Wood Angels, Sweater Angels and Angels Knitting

I will always be astonished when God sends His angels to minister, often before we know our own need.  I should not be surprised--but I never cease to feel awe when He provides in miraculous ways.

A little over a month ago, two cords of firewood were dumped on my driveway.  I had a couple month's worth out back, but had been fretting over not having enough wood to get through the winter.  It was a sudden gift, when my adopted Bro Larry called to say he was coming by with that firewood!

What I didn't realize was a month later my main gas furnace would give up completely--during the coldest temperatures we'd had so far.  This old house, built in 1896, was incredibly chilly.  God  knew I would need that firewood and sent Larry my way.

Then just before the furnace gave out, my wee sister Wendy sent a Christmas gift.  "Open it when you get the box," she said.  "There's something inside I think you'll need." 

Said she with a giggle, when I called to tell her of my predicament and how cold it was, "Well, I have a feeling you are going to love what I sent to you.  She was right!  She had knitted a beautiful maroon and green blanket--wonderfully thick and warm.  Such incredibly perfect timing--I slept under that throw with two more blankets, on the sofa next to the wood stove.

The day the furnace gave out, I received a package in the mail.  It was a beautiful, soft, thick sweater from Dan and Judy.

When I thanked Judy for the sweater and spoke of the perfect timing of its arrival, she laughed and told me they'd ordered it several months before. 

God knew what was going to happen.  I lived and slept in that gloriously warm sweater for three weeks!

These dear ones were God's own human angels.  And the perfect timing was God's.  He provided before I was aware of the need I would have for the wood, that wonderful soft sweater and lovely hand-made blanket.

I thank the Lord for those who pay attention to the gentle promptings of God, for then miracles happen.

Trust in God--Look up!  Expect a miracle!  He cares for you.

Merry Christmas dear one!  God is good!

Lights out! -SkyWatch Friday

Time for another angel story! This one comes from Charlotte, who gave me permission to tell her story.

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One very dark night, Charlotte and her husband Bill were driving home through a mountainous region in California known as Malibu Canyon. In those days the road was extremely dangerous, sporting only two lanes, no guard rails or lights, with a sheer drop to the canyon floor below.

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They had just driven into the most dangerous area of the road, when suddenly their car lights went out! It was a moonless, wet, wintry night, and they could not see the road ahead. With their vehicle's lights off, the oncoming cars would not be able to see them coming. It was a situation which could end in the worst kind of disaster.

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Charlotte must have been terrified. She wrote, "...so I prayed for the lights to come on, and they did." Inexplicably the car's lights stayed on until they drove out of danger. When they were safely through the canyon, the lights went out again--forever.

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The next day, an astonished mechanic told Charlotte's husband Bill, there was no way the lights could have come back on again--the electrical was cut clear through.

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Charlotte believes there were angels holding those wires together, and writes, "...just hope they didn't singe their wings!"

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Angels are indeed watching over us!

If you love clouds as much as I do--join Skywatch Friday to see all the amazing things to be found by looking up.  Have a lovely day and Happy Skywatch Friday!

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Freeway Angel -SkyWatch Friday

Time for another Angel Story.  A few years ago, our good friend Ken was driving a truckload of pipe  down highway 16, Washington State.

A man pulled alongside, signaling something was wrong with his load, so Ken slowed and stopped on the shoulder of the highway.  The man also stopped and together they tightened down the ropes holding the pipes in place.  Suddenly Ken didn't feel very well and he had to sit down.

Then he lost consciousness.  Ken was having a major heart attack.  His helpful new friend called 911 and began to administer CPR.  Later the paramedics couldn't recall what the man looked like, or where he went once they took over.  He and his vehicle simply vanished.

Ken's family was heartbroken when the doctors told them tests revealed that there was no brain activity.  Ken was moved to hospice where they expected him to die. But my husband and I and hundreds of people all over the world were praying for a miracle.

He was in a coma without any brain activity for quite a long time.  Then came the day the family was approached about organ donation.  The doctors told them Ken would never recover because he was brain dead.  But the family decided to wait.  Weeks went by, we were all afraid he was going to die.

Meanwhile, his youngest daughter had been feeding him ice chips.  When she would place the ice in his mouth, he would swallow the water.  The nurses discouraged her from doing so, they said she was prolonging the inevitable.  But that dear girl kept on giving her Dad the ice.

I'm not sure how much more time passed, but one day when the family came to visit they found an empty bed.  They feared the worst.

Imagine their astonishment when they found Ken alive and well in the small hospice cafeteria, eating mashed potatoes, gravy and turkey.  He could walk and talk--he knew his family and he was hungry.

He actually had to stay in Hospice a few extra days because there was no paperwork in existence to check someone OUT of hospice!  We all had a pretty good laugh over that.

We still see him from time to time--he is healthy, hale and hearty.

If that man hadn't signaled something was wrong with the load of pipes, Ken wouldn't have pulled over.  He could have had a heart attack while he was driving.  Others could have been hurt.  If the man hadn't been there to call 911 and administer CPR, our friend might not have made it.

An angel?  I believe it is possible.

To be called brain dead one day and yet awaken with one's brain intact is miraculous.  God is still in the business of miracles! 

If you love clouds as much as I do--join Skywatch Friday to see all the amazing things to be found by looking up.  Have a lovely day and Happy Skywatch Friday!

Mysterious Tears

I was ten years old when I created this chalk drawing on black construction paper.   I can still feel the way the chalk felt in my fingers, as I drew it across the paper--I can see the lighting of the room and I remember I knew exactly how to draw this man's face.  Mrs. Young, my teacher was amazed.

Mom loved it so much she hung it on the wall of the stairway which led to my sister and my room.  It hung there until I was in my late teens and I found a frame for it.

Thirty years later, I took the drawing out of its frame to scan it into the computer, to upload it onto an art website I had at that time.

That's when I noticed the tears.  I was floored.  There were what looked like tear stains dripping from his eyes and tracing down onto his cheeks. 

I was astonished and more than a little in awe.  If you click to enlarge the picture, you can clearly see where the tears trickled from his eyes through the chalk.  I often wonder about those tears.   I wonder.  I do.  So many miraculous things have happened in my life.

Today the drawing hangs on my office wall.  It reminds me that mysterious, miraculous things really do happen.

Sometimes miracles occur through the innocent hands of a little child wielding a piece of chalk against a thick piece of black construction paper.

Heaven Bound

Three weeks ago, Dad had a major stroke. The affects of this stroke are catastrophic. He is unable to swallow, or to speak. Dad is at the VA Hospital and has been on complete comfort care for about a week now.  He is getting ready to slip into heaven.  Mom has been staying there full time until Daddy goes Home.

I was visiting Mumsie a couple of days ago and I brought my laptop, so we could look at old family pictures to pass the time. We had so much fun laughing at pictures of ourselves from long ago.

 

Then unexpectedly, we came across a series of photos from last August.  I didn't even remember taking them.  They seem almost prophetic.  Do you see that sweet little smile and the love in his eyes? 

Then especially this one of glory light on Dad's empty chair.  This is the chair where he always sat.  Mom and I gasped when we saw this picture.  You see--when Dad had this last stroke, Mom knew before anyone else that he would not be returning home.

Soon Daddy will be with Jesus in Heaven.  He will be able to leap, jump, run and walk again.  Dad will be free of that chair and the neck brace he had to wear day and night.  He will see his own Dad, Mom, brothers, sisters and dear friends who have gone before him.  We rejoice over the day Dad will be free from his earth suit.  Though those of us who are left behind will grieve.  But we do not grieve as those who have no hope. 

"Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Corinthians 2:9)

"Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for  you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."  (John 14-1-3)

We will see Dad again. In this we have hope.  God bless you all.

11/17/2012:  This afternoon, while setting up for a performance,  I suddenly became so dizzy I could not stand up.  It felt like a piece of me was suddenly missing.  I knew Dad was gone--15 minutes later a phone call confirmed what my heart had already told me.  Thank you for your warm thoughts and loving prayers for me and for my beloved family.

Grammie's Precious Prayers

With Mother's Day so close, I thought a story from my talented Mom about her own dear Mother, would be a delightful way to celebrate the Holiday.

I had the privilege and honor of living in my Grandmother's basement for nearly three years.  She and I became best friends.  I still miss her with all my heart.  This amazing event happened in the weeks before she flew away to heaven--it is one of those miraculous things one cannot explain.

Here is my Mother's wonderful story:

As I chopped vegetables into little pieces for the soup, the phone rang. It was my friend Jane.  "I tried calling everybody on the prayer chain," she cried, "but you were the only one who answered.  Please, will you pray for my daughter, Alicia?  She's been in a car accident and she's in the hospital with a broken hip.  Her baby girl, due in three weeks, is coming right now.  Oh, Eva, please, please pray. They're doing a C-section."

We prayed together on the phone.  Afterwards I went into the kitchen and finished putting together mother's lunch. Alicia and her baby were still heavy on my mind as I walked across the field to mother's house and opened the door.  

There Mom sat in her wheel chair, wandering in her own little world, a folded piece of paper on the tray in front of her, a pencil poised in her hand.

She looked up, smiled, then handed me the paper.  I put her food on the table and took the paper, curious as to what she'd been writing. But this list was different from the one where she'd listed chocolate pudding ten times.  On this one was written just three words, "Alicia, Emerg. Pray."

Sudden goose bumps popped up on my arms.  "Did the phone ring," I asked my brother Dale as he came into the room. "Did she answer it?"

He looked at me strangely.  "She hasn't answered the phone in months, you know that.  Nobody called."

But I couldn't figure it out.  "Did someone come to visit?"

Another strange look.  He shook his head.  "She's just been sitting there all morning with me."

I told him about my friend Jane, whose daughter Alicia had been brought to the hospital and who, even as we spoke, was having an emergency C-section.  "She asked me to pray and I did."  

Then I pointed at the paper with the words only God could have given my mother, "Alicia, emerg. Pray."  

Later, when I told my pastor what had happened he shook his head in wonderment.  "God isn't through with your mother yet," he marveled.  "Just think, God loved Alicia so much He asked a little 95 year old lady with Alzheimers to pray for this girl and her unborn baby. And when she prayed, God worked a miracle of love and healing."

God's call is a very real thing; consider the coincidence of a frightened soon-to-be grandmother, calling her friend in another town who was preparing lunch for her shut-in mother.  Think about the little old white haired lady sitting alone in her chair, who, without talking to anyone, was moved by God to pray specifically for Alicia, a young woman injured in an accident and whose unborn child was in danger. 

Miraculous, amazing--there are times when God calls us to pray--Sometimes we don't even know why--but the burden is so heavy we fall to our knees.  It is only later we see His miraculous hand.  Our loving Creator reaches out through us and works His will and way in the heart of that one for whom we pray. 

Today Alicia's little girl is a happy eight-year old with shiny brown curls and a happy smile.

The Blessing of answered prayer continues on--moving outward like ripples on a pond.