MARCH 12 – Believe in angels?

“No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent. For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone.…” Psalm 91:11

Do you believe in personal angels? Beings whose specific role is to go with us through life and watch over us?

Katy Reardon was three years old the day she fell into the garden pool, fully clothed and couldn't swim. Katy's dad was at work and her mother was working in the kitchen, there was no-one to help her. She had been warned time and again not to go near the deep end of the pool, but that day in May 1996 she reached over to get her doll, and fell in headfirst. No-one knows how long she was in the water, but when her mother heard the screams she froze in terror then ran toward the back door. Katy was coming towards her with dripping wet clothes, crying, with her arms extended , clutching her doll. Asked what happened, Katy said, “I was playing and I fell into the deep end and I couldn't swim, so I asked Jesus to help me, and a hand came down from out of the clouds and pulled me out of the water.” When Barbara asked her again, she repeated the story, several times, not missing a word. Finally her mother asked Katy “what did the hand look like?” Katy simply replied, “you know mum - like a cloud.” Katy's dad says that his eyes fill with tears every time he sits in church and there is a baby dedication, when he remembers what God did for his little girl.

Jesus said, “Despise not one of these little ones....for I say to you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father” - Matthew 18:12.

Adults equally are not exempt from 'angel care.' Susan and her family were on holiday and spending the day at a local lido. The children were happily playing in the supervised paddling pool, and her husband was relaxing on one of the poolside recliner beds, earphones in, listening to music, leaving Susan free to relax and de-stress from a particularly hectic year. It was early in the day so she had the pool to herself. All was well until Susan developed cramp and found herself unable to swim, the more she tried to keep afloat, the more difficulty she was in. Several times she went under the water fighting for breath and air. Oblivious to the danger his wife was in, Susan's husband continued to relax. Just as Susan felt she could no longer fight, she felt herself being lifted bodily up out of the water and carried to the edge of the pool. Turning her head Susan looked into the smiling face of a young blond haired man around twenty years of age. Pulling herself out of the water, Susan turned immediately to thank the man who had saved her life, but there was no-one, either in the pool, or by the side. By this time other swimmers were on the poolside. Susan asked them if they had seen the young man and where he had gone. To her amazement they each said they had seen no-one of that description in the pool, only Susan herself floating towards the edge.

Susan believes with all her heart that she was saved by her own personal angel who responded to her unspoken cries for help. Today, she claims the promise of protection for her children and her grandchildren, and daily thanks God for His faithfulness.

Child or adult, I'm sure we can all relate an episode in our lives when we are certain that divine intervention has saved us from harm. We are never alone.

What other music could it be today than “Angels Watching Over Me” - sung by Shaina Noll