Days 325 - 326 ~ Angels Inspire Us...

Jeff and I have had angel experiences and when I received this email yesterday, I thought it appropriate to share it. Enjoy. Hugs, Janet

THE THING ABOUT ANGELS

All God's angels come to us disguised.
~James Russell Lowell~

The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone.
~George Elliot~

Our son was an angel that day. Yep, a real-life, honest-to- gosh angel. What I call an "earth angel."

The details are tragic. A co-worker suffered an apparent heart attack and passed away before emergency workers arrived. Our son sat on the floor beside him and held his hand, talking to him and reassuring him that help was on the way while another employee stayed on the phone with the 911 operator conveying information
and following instructions.
We didn't know any of this until last night when Ryan stopped by on his way home from work. Visibly shaken, he told the story. There was awe in his voice. He is young, and this was his first experience with death. He told of the surreal nature of those long minutes spent waiting for the EMT's. As the man lay dying, Ryan could see skaters racing, twirling and dancing on the ice rink outside the combination office building and retail complex where the company he works for is headquartered.

"I still can't believe it," he said. "I'm holding this man's hand and he's dying and yet people just outside - just yards away from us - are having fun and laughing. It's like things were happening in two different worlds at the same time, and yet
we were all together."

Ryan needed comforting. We told him what an awesome honor it is to be present when someone passes from this world to the next. It is a "calling" in the truest sense of the word. We told him that God had called him to the man's side to comfort him and hold his hand, to walk with him to the door. We told him that nothing that happened was an accident. He was meant to be there in that place and in that moment. God had asked Ryan to hold the man's hand until He could gather him into His arms and take him home.

As he rose to leave, Ryan said, "I've got a lot to think about." We told him to take his time and to be very gentle with himself. Experiences like this one take time to process. We told him that just as he was meant to be in that man's life yesterday, the man was also meant to be in his life because there are things Ryan is supposed to learn as he works through the experience. We reminded him that every person whose path we cross in this lifetime is meant to be with us in that very moment and place because he has something to teach or share with us and we have something
to teach or share with him.

And we told Ryan how proud we are of him. When he insisted with some frustration that he hadn't done anything, we told him he had done the most important thing of all: he answered the call and he stayed until the job for which he
had been called was done.

I am often asked if I believe in angels, and the answer is an unqualified "Yes!" I've met far too many of them to have any doubts at all. In my darkest hours, in my times of most desperate need, there have always been angels who appeared to carry me through the ordeal. Some were ethereal and other-worldly (more about a very special one named Susan next week), but most were real-life flesh-and-blood human beings.

You see, the thing about angels is that they are us. What I mean by that is that we are all called to be angels. Not the floaty kind with white gowns and wings, and not all of the time, of course. Heaven knows we're not that evolved! But from time to time, each of us is blessed and honored to be called by a Higher Power to be present for someone else in their time of need. In those sacred moments, God works through us. He uses our hands to touch our fellow human beings. He puts His words into our mouths to reassure and minister to those who are hurting and frightened. He uses us to comfort and console our brothers and sisters.
He calls us to be His "earth angels."

Dear God, open my eyes to the angels in my life, both the human and the heavenly. And when You need me to serve as one of Your earthly angels, I ask only for the courage to answer Your call.
Amen

Roger and Kathy Cawthon

The Cancer Crusade

email: cawthons@thecancercrusade.com

web: http://www.thecancercrusade.com