I remember one hot summer day when Grandpa was resting under a small grove of gray pine trees. I heard Grandma hollered at him to watch out for us grandkids. Her little angels. His head bent, hat over his eyes with a gentle snore, he watched us. Not sure if he knew, but as he slept, we watched him too.
1 Thessalonians 5-6 - "Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober."
It became a game.
The watched being the watchers. All was going well till one of the grand kids did some thing that they were not supposed to do. It was like he could see even with his eyes closed. He would open his eyes, raise his head, push back his hat and then no more snoring, but a firm voice we would hear, “I saw what you did."
Daniel 4:13 - "I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven."
Hebrews 4-13 - "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."
Now a few summers passed and Grandpa was told he would have to have gall bladder surgery. Before going into surgery, the doctor told him he had found quite a large mass near the gall bladder. He wanted to go in and survey the area and determine even if Grandpa should even have the surgery. The doctor said it could be real bad. Needless to say, at first, Grandpa was a bit concerned. Then he remember that his Father in Heaven watches over him. So Grandpa went under the watchful care of an anesthesiologist and the surgeon. All went well, the mass about the size of a coffee cup was some scar tissue from a previous surgery, nothing serious. The doctor removed the mass and the gall bladder.
Released from the hospital, Grandpa returned home. Now at this time Grandpa had moved into the 20th century. He had bought a used black and white television. He said he got it to watch the weather, as his senses had dull and except for his arthritis he could not tell the weather.
Grandma fixed him a nice hot lunch and made his favorite chair as comfortable as she could so he could recover from the surgery. Grandpa started watching a TV show. A woman on the program said God had told her to go to a cemetery and take pictures of spirits and angels. They showed some pictures, but all Grandpa saw was blurred lights. She said the bright hovering angels were those who had just recently acquired a new soul from the recently departed.
Grandma told him she would go sleep in the front room so not to disturb him in his sleep. She said she did not want to bump into him and cause him any pain. That night Grandpa tried to sleep. He had a sudden pain. His eyes opened and he saw on the right side of the foot of his bed a light hovering above. He thought, about that TV show, angels here! He thought he must be dreaming. His eyes still half shut, he thought, "No, I am not dreaming." So he again opened his eyes. By now the shimmering light was slowing moving to the left side of the bed. Again, he just knew he was dreaming, so he pinched himself to be sure. The pain from the pinch assured him that he was indeed awake. This time the hovering light was moving towards the headboard and directly toward him. All this time that light was hovering, watching and coming closer to him.
In a half dazed, half awake state of mind, the realization struck him that an angel was coming after him to meet Jesus. "So," he thought, "since I am awake, I will turn on my night light and meet my angel face to face. And if they have come to get someone, I will tell them Grandma is asleep in the front room, go see her."
To his surprise, it was only a mylar balloon coming toward him. It had came loose from a potted plant some one had given his as a recovery present. Floating loosely under the movement of air from the ceiling fan, it was wandering about the room. But he said to himself, "Wait, I saw a light."
Turning off his night light, he looked about his bedroom, There at the window, a light. He then saw a street light that had been installed by the electric company where one was not before. This had been done while he was in the hospital. The light had been shining through his bedroom widow and bouncing off the balloon as it floated around him. He had been watched!
As he lay back down to sleep, the awareness came to him that angels truly had been all around him. During his surgery and recovery with the doctors, nurses, hospital staff and his wife, all who watched over him and heard his voice as he required healing.
Psalm 34-7 - "The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them."
Psalm 34-15 - "The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry." Hebrews 13-2 - "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."
Psalm 91-11 - "For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways."
We may not be aware, but angels are with us, some seen, most unseen. Always watching, reporting and keeping us in all our ways.
---
Charles Finney
ccfinney@yahoo.com