then I asked a question I didn’t know what answer I was expecting, but she nailed it perfectly… I said, “what does the angel say?” And she said, “FEAR NOT!” And it FLOORED me!! Because anyone who has sat through a church Nativity pageant, listened to Christmas Eve sermon or even watched Linus in “A Charlie Brown Christmas” knows that that’s EXACTLY what the angel SAYS!! “Fear Not”. Now I’m not going to get all philosophical and try to explain exactly how it is that a two year old was able to quote scripture to me, but I do know her Mom does take her to Sunday School & she’s just a very perceptive little girl to begin with. 

     Angels don’t have to be in the form of winged, heavenly beings either. Sometimes we encounter them right here on Earth. When I had my car accident, I was left on the side of the road by myself for a period of time before the rescue crews arrived. The drunk driver took off and I was all alone, bleeding, badly injured and fighting to stay conscious. The details get a bit fuzzy after that, but I do know according to the police report, another person, who as I recall didn’t speak much English, (& my face was so badly injured at the time I couldn’t speak a word intelligently), came along to the scene of the accident. I remember this person gently put their arms around me as I was leaning against my vehicle having climbed out of it miraculously. They must have realized I was in a direct line of traffic as my car was disabled in the middle of the road, but honestly, that was the least of my worries at the time. 

    So they very gently, walked me over to the side of the road and held me in a very warm, comforting embrace. I felt like I known that person for years, maybe my whole life, not like a stranger I just met minutes before on the side of the road. I passed out in their arms the minute I heard the sirens from the fire trucks arrive. 

     I refer to this person in an androgynous manner because it is difficult for me to recall if I feel like they were a man or a woman. Which is exactly what they say about angels. This person was my living, breathing angel. And then they were gone when I woke up. When you read the report, it says “Unknown bystander given the name of ___________ was spotted at the scene but unavailable for questioning. Witness did not leave any contact information.” 

     So you see, sometimes angels are these beautiful celestial creatures that we hear wonderful stories about & that bring messages of hope, peace & joy. And sometimes they are everyday citizens who do good deeds and ask for very little in return. Sometimes they are in the form of a loved one we’ve lost who goes on to become our own personal angel, guiding our way with a special love & light and reminding us they are always nearby. 

     Someday I’ll tell you about how my best friend from California , Kym and I found out we share the same guardian angel. It’s a really crazy story and one I definitely don’t have time to tell in a short paragraph …that’s a whole other post of its own. 

    Yesterday as I watched my friend Karen’s 9 month old son Mason play at the foot of my Christmas tree and furiously ring a bell we had placed on one of the lower branches, it reminded me of one of the classic lines from the movie “Its A Wonderful Life”. “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings”. Many angels got their wings yesterday from Mr. Mason. And that is very “GOOD STUFF”.