Walking with the angels.

Angels Unaware

“Make friends with the angels, who though invisible are always with you. Often invoke them, constantly praise them, and make good use of their help and assistance in all your temporal and spiritual affairs.”

St. Francis de Sales

Do you believe in angels? I do. I choose to believe that angels are all around us, that they are waiting for us to call upon them for help, for protection, for strength, and not only for us, but for others whom we love. I believe in Guardian Angels, and have long had a name for mine, Alecia. I arrived at the name many years ago, when I asked her, and that is the name I was given. When I have a troubled heart, or am doing something that doesn't feel safe, I call upon her. If I am worried about someone else, I ask Alecia to enfold them in her wings and care for them. When my mother was dying, I asked Alecia to help her to the otherside. Maybe this is just a way to comfort myself in times of trouble, but whatever it is, it works.

Sometimes angels come to us in the form of thoughts—turn here, don't go that way, take a later flight. The thought pops into consciousness from we know not where. One second ago, it was not there, and now it can't be denied. Frequently, I have the thought, call so-and-so. I will call and something drastic has just happened in their lives, or before I can punch in their number, they call me. You may call that intuitive, I call it angels.

Sometimes we encounter angels in the form of people. A stranger on the street who asks if you need help, and gives you directions. A band of strangers who come to help dig your house out of the flood, or the mud, or the tornado debris. They come, they help, and you never see them again. When asked, you can't even remember their names or how they looked, but they saved your life that day.

I believe, with St. Francis, that angels are always with us. Just like us, they have work to do. It is not that we are so precious and important, though we are; it is simply their job—to look after, to assist, to redirect, to protect, to intervene when possible. Our job is to assume that they are there, though we cannot see them, and ask them for help. Like the long line of ancestors, the family who will be there to greet you when you cross over, the angels aren't “out there” somewhere. They are right here, right now, willing to provide assistance “in all your temporal and spiritual affairs.”

                                              In the Spirit,

                                                 Jane