Angels Just Like You

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I was writing the other day and I was listening to Kathy Mattea sing Sending Me Angels and I was inspired to write about my experiences where I have felt (borrowing a line from the song) that "He keeps sending me angels." He sends them to me for various reasons. If you know me, you know that I have a tremendous amount of faith in God. I trust He has legions of angels helping Him do work on Earth. You've probably heard people refer to their guardian angels and how they step in to protect them from harm. Angels can come in many forms as one of my favorite groups, Alabama, recorded in Angels Among Us...

"There's always been someone to come

along and comfort me

a kind word from a stranger to lend

a helping hand

A phone call from a friend just to say

I understand."

I believe that angels don't necessarily have to have cherubic appearances or sport magnificent wings. In my experience it can be a puppy yapping and pulling on your heartstrings convincing you to take her home from the pound. They can be nuns working at a convenience store offering you directions to get back on the right path when you missed the exit you needed and ended up in a different city than you expected to (Yes, way before GPS systems in your car or on your phone.). My point is that angels can come in many forms and in many situations. Some people say they come to us because they have unfinished business with us or need our help to complete something on Earth.

On one of my favorite shows, Grey's Anatomy, there was a storyline of two characters named Denny Duquette and Izzy Stevens. What we, viewers, know is that Denny is sick and dying. What is revealed to us in subsequent seasons is that he was an angel when Izzy herself got sick. There is one episode where Denny narrates that angels can pass by us and we can sense them if the time is right. You can watch a clip of that episode here. I love that explanation! Yes, it is someone's explanation, and it does not mean that it is correct. I just like to believe that we can sense our loved ones in that way. I think I love the explanation so much because I have had experiences similar to that in my life. In the parking lot of an airport, I got out of my car and I heard my name called clear as day. I turned around expecting to see my friend whose voice I recognized. The odd thing was that my friend had passed away years before. This wasn't the first time I had heard him call my name.We did have an unresolved issue and not until I forgave him for it did I stop hearing him call my name.There have been other instances when I knew that my friend, Adrian, was around for my comfort. My husband has had to be hospitalized several times since we have been married. One of the times was extremely stressful and as we made our way to the admitting nurse, I read their name tag and it read, Adrian. I felt a calmness wash over me, and I knew that everything was going to be okay. Another hospital experience, we had a wonderful nurse who took great care of my husband. Within the two weeks he was hospitalized, we only saw her a few days. Then she was gone. It was almost like she was an angel. In retrospect, she may have been scheduled off or on vacation, but we regarded her an angel for sure.

Other experiences of angels in my life have been when my maternal grandfather passed away. I saw him in my dreams at my window telling me he was okay and not to worry about him, and I haven't since. One of our sweet cousins passed away, and as he was being laid to rest a beautiful butterfly landed on me. I had that peaceful feeling again. That evening when we were driving home, I spotted a shooting star, and I knew he was letting me know he was okay. More recently, our family lost my father in law. Our daughter told us she had a dream where he asked her to look for his new green truck. She wasn't sure what the dream meant, but when his ashes were returned to my mother in law, the urn had been slipped into a green velvet bag.

So, you see. Connections with angels can be made in many ways. Angels are not always people who have passed on. They can be the person who offered to take your shopping cart back to the store as your hands were busy with your small children or the friend who called you when you were going through a health crisis or loss of a loved one. As the Alabama song says,

" They wear so many faces

show up in the strangest places

to grace us with their mercy

in our time of need."

Not only should we be aware of angelic presences, but maybe we should also focus on being an angel for someone else. We are all called to be His help on Earth. I know "He keeps sending me angels, just like you." And I am grateful for that!

Credits:

Sending me Angels written by Francis John Miller and Jerri Lynn Willams,

recorded by Kathy Mattea

Angels Among Us written by Don Goodman and Becky Hobbs, recorded by Alabama

Grey's Anatomy written by Shonda Rimes