My Nine Christmas Angels-by Heidi McLaughlin

 

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