On Angels

On grace, recollection, and prayers for absent angels.

Dear Xxxxxx,

The encounter that you described in your letter has all of the characteristics of grace. That you didn't at the time associate the experience with God's presence is often a sign of the silent movement of the spirit. And the appearance of an angel such as the government office manager in such a desperate time, given that he did not know you, but seemed to be fully present in listening to you (and your description of the office as empty of others) gives full credence to my certainty.

The fact that you have, after all these years, recalled with clarity this experience, and you have assigned such importance to it as to bring it to direction, is also a clear indication of the holiness and grace of this experience. God arrived just in time, with just the right compass for your path.

Take the time to pray for your angel, for those that were absent while your angel focused God's light on you, for the inner strength that led you, on that day, to seek and trust. You were in a state of abandonment, and grace broke through the cloud of fearful uncertainty. There was no 'deserving' required of you. God sought to prime the pump of your soul on that day.

Finally, open yourself to those that will walk into your presence with an unprimed pump. They will be transformed by grace if you are abandoned in your own self-interest. God seems to rejoice in those momentary openings that we accept from God, as if to say 'There...There it is! Grab it!'.