Angels All Around Us

I have always been interested in angels. As a child, decked out in white gown and cardboard glittery wings in the church Christmas Pageant, my understanding was quite elementary and had most to do with the Christmas story: the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she would give birth to Jesus, the Son of God.

Further on in the book of Luke the angel of the Lord and a great company of the heavenly host appeared to the shepherds in the field nearby where Jesus lay in the manger, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

At Christmastime we see angels represented everywhere~ on top of the tree, in ornaments, cookies, dolls, music boxes and figurines, stories and movies, cards, hymns and songs. It seems natural and easy to feel an affinity for angels at Christmastime. But are angels always with us?

As an adult, I have heard and read many accounts of peoples' encounters with angels. I read somewhere that most of the world's major religions believe in angels. My own interest has increased since I have read the Bible through twice in the last two years. The scripture is full of dramatic accounts of angels appearing before people here on earth.

Briefly, the word "angel" means "messenger." God created the angels to praise Him in heaven, and to help guide and minister to and protect us here on earth. Angels were created as spirit beings, we are created as human beings. Angels can appear to us here in human form, however.

Contrary to popular thought, our mother, grandmother, or loved one does not become our guardian angel in heaven. That concept is not Biblical. In the Bible God teaches us that when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and confess our sins, we will go to heaven when we die to live with Him, and all the other saints and all the angels.

When praying for other people, and for myself, I often ask God to send the angels to minister to, to guide, and to protect us. I do have an angel story to recount myself! When our mother lay slowly dying, my sister and I were staying with her day after day in the residence where she lived. We were told by the hospice nurses that she was likely to live for a few more days, so they suggested we go home and get some rest. We were with her until late in the evening, then we went home to our own homes. As I got into bed and turned out the light at about 10 minutes before midnight, I immediately began praying that the angels would come down and take my mother to heaven so that she would not suffer any more. I felt it was her time, whenever God was ready to take her. About 5 minutes later, the phone rang and my heart nearly leapt out of my chest. I knew what had happened before I even picked up the phone: it was the nurse calling~ our mother had just passed away...

Initially, as well as being heartbroken at having lost my mother, even though it was expected, I was saddened because I had not been with my mom when she passed away. But hadn't I just asked God to send down the angels to take her to heaven? And knowing that that is just what happened, makes me very happy.

The subject of angels is vast. If you would like to learn more about angels, the best source is the Bible. There are some other sources that I would like to recommend to you as well. There is a very good website, I Believe In Angels, where the content is from a Biblical perspective. There are some wonderful stories on the site written by individuals about their personal angel encounters. One in particular, 'Heaven's Lessons' by Traci Lambert, is really powerful and I think you will enjoy reading it.

I have read several good books on the subject, including: Angels by Billy Graham; Angels on Assignment by Roland Buck; Angelic Encounters by James W. and Michal Ann Goll; and The Angel Book by Charles and Frances Hunter. When selecting a book, look through it briefly and make sure the content is based on the Bible, the Word of God.

On Christmas Day, I saw a video on Fox News. I'm posting it here for your enjoyment.