Becky's Ladder

I awoke this morning with thoughts of Angels. I'm not sure why or what exactly I was thinking, but their 'presence' has encircled me throughout this day. My mind has turned to them so often in the past few hours that I feel compelled to write about it. I don't know exactly what I believe about Angels. I've read all the bible verses I could find referring to them but still have only a hazy and formless idea of who they are and what they do. And yet, my sense about them is that they stand around me as I sit and 'pen' these words. Psalm 91:11 says, "For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways." Hebrews 1:14 says, "Are not all Angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" Since I am one of those heirs of grace, then they have been sent to minister to me. When I first began this difficult journey, I had a daydream that has fixed itself to me securely. I was lying propped up on my bed, waiting for my son to fall asleep. My eyes were closed and thoughts of my day were running through my mind. Quite suddenly, the faces of five men, beautiful but fierce looking, flashed like a slide show, one at a time before me. And then they were gone. My eyes flew open and I somehow felt quite sure that they were my Angels, sent to minister to me and help me through this sorrow and time of testing. Now to some of you, that may seem a bit far fetched, but I have thought about those five men and have somehow been comforted by the idea of their presence.

In Genesis 28, Jacob, upon reaching Bethel, lays his head down on a stone to rest . "He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it." And so, the vagueness about Angels clears a little. I believe that according to scripture they are a very real, tangible presence here, and likely more so when we are in the midst of a storm of sadness, loss and discouragement. It gives me peace to know that they are descending those stairs on my behalf and that the Lord sits at the top and is watching over all that transpires. And He says to me, like He said to Jacob, "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, --I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (Gen. 28:15) And like Jacob, my response to this promise is, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear, --then the LORD will be my God ." (Gen. 28:20-21)