Have you ever met angels? I mean everyday angels. Dear friends who have wanted to discuss the most important matters of life and have preached you forgiveness even though you have not asked for it yet. These friends should not be taken for granted. They are gifts from the Heavenly Father and a cause of gratitude and joy.
One morning, a long time ago, a friend of mine sent me a text message. She said she had suffered heavy trials, but had now listened the morning devotion on the radio and felt that she was being remembered. She wanted to share her joy for that and for the new confidence she felt. I still remember how deeply I was touched by that discussion. On that ordinary weekday morning we blessed each other with the gospel and thereby shed some light into the shadowy corners of each other’s personal lives.
I once studied with a friend who was an everyday angel. She reminded me that we should go to services when the other students invited me to come and play snooker. She also gave wise and biblical answers to a fellow student who purposely questioned the foundation of our faith. The many discussions we had strengthened the bond of friendship between us and made me understand that we are given the kind of support we need at every stage of life.
While sitting at a bonfire with friends, I have often felt that the warmth of the fire has also warmed my heart. Sitting there together, we may have first talked about mundane things, but our discussion has then moved on to what is most important in life. I remember the time when one of us took his phone and switched on a presentation. I do not remember anything about the content of the presentation, but I clearly remember the joy I felt while listening to it.
We were different. We all had our own flaws and weaknesses. We knew our pains and sorrows had already been borne a long time ago. We just needed to be reminded of that. I felt that those people were a gift to me at that moment. So that I would remember. So that I would have the strength to believe.
I have also come across many other angels. Some of them have walked by my side for years, some only for a short while. But they have all had one thing in common. They have showed me the way to heaven.
I now have a very special angel. A friend with whom I have experienced something miraculous, namely that the feeling of love is strengthened and deepened by forgiveness. Do you know that feeling? When you have offended your dearest one or stumbled in some other way – and that person just draws you close to him and blesses you with the forgiveness of all sins. That kind of love makes you whole. And that dear person seems the most beautiful and wonderful person in the world.
I have also been given some small angels, who often make me stop still in the middle of my busy home life and focus on something more important.
Life suddenly seems much less challenging when one of them says: ”Did you know that Jesus hears even the sound of the dishwasher? And the sound of turning pages. And the crickets in the grass.” Halfway through putting on their snowsuits on a cold day I heard an important reminder: ”The snowsuit protects my indoor clothes, but Jesus protects everybody, even the English people!”
And what about the moment when all things seem so challenging – and you suddenly hear your teen sing and play in the living-room. The familiar tune of a song praising God for His gifts goes right into your heart. At such moments it is easy to believe in angels. It is easy to believe that, whatever may happen in life, all things are in good hands.
When I think about angels, I also think about a special friend of my children. That child wants to believe, although her parents have given up their faith. When I listen to her, I feel that she is showing us the way. With her childhood faith she is an angel for us.
There may be times in life when we feel that we do not have any reliable friends. But even then we are not alone. Though we cannot see it with our temporal eyes, we are being remembered and carried. At all times.
Text: Anne Lindfors
Translation: Sirkka-Liisa Leinonen
You will find the original blog post here.
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