~~ Psalm 91:11-14 (NIV84) ~~ For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
by Carley Cooper
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| Photo by Carla Cooper One of many Angels in my collection All Copyrights Reserved |
This is the third article in my series about Angels. In the first post (Angels From Heaven) I talked about how people in our lives can be like angels sent by God to help us. I shared a poem I wrote to someone special in my life who has been like an angel for me. In the second article (Who Is Your Guardian Angel?) I talked about how God has given us angels, celestial beings, to protect us; to keep us from danger. Sometimes, if we are paying close enough attention, we will even get to see our angels as they’re digging us out of a pit that we got ourselves into! My friend and author, Paul Duarte, experienced this first hand; literally! As a Worship Melodies Guest Author, he shared his personal true story of being rescued by an angel from a situation that could have been fatal, on a cold winter day.
Being a good friend, or rescuing us from our own messes aren’t the only purposes for angels in our lives. Sometimes they are also sent to us to assist God in redirecting our paths after we’ve wandered into dangerous territory. They help to prevent something terrible from happening in the future. I have my own angel story about a day when an angel lifted me out of a very bad place.
It happed one day, several years ago; before I was an obeying and practicing Christian; before I knew the Holy Spirit or had a relationship with Jesus. Even though I wasn’t living the life of Christianity; I did believe that there was a God, and I did believe that there was a man named Jesus who died for me. If you’ve been a regular reader of my posts for quite some time, you’ll know that I am Bipolar. I don’t hide it. I talk about it freely because more people need to know that mental illness is not something to be afraid of; but that’s a whole other blog. For that matter it’s a whole other book!
Well, one night I was in the midst of a very bad depression episode. It was one of the worst I’ve had. Today, well, I no longer go to this dark place, because Jesus has rescued me. That’s not to say that I’m totally cured... yet! Back then, though, when I was in this dark place I would pray to God. I’m not sure I ever really thought it was going to do anything for me realistically. However, when I needed it the most and I had nowhere else to turn, I figured it couldn’t hurt. Of course, back then most of my prayers were prayers of petition. I just asked for things from God either for myself or others. I never gave back to Him or worshiped Him.
As I mentioned, on this particular night in question I was at the end of my tether. I felt completely alone and I literally had no hope left inside me. I was to the point where I didn’t want to live. Even, with this in my heart, and not knowing God; I also knew that doing something desperate to myself was not the answer. I believed that no matter how bad things looked, hurting myself would only make it worse. So, for that reason I was, literally, up all night crying and begging God to let me leave this world. I begged Him “Please don’t let me see the morning light”. I figured that asking Him to do it for me, would get me out of the mess that doing it myself would cause. Of course, now that I’ve seen the light and I can think more logically, I can see the flaws in this kind of thinking.
Well, the morning came, and I was still here. With that in mind, I knew that the day must go on. My first order of business was an errand to the bank. I had a financial issue that couldn’t wait, and I had to actually go to the bank to resolve the problem. But, I got there early. It was about ten minutes before opening time. So I stood in the mall outside the bank door waiting for it to open.
Standing closer to the door, than me was an older lady with a walker. I saw her there, but I didn’t speak to her. She was short; maybe five feet tall. She appeared to be in her late sixties; and white hair that was short with large loose curls.
After a couple of minutes another lady walked in from outside. She stood next to me as though she were waiting in line for the bank as well. She looked at me like she knew me; but I didn’t recognize her as anyone that I had ever seen before. I’m not good at remembering names, but I am very good at remembering faces, so if I knew her I’m sure I would have recognized her face. She was about five and a half feet tall, and looked to be in her mid sixties. Her hair was shades of grey; salt and pepper type. It was straight and about shoulder length, curled slightly in around the bottom; and straight bangs cross the front. She was wearing a dark-red cardigan sweater and a white, or light colored, blouse.
She simply said to me “Do you have the time?”
It bothered me that she asked for the time. I don’t know why, but I felt angry and irritated. I tried not to show it though, and I looked at the time on my phone and told her what it said. After a couple more minutes, the doors to the bank were opened. All three of us that were waiting, walked into the bank. There were several tellers on duty; more than enough to serve all of us .
I was the one to walk the fastest, I am assuming, because of my younger age and much longer legs. So, I was the first in line. However... this did not sit well with the little old walker lady. She came at me practically waving that thing and rushing to the first teller ahead of me screaming “I was here first, you’re not going to butt in line ahead of me”.
It shocked me. I would not have expected that to happen. She looked so frail and sweet before. My mind was still in a state of surreal after the night I had just lived through. It took every ounce of energy that I had, plus some that I didn’t know I had, to hold back my tears and appear normal in a public place. Having a feisty old lady in front of me at the bank would normally not be something that bothered me. On a normal day, I probably would have laughed at it. That day, though; that little incident was bigger than anything else I had ever had to handle. It was enough to push me over the edge. The surprise I got literally took my breath away for a minute. I stood there with my mouth open in surprise not knowing if I should or could say anything without crying; or worse.
In that minute, the third lady standing behind me; the one who asked me the time stepped closer to me. She put her right hand on my right shoulder. I turned my head to look at her. She leaned in close to me, as if she were about to whisper something. I simply heard a soft “Shhhhh. Shhhhh”. No other words were spoken. In that instant, I felt the most overwhelming wash over my body. I felt an instant, there was a warmth and sense of peace. I stepped up to the teller, took care of my business and walked out of the bank. I went home and had a good day.
I don’t know if this lady was an angel, or just some kind old lady who was very intuitive. I did not look back as I walked out of the bank; so I don’t know if she would have still been there if I had looked back. I just know that God used her to bring me back from the edge. From the edge of what?, I have no idea. What would have happened to me, or what I may have done, or how I would have reacted if she hadn’t touched me; I do not now. Literally, God only, knows! Either way, she was an angel sent to me that day and I will be eternally grateful to both her and God.
~~ Dear God ~~ I have so many things to thank You for. You are so awesome, and Your love is so great that “Thank You” hardly seems sufficient. Thank you for the angels, of all types, that you send to rescue me. Thank you for not letting me fall into the pit of darkness where I could be lost forever. Thank you for the journey that I have travelled that has brought me into a relationship with You. I am so thankful to You that I dedicate my whole life to serving You. I am Yours. But, who am I that my sinful soul and broken body could be of value to You? Yet, it is because You gave Your Son to save me. Thank You. Please use me in whatever place that will help Your will to be done, and to advance Your kingdom. In Jesus name, AMEN.
