Often I’ve wondered what it would feel like when things
“happened here on earth as it is in Heaven.” After all Heaven’s standards are
lofty and unattainable for imperfect humans. Or are they? In the last five
weeks I’ve discovered and experienced our Heavenly Father’s love when He
employed hundreds of people to be His angels to do His Kingdom work.
My beloved husband Jack, the love of my life for over twenty
years, suddenly passed away from a massive heart attack on November 15, 2016.
God knows that in our darkest hours we are raw and helpless to eat, or make
decisions. That’s when God sends His angels.
· Angels
come when called. Our combined family of five children and twelve
grandchildren were scattered all over North American when this crisis began. They left family vacations in Florida,
conferences, school classes, appointments and business deals in order to
support me. For almost two weeks my family surrounded me in love, prayers, food
and helped me make endless decisions.
· Angels do
necessary and practical things. My stepson David and stepdaughter Janice took
on all Executor duties; dealt with all paperwork and looked after distributing
all their father’s clothes. What a heavenly gift to have those painful and
necessary details attended to.
· Angels
hear the call of distress. Soon I was alone in the house and winter came
with a vengeance. Jack had always
shovelled our l driveway and I wondered how I would be able to handle it. As the snow piled up I became more anxious
and asked God to help me. The next time I looked out the window my driveway was
shovelled. My secret shovelling angel
has kept my driveway clear all winter.
· Angels
know when you are sick. I was flat on my back with the nasty flu, fever and
cough and clearly not able to cook for myself. An angel friend showed up at my
door with chicken noodle soup, a flower arrangement to cheer me up, and dessert
to top it off.
· Angels
know I can’t figure out remote controls. Another dear angel friend presented
me with a gift of “one-stop Logitech”
remote to replace all the other 5 mysterious controls. Finally I was able to
turn on the T.V. and listen to music. It
took another angel to come along to set up my T.V’s and
remotes so that I could
actually use them.
· Angels
know when you don’t have strength to clean your house. A beautiful mother that I have been mentoring
for a number of years was my cleaning angel.
After two weeks and hundreds of people coming through my house, it
needed a thorough clean and my angel cleaned it from top to bottom. Every
corner, every nook. It was beautiful.
· Angels
know you need laughter. God gave me
an angel to take me to the movies and help me to once again…laugh out loud.
· Angels
know you need help to fix stuff. In
the middle of all my grief, my microwave broke, lights burned out and sinks
plugged up. God tapped my brother-in-law on the shoulder to be my “helper-fixer
angel” and he’s been a Godsend.
· Angels
who are actually sisters. My sister actually has angel wings that you cannot
see in this lifetime. She is my beautiful gift that is always there for me,
checks up on me and supports me in every way imaginable.
This Christmas God sent His son to show the world how to
live and love in a way that would allow mankind to experience bits of heaven on
earth. It is the most beautiful thing when people allow the Father’s love to
flow through them in tangible ways that make a difference in someone else’s
life. It would take a book to tell you
all the stories of how God manifested His love and shone His light through
other people during my dark Christmas season.
To the hundreds of people who brought food, sent money,
flowers, gave hugs, shared my tears, prayed for me and gave me evidence of
God’s love, I say, “Thank you.”
Heidi McLaughlin lives in the beautiful vineyards of the Okanagan Valley
in Kelowna, British Columbia. Heidi has been widowed twice. She is a mom and
step mom of a wonderful, eclectic blended family of 5 children and 12
grandchildren. When Heidi is not working, she loves to curl up with a great
book, or golf and laugh with her family and special friends.
Her latest book RESTLESS FOR MORE: Fulfillment in Unexpected Places
(Including a FREE downloadable Study Guide) is now available at Amazon.ca;
Amazon.com, Goodreads.com or her website: www.heartconnection.ca
3 comments:
I love you Heidi. Thank you for proving that God DOES see us....and He never leaves us.
Hello Heidi. My sincere thanks to you for sharing this beautiful review and tribute of your "Angels" and our Heavenly Father's loving care. Recent weeks have brought back to my mind the image of strapping, smiling youthful Jack as I knew him during his time in London, several decades ago. Thoughts and prayers continue for you and your family. ~~+~~
Heidi: This is a beautiful record of God's faithfulness. Thanks for sharing it with us. It strengthens my faith. May He continue to send you angels as you need them, and through them His own comforting presence.
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