Angels

The Oil Man

jbloustein — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:08:04 -0600

With only three weeks before we had to move, Mike and I still had nowhere to go.

The house we were renting was up for sale, we couldn’t afford to buy our own and the right rental was just nowhere to be found. I filled the kitchen sink with dishes, wishing I could clean up life’s other messes as easily.

What if we can’t find a place? I thought. We’ll be out on the street in no time.

Night Winds

jbloustein — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:09:42 -0600

Camping out in the woods for a week was supposed to relax me.

But while my husband slept, I stared into the inky darkness and worried. One daughter battled rheumatoid arthritis; the other was recently divorced and trying to start up a business.

Life was so much simpler when the girls were young, I thought. If they couldn’t sleep at night I’d tell them to imagine themselves outdoors in a peaceful place with flowers blowing in the breeze.

Jacques Noel

nhammerling — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:56:44 -0500

Five days until Christmas and I had a million things to do. I’d been baking all day and the kitchen was a mess, but there was no time to clean it up now.

My husband, Bob, and I had a party to get to, and we were late. I slipped one foot into my panty hose. The phone rang. What now? I thought, hopping over to answer it.

“’Ello?” a heavily accented voice asked. “May I speak to Bryan, s’il vous plaît?”

Let It Shine

batch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:23:07 -0500

After 30 years of marriage my husband left me for another woman. With the kids grown and my husband gone, I wasn't sure who I was anymore.

"God, help me know your plan for me," I prayed one night. My eyes fixed on a cluster of red and green lights glowing in my neighbors yard. They'd put them up for Christmas and had never gotten around to taking them down.

Good Medicine

batch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:23:07 -0500

How could I have forgotten my stomach medicine of all things? On a Thanksgiving trip there was no turning down my sister's delicious spread!

In a panic I raced to the nearest drugstore and hoped the pharmacist could get my doctor on the phone.

Waiting at the pharmacy I started chatting with the customer in line ahead of me about how I had left my stomach pills at home.

"Isn't that medicine a godsend?" he said. "Without it I wouldn't be able to eat half of the goodies that'll be served up tomorrow."

Personal Shopper

batch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:23:08 -0500

December always means catalogs. I sat at the kitchen table one morning, flipping through the pages.

It would be my first Christmas without my husband, Bud. All I wanted was to know he was happy in heaven.

A string of jade beads caught my eye. It might have been something I'd have asked Bud to buy me for Christmas. I admired the necklace often over the next few days, but eventually threw the catalog away. Bud had given me my last present.

Band of Snowy Angels

batch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:23:06 -0500

In the 10 years or so I've taken photographs at the North Como church, the annual quilter's drive has become a favorite subject of mine.

Every December before the ladies donate their original, handmade quilts to charity they are laid out to be photographed.

One year there were over a hundred, each unique. I was snapping pictures for the bulletin when Pastor David hurried in. "You've got to see this," he told the group. "Go out into the parking lot and don't turn around until I tell you."

A Heavenly Medley

batch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:23:06 -0500

Music always lifted my spirits. As a little girl in the church choir I liked to imagine what God's heavenly angel choir sounded like.

Tonight I was so lonely that I was sure the very voices of the angels on high didn't have the power to soothe me.

My sister and I had spent the evening playing Santa for our parents, slipping presents under their tree while they slept. Now I was driving home to an empty apartment. No one waited there for me. When I woke up Christmas morning, I would be alone.

The Jingle Bell

batch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:23:09 -0500

Lou, an Air Force officer, was often away from me and our two sons. It was a surprise treat when he came home Christmas Day and took us to see The Polar Express.

In the movie a boy gets a bell from Santa that can only be heard by those who believe in the magic of Christmas. Five-year-old Gabriel wanted his own "I believe bell." Lou found him one.

Not Such a Silent Night

batch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:23:08 -0500

What a way to spend Christmas Eve: visiting my husband, Rick, who was stuck in the hospital with food poisoning.

Two girls lugged a big black case onto the elevator with me—a harp! "We had a harpist at our wedding," I said.

"I'm playing for the patients tonight," one of them explained. The girls and I all got out on Rick's floor. "You go," Rick said sleepily when I told him about the harpist. "I don't have the energy."