Halos And Rainbows

Angels Around Us

Sometimes things happen and we wonder how or why as they are so far out of the ordinary.  I've often wondered until last yeat Fairy Lynne explained to me - it's due to Angels, they watch over us, help us, teach us.  This is why I believe all our children, however wild, however difficult are trainee Angels and as we get older we forget that we are here to shine and in some cases re-colour our Halos.

On this page I would like to share our Angel stories, mine, yours, any we hear, if they make, you smile, cry, shiver please send them to me - magic@HalosAndRainbows.com

We were on holiday and after a really difficult day with the boys saught a hotel carvery for an early tea.  We've been there every year and it's always brilliant.

We got in and the boys seated. Then the challenge began, 3 toilet trips, spilled drinks, thrown and dropped food, mickey manners must have chpose to holiday somewhere else, it was awful and we were stressed, luckily as it was early there were few spectators.  I had noticed an elderly lady watching us from a nearby table, our eyes met and she smiled, I smiled back wishing the ground would swallow us up. I noticed she was reading a book but had no drink or food, but I didn't really take much notice, I just didn't want the boys to disturb her with their climbing around and general misbehaviour and noise.  We'd got past the main meal and decided not to have a sweet, it was too embarrassing.

Just the the lady (perfect Grandmother image for me anyway, short, white curls, bit cuddle, smiles and twinkle eyes) came over, we lookedat one another expecting to get told off.  She put her little hot hand on my shoulder and told us how she'd enjoyed watching us all.  How the children had beautiful manners and how beautifully we'd dealt with all the toilet trips and spills, the climbing and table leaving, how lovely it was to see a little family out having so much fun.  She brushed away our complaints of how they were not being very good at all with smiles and twinkles.  As we looked at one another again she turned and left, but we never saw her reach the door. 

Now, I'm not saying she was a heavens sent Angel, maybe she was someones nan, maybe she was laughing at us but for the rest of the evening we felt calm and reasssured which is a big thing with 2 small tired holiday boys to deal with.

 

Travelling Angel Story

Two travelling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, "Things aren't always what they seem"

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field. The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel "how could you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him," she accused. "The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die."

 "Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied. "When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it." "Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem."

Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every out come is always to your advantage. You just might not know it until some time later... .

The Angel At the Gate

I was told this as a little girl, I think it may even be a bible story but I'm sure there are many slightly different versions.

Once an Angel dressed  as a begger sat with a bowl and a tatty blanket out side the city gates.  After a while a man came up to him and putting nothing in the bowl asked "What are the people in this city like?"  In reply the begger asked  what they were like in the mans' last city.

"Oh they were awful people, mean selfish, greedy, wouldn't talk to you, wouldn't help," the Begger listened carefully and nodded sadly,

"You'll find them much like that here too," he said and the man wandered into the city expecting little.  A little while later another man asked the begger the sme question and agin he replied by asking how the strangers last town had been.

"They were wonderful people, kind, gentle and helpful, I was sad to leave," the Beggar smiled and told the man that it would be much the same here.  The man wandered in through the gate looking around bright eyed, happy and hopeful. 

After a while the begger sat next to him asked "Why did you give them such different answers?"

"The first man had no good in his heart and expected the worst so that is what he will find.  The second man was full of love and hope which will be reflected back on him through all his dealings." The Angel explained, he stood up loosing his rags and dirt, smiled at the begger, poured the coins into his  bowl and turning into a column of light disappeared upwards.

The remaining begger laughed out loud and spent the coins feeding the hungry children around the city gates, he was still hungry and homeless but he felt better.  Let's hope somehow his good deed came back to help him, it would be nice to think so wouldn't it? 

Can you work out the lesson?

 

A big thank-you to Fairy Jane who sent in this beautiful Quote written by St Clare

Angels are here, walking amongst us, guiding lights sent to light the way,

Angels are here sent from above, feel their heavenly presence by night and by day.

They watch over us, showing us the way.

From heaven to earth, from earth to heaven, guiding the souls of the saints heavenward.

Angels are here guiding us home.

This was forwarded to me by a friend who is not on Halos with us yet and is a beautiful story of how we can be Angels to one another.

Would you have made the same choice?

At a fund-raising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay,
physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an
opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'

Then he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?'
Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball. However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least
make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.
The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly
towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a  slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's
head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.
He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the
ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the
pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay' Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay, run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.

'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his
face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY:

We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help
realize the 'natural order of things.' So many seemingly trivial
interactions between two people present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?

A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.

May your day, be a Shay Day.

About Angels

I'm sure you've all seen varients of this before but it's so sweet it was just begging to be on Halos.

Everybody's got it all wrong. Angels don't wear halos anymore.
I forget why but scientists are working on it.
(Olive, 9)

It's not easy to become an angel! First, you die. Then you go to
heaven then there's still the flight training to go through. And then
you got to agree to wear those angel clothes.
(Matthew, 9)

Angels work for God, and watch over kids when God has
to go do something else.
(Mitchell, 7)

My guardian angel helps me with math, but he's not much good
for science.
(Henry, 8 )

Angels don't eat but they drink milk from holy cows.
(Jack, 6)

Angels talk all the way while they're flying you up to heaven. They
tell you where you went wrong before you got dead.
(Daniel, 9)

When an angel gets mad, he takes a deep breath and counts to te n. And
when he lets our his breath, somewhere there's a tornado.
(Regan, 10)

Angels have a lot to do and they keep very busy. If you lose a tooth,
an angel comes in through your window and leaves money under your
pillow. Then when it gets cold, angels go north for the winter.
(Sara, 6)

Angels live in cloud houses made by God and his son, who's a
very good carpenter.
(Jared,8)

All angels are girls because they gotta wear dresses and boys
don't go for it.
(Antonia, 9)

My angel is my grandma who died last year. She got a big head start
on helping me while she was still down here on earth.
(Katelyn, 9)

Some of the angels are in charge of helping heal sick animals and pets.
And if they don't make the animals get better, they help the kid
get over it.
(Vicki,8)

What I don't get about angels is why, when someone is in love,
they shoot arrows at them.
(Sarah, 7)

Which leads to the odd things kids are told - remember any of these?