Three years ago in his Dec 18, column,” Pop culture takes flight on angels’ wings“, Ray Waddle talked about his belief in angels. I too, believe in angels. He talked about metaphysical angels, and the bible mentions all kinds, Thrones, Dominions, Cherubs, Seraphim to mention about half of them but, I believe there is another group of angels, not mentioned either by the scripture writers or Waddle. I believe there are many physical angels living right in our midst. We just don’t recognize them.
Sister Martha, a nun at Divine Providence Nursing Home in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, told me that all children are born carrying a message from God. If she is correct, then all babies are angels. After almost half a century of taking care of kids, I agree with Sister Martha. Perhaps we are all angels! After all, aren’t angels God’s messengers?
What mother has not held her infant tightly in her arms and said “She is such an angel?” Or, when looking in on her sleeping child has not thought, “He may have caused me some grief today, but when he’s sleeping he’s still an angel”? I’m a dad and I know dads say that too.
We may wonder where our angel went when he becomes a teen, but a teenager is still the same angel we held in our arms a decade earlier. The difference is the teen angel is wearing denim but he/she still bears a message from God. (That’s the origin of the title for my first parenting book, Messengers in Denim.) Our job as parents then is to hear the message our angels are teaching and impart the messages we have into our kids.
In his famous poem, The Rainbow, William Wordsworth says, “The child is father of the man.” Anyone who has ever worked with kids either as a teacher, mentor, employer, or parent knows the truth of that statement. Just as our kids learn from us, we learn from them, and every one else we know.
If we listen with patience, respect, and love, to all of our angels – those in denim, military uniform, ministerial or prison garb, anyone of our fellow humans, we can decipher a message they carry from God Almighty, and become better parents, and better people and help each other become adults we will respect, love, and cherish.
In the meantime, we will find that we too, are angels. So are the teachers, coaches, friends, mentors, and neighbors of our kids. Then we will know and understand that even adults bear messages from God. To paraphrase Pogo, we will have met the angels, and they are us.
Enjoy your messengers, fellow angel!