Read Online Angels Watching Over Me by Lurlene McDaniel - Free Book Online
Authors: Lurlene McDaniel
Ads: Link
God, and for his disloyalty he and all his angels were thrown out of heaven. Now Lucifer roams the earth seeking men’s souls, leading people away from God, deceiving us and causing us great trouble.”
Leah was astounded. “All this is in the Bible? I had no idea.” She thumbed through the angel book again, trying to imagine this strange spirit world.
“You know, angels can assume human form if they wish. Perhaps that is why they have been drawn this way.” Charity touched one of the pictures. “Angels are strong and powerful. They are immortal, but they do not have souls as we do. They do God’s bidding, but they serve people too.”
“Serve? Like how?”
“In the Psalms it says that God commands his angels to guard us in everything we do. And in the Book of Hebrews it says that we areto be charitable to strangers because we do not know when we might be entertaining angels.”
Charity’s knowledge about angels astounded Leah. And it intrigued her to think such possibilities existed. “So now I have to be nice to
everybody
?”
Charity giggled. “You sound as if kindness is a chore.”
Leah blushed. “Well, there are people I know who
aren’t
angels for sure. But you really believe angels exist, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Even though we can’t see them?”
“We can see them if they allow us to, but even if we do meet one, we do not always know it. They can seem most ordinary.”
“But why would one appear to a person?”
“Sometimes to help us if we are in trouble. Sometimes to fight off evil.”
“Why don’t they always come to people’s rescue?” Leah wondered where the angels had been when her grandmother had been in such terrible pain and had lain dying.
“Sending an angel is God’s choice.”
Leah could tell by the expressions on the faces of the Amish girls that they believed everything they were saying. Personally, shethought the whole discussion was bizarre. To her, God seemed arbitrary and angels better imagined as the sweet-faced, winged creatures she saw in the books, rather than the frightening creatures Charity had first described.
The library door opened, and Molly poked her head inside. “Come on, you three. We’re about to put the angel on top of the tree.”
Out in the rec room, Leah stood against the wall with Charity, Rebekah and Ethan, but her mind was elsewhere. Charity’s voice, her words and deep convictions, were impossible to forget.
An intern had climbed the ladder with the angel and was placing it on the topmost branch of the tree. The decorative angel was robed in a red-and-white velvet gown. Its hair was golden, and its wings of wire were overlaid with white gauze. The intern scrambled down the ladder and folded it hastily. Across the room someone flicked off the overhead lights.
“Are we ready?” Molly called.
A chorus of children’s voices called, “Yes!”
Molly threw a switch, and hundreds of lights blazed to life on the tree. The onlookers clapped and cheered—all except for Leah and the three Amish beside her. In the beautiful glow of the Christmas lights, their faces lookedtroubled. Leah allowed her gaze to linger on the angel, which was bathed in pale yellow light from the bulbs on nearby branches.
She was positive that the others in the room thought the angel ornament was beautiful, perfect. But to Leah, the angel now looked waxy and fake. It was just a doll, bearing little resemblance to the heavenly creature it was supposed to represent.
L eah didn’t sleep well that night. She tossed and turned, remembering the party and her Amish friends’ reactions to it. Rebekah had been frightened of the man dressed as Santa Claus and had taken the gift he offered only after Leah had taken it first and pressed it into her hand.
“May I have it?” Rebekah had asked Ethan, who had looked uncertain about the whole thing.
“I’m not sure you should take something from a stranger,” he said.
“It’s all right,” Leah told them.
Leah was astounded. “All this is in the Bible? I had no idea.” She thumbed through the angel book again, trying to imagine this strange spirit world.
“You know, angels can assume human form if they wish. Perhaps that is why they have been drawn this way.” Charity touched one of the pictures. “Angels are strong and powerful. They are immortal, but they do not have souls as we do. They do God’s bidding, but they serve people too.”
“Serve? Like how?”
“In the Psalms it says that God commands his angels to guard us in everything we do. And in the Book of Hebrews it says that we areto be charitable to strangers because we do not know when we might be entertaining angels.”
Charity’s knowledge about angels astounded Leah. And it intrigued her to think such possibilities existed. “So now I have to be nice to
everybody
?”
Charity giggled. “You sound as if kindness is a chore.”
Leah blushed. “Well, there are people I know who
aren’t
angels for sure. But you really believe angels exist, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Even though we can’t see them?”
“We can see them if they allow us to, but even if we do meet one, we do not always know it. They can seem most ordinary.”
“But why would one appear to a person?”
“Sometimes to help us if we are in trouble. Sometimes to fight off evil.”
“Why don’t they always come to people’s rescue?” Leah wondered where the angels had been when her grandmother had been in such terrible pain and had lain dying.
“Sending an angel is God’s choice.”
Leah could tell by the expressions on the faces of the Amish girls that they believed everything they were saying. Personally, shethought the whole discussion was bizarre. To her, God seemed arbitrary and angels better imagined as the sweet-faced, winged creatures she saw in the books, rather than the frightening creatures Charity had first described.
The library door opened, and Molly poked her head inside. “Come on, you three. We’re about to put the angel on top of the tree.”
Out in the rec room, Leah stood against the wall with Charity, Rebekah and Ethan, but her mind was elsewhere. Charity’s voice, her words and deep convictions, were impossible to forget.
An intern had climbed the ladder with the angel and was placing it on the topmost branch of the tree. The decorative angel was robed in a red-and-white velvet gown. Its hair was golden, and its wings of wire were overlaid with white gauze. The intern scrambled down the ladder and folded it hastily. Across the room someone flicked off the overhead lights.
“Are we ready?” Molly called.
A chorus of children’s voices called, “Yes!”
Molly threw a switch, and hundreds of lights blazed to life on the tree. The onlookers clapped and cheered—all except for Leah and the three Amish beside her. In the beautiful glow of the Christmas lights, their faces lookedtroubled. Leah allowed her gaze to linger on the angel, which was bathed in pale yellow light from the bulbs on nearby branches.
She was positive that the others in the room thought the angel ornament was beautiful, perfect. But to Leah, the angel now looked waxy and fake. It was just a doll, bearing little resemblance to the heavenly creature it was supposed to represent.
L eah didn’t sleep well that night. She tossed and turned, remembering the party and her Amish friends’ reactions to it. Rebekah had been frightened of the man dressed as Santa Claus and had taken the gift he offered only after Leah had taken it first and pressed it into her hand.
“May I have it?” Rebekah had asked Ethan, who had looked uncertain about the whole thing.
“I’m not sure you should take something from a stranger,” he said.
“It’s all right,” Leah told them.
Similar Books
