Angels Among Us

Angel Story #1:
This is the email that started my Friday morning started.

Hi Maryann,

If you had the opportunity, would Miss O be able to come to Michigan with you?

I am offering to purchase the airline ticket for her if this is a possibility. Just ask OK?

See you at HH.

I had told Miss M that unless money came down from heaven that it just wasn't going to be a possibility for Ms. O to join us in Michigan.  We have been praying that Ms. O would understand why we couldn't take her and let her know that we would if we could.  We had looked into canceling or postponing the trip, but that was just too expensive.  We talked that we just had to accept what is was and know that Oct. 14th would come soon.  Now...we got to have some first-hand praising God moments this evening for His using His angels here on earth to bless our socks off.

PS - HH was GREAT!  So blessed that after school club is open until 6:30 pm.  :-)

Angel Story #2:
This is the facebook message that greeted me when I got home this evening:

Hi new friend!!! 

I am just so amazed and blessed by God that you were carefully placed in my life at the right time! I'm very excited to see what is next - and what is next in your life!

I just wanted to throw something out... and I don't know if its real, practical, or even possible... but I would LOVE to pay for another plane ticket to Michigan for Miss M's sister to go with you - if you want, and if its even possible. Just know that the option is there, and if you want to take me up on it, just let me know.

I'm in ____ this weekend, so we will miss you at church tomorrow! Blessings on you and your girlie. You are covered in prayer from _____.

Only the Lord provides you with new friends and gives them a heart to make an offer like this three days later.  It was like a God wind storm today!!!! 

Angel Story #3:
Tomorrow morning my dear, single, teacher friend - who likes to sleep in like I do, is coming to my house by 6:55 AM so I can fulfill my commitment and work for my school district this weekend.  And she's going to come AGAIN next Saturday morning as well.

Angel Story #4:
Sunday morning, at 6:55 AM, I am dropping off Miss M to a dear family in my life that I just went this spring in my foster care family.  They have two biological sons, and within the past two weeks have just opened their homes and heart to two different placements of little girls.  They are going to care for Miss M ALL day, take her to church with them, and even take her to his mother's birthday party!  And they are going to watch her AGAIN next Sunday as well!

Angel Story #5:
This one quite different than the rest, but I'm going to need to deal with it with my words here in order to process, and angels were at the core of it...in the beginning.

Tonight we read the story about King Aham's army coming to capture Elisa and Elisa's servant freaking out and Elisa saying "Lord, open His eyes" and then the servant seeing all the angels on chariots surrounding the city" and then Elisa asked the Lord to make the enemy army blind, God did, Elisa lead them to the Israelite army, God opened their eyes, they feed them, then sent them home, and they never attacked again.

Whew.

Yea-I thought I knew most of the Old Testament stories pretty well, too, but this is one I need to go back and reread because it was not and still is not ringing a bell.

Anyway - when we get to the part about the angels, I quoted the words to a little Gaither song we used to sing along to in the car:

"They're all above me,
Beneath me,
Before me,
They're all around me.
My Father's angel's all protect me.
Everywhere."

And then Miss M opened up with a whole new set of memories, stories, accounts, and information that she has never shared with me, and according to her, hasn't told anyone else in a long time.

It was...
Heartbreaking.
Gut-wrenching.
Confusing.
Sad.
Unfathomable.

At first I was having a hard time figuring out what had brought on the need to share
The need to unburden
The need to open up.
The need to get some things off her chest.  (Her words during her roses tonight.)

Then she said the learning that the angels were all around her made her feel better because there was a time in her life when she was little that she was always scared of a few people in her life coming up from behind her and hurting her in one way, shape, or form.

Wow.
I don't know what else to say.
Wow.

Her sharing lead to my feeble attempts to
Listen
Comfort
Advice
And listen some more.

It lead into a confusing lesson on how you still can feel love for someone who has hurt you, but that you don't want to ever see them again.

I compared it to loving a lion.
You can love a lion.
But that doesn't mean you get alone with a lion
Because history shows us that lions hurt people sometimes.
And if a lion hurt you one time.
You don't go back in and let them do it again.

(I have NO idea where that analogy came from.)

"So I can love them, but not like them or what to ever see them again."

Yeah.  I think that's what it means.

"And I should forgive them, right?  Because Jesus loves us and taught us to forgive.  Right?"

Bingo, kiddo.
Oh through the mouths of babes.

Somewhere in our bible time together tonight
I used some words and phrases and lessons I learned from:

The Body Safety Box

(Which was created and designed by my talented friend.
It's a Christmas gift needed for EVERY SINGLE CHILD.)

And my years of educational psychology.
And my years of teaching.
And my common sense.
And....well, who knows.

But....at the same time
Here I sit
On a Friday night
Wondering
Praying
Questioning
...Did I handle that right?
...Did I say enough?
...Did I say too little?
....Did I....

And then in the same breath I hear a voice saying
"It's not by might
Nor by power
But by My Spirit,
Says the Lord."

The saying goes
"God doesn't call the equipped,
He equips the called.

Here and now
Foster care is my calling

And I am
I HAVE to
RELY on HIS MIGHT
HIS POWER
HIS SPIRIT

I HAVE to allow myself to be
Made into
Broke into
Crumbled into
A wreck
A beautiful wreck
And allow HIM to do HIS work-
Through me
Around me
Over me
Behind me
In spite of me.

Praise/Prayer Requests - Throughout the blog! Did you catch them in there?