I was around seven or eight when I realized that there was two way communication between us and God. I knew we could pray to Him and He would hear us, I just didn’t know He could send messages down to us.
There was a Jack and Jill bathroom that separated my moms room from the one I shared with my little sister. I had woken in the middle of the night with the urge to go to the restroom. Sitting on the toilet I could see through my moms doorway into her room. It took me a minute to realize that she was not only awake, but sitting at the end of her bed. From my line of sight I could only see the back of her head and back. I finished up and walked into her room. There she was sitting with her long legs hanging over the footboard staring at the blank wall in front of her.
I walked up until I stood right next to her and looked up at her face. She looked peaceful, calm and still. I gazed back at the wall wondering what in the world held her attention. “Mom, what are you looking at?” She finally turned her head toward me, surprised that I was there.
“It’s an Angel. A beautiful bright angel rocking a baby.”
“Why?” I asked.
She sighed, “I don’t know. Go back to bed.”
I don’t remember being afraid as I walked back to my room. I don’t recall feeling as if something significant had happened. My last thoughts were climbing back into bed and snuggling under the covers.
I woke up with the sun shining through my window and the sound of the phone ringing. I knew it was still early because the house was quiet. I heard the floor creek as my mom walked into the kitchen to answer the phone. I got out of the bed and walked into the room with her and new immediately that something was wrong. She was talking quietly and tears were streaming down her face. I tried to stand close enough to catch her words. When she got off the phone, she explained that my baby cousin had died in the middle of the night from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). As we set and cried I thought back to the angel from the night before.
The angel had come to give a message. Nothing could erase the pain and sadness I felt with the passing of my little cousin. Knowing he was resting in the arms of an angel helped my youthful mind cope with the grieving process that followed.
I recently reached out to my mom to let her know I would be sharing this story. She was shocked with my memory of the events. She recalled her experience with no problem, but she did not remember me ever being in the room with her the night she seen the angel. Our God stories are never just for us and we never know the extensive reach each of those ordained moments can have on the lives of those around us.