Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth,
Unseen, both when we wake and when we sleep ...
MILTON, "PARADISE LOST"
If Corrie ten Boom's angels encamped around her to make her
invisible, what else can a ring of determined protective spirits
do for us?
I found the story of a couple who were staying at a hotel
when a fire broke out. It was two-thirty a.m., and the hall was
full of flames. At first, the couple believed they were doomed.
But the husband called upon God for help, picked up his wife, and
ran down the hall. The flames and smoke seemed roll back, he
said, until they reached the safety of the lobby. Another woman
wrote of a time when, just divorced, heartsick and praying
for help, she drove her truck through a driving rainstorm. Her
son was the first to notice that the rain wasn't hitting their
truck. In the side and rearview mirrors, they could see the
deluge beating down, flattening foliage, pelting houses and
barns. But their windshield, without wipers, was perfectly dear!
This tender gesture lifted the woman's spirits and gave her
courage for the difficult road that lay ahead.?
Lucille Johnson, a teacher, believes she experienced an
"encampment" too. In 1949, a polio epidemic swept through the
area of Iowa where Lucille taught, and she contracted the
disease, probably from her students. "I was hospitalized for over
six months, and finally 'graduated' with two sawed-off crutches
with arm supports called 'Kenny sticks,'" Lucille told me. "I
went back to college to finish my degree, then taught again."
Through her career, her marriage, and the birth of her
daughter, Lucille managed to get around first with two crutches,
then with one, and finally, "due to vanity," she says, without
any prop.
But polio left her with a weak right side. In order to
support her body, she still must lock her knee when she walks,
and these days she usually uses a cane. "I fall very easily, and
I once broke a kneecap," she explains. "High and gusty winds are
especially dangerous, as they thrust me off balance. Even when I
was much younger, I avoided going shopping in downtown Davenport
because when that famous Iowa wind blew, I could hardly manage to
cross the street without being pushed over!"
In 1977, Lucille and her family built a house near New
Salisbury Indiana, and Lucille got involved in St.Michael's
congregation. As their first Christmas in the new house
approached, Lucille decided to thank God for her blessings by
attending mass every day during December.
Each day of the first week, Lucille drove the seven miles to
St.Michael's. But on Monday morning of the second week, she
awakened to the sound of her nemesis, wind. Weather reports
warned of extreme gusts, a condition that could topple Lucille
and severely injure her. Should she take the risk? God, she
prayed, I know I promised You ... and I'll do my part.
Cautiously, Lucille drove to St.Michael's. The wind pushed and
bounced her car the whole way, but it was especially
nerve-racking whenever she came to a clearing or unprotected area
and the vehicle shuddered like a toy that could easily be tossed.
Exhausted from gripping the steering wheel and riding the brake,
Lucille finally parked about a half block away from the church
entrance and looked around hopefully. Was anyone approaching,
someone with a strong arm who wouldn't mind letting her hang on?
No. She seemed alone, and she almost decided to turn back. The
wind sounded as though it was rising and, even parked, her little
car bucked and quivered. But she had come this far in safety. . .
Reluctantly she opened the door and stepped out into the
turmoil. Strangely, the wind seemed to have suddenly died, for
she felt nothing at all. "I was expecting to be blown nearly off
my feet," Lucille says, "but to my surprise, I didn't feel the
slightest puff, not even a breeze. There didn't seem to be any
air moving at all." God had apparently heard her prayer and
calmed the wind for her. What a loving Father! she thought.
Only. . . . puzzled, Lucille looked up at the trees in the
churchyard. Far from being motionless, they were swaying wildly,
and she could actually hear the branches creak with the strain.
But Lucille felt nothing, not even a slight current to ruffle her
hair. How could this be?
She didn't know, but she began the walk to the church doors
with growing confidence. The wind was probably blowing high and
not low, she decided. If that was possible, it would explain the
phenomenon. And yet.... She stopped in amazement again. Rushing
past her in a whirlpool of motion were several dead brown leaves,
obviously propelled by a force that was at ground level, yet not
touching her at all.
Lucille climbed the cracked church steps one at a time,
holding on tightly to the iron railing and forcing her body up
with her left arm. But again, no wind fought her. Reaching the
top, she pulled open the heavy door with ease and stepped inside,
the door swinging slowly closed. But not quite.
Caught by a powerful draft, the door began to fly back open.
Lucille caught it and felt the terrible force as the gust fought
her. As she struggled to pull the door shut, a friend grabbed the
other side and half plunged inside. "This is the worst gale I've
ever felt!" she exclaimed to Lucille, then looked at her more
closely. "Why, you're not even rumpled!" she said. "Didn't you
just come in?"
"She was right. My hair was not tossed or tumbled, nor were
my clothes in any kind of disorder," Lucille reports. "I was
completely calm and unruffled, even though a storm continued to
rage outside."
Lucille will never know for sure if an encampment of angels
threw rings of protection around her, rings that even gale-force
winds could not penetrate. But although the presence of angels is
perhaps more difficult in grasp than the wind itself, many
believe it is entirely possible.
....................
Oh, yes indeed, entirely possible, angels are here. And by the
way God DOES hear and often does answer the prayers of those not
called to understand His full truths. Yes, He does answer prayers
of the spiritually blinded. He is LOVE, and He loves all people,
even if they are not called and chosen in this life time, and in
the mean time, He can answer their prayers - Keith Hunt
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