Expecting Angels                                            

 For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. (Psalms 91:11)

My position as a Director of Nursing in a long term care facility sometimes required long hours. On this, a day like any other day in January of 2001, I ran later than usual on my twenty eight mile commute to work. The day before I worked sixteen hours, eight hours directing nursing and eight hours giving medications. I was exhausted when I got home. The next morning I almost took the day off. But I really needed to attend an important meeting at ten a.m.

Back in the fall I sold my 1997 Mustang to get a bigger car with a smoother ride. In the meantime I borrowed a car from my Daddy until I could get another one. Reluctant I drove what I lovingly referred to as, "the land barge", a 1989 Mercury Grand Marquis, built like a tank.

Driving to work, eating breakfast and listening to my favorite CD, I stopped at a red light at a busy intersection. I remember thinking, ‘I should pull up to the driver beside me and tell him his hubcap is about to fall off’. The next thing I remember I heard a loud noise. My window down half way, I looked toward the sound. I saw a huge truck on its side sliding toward me at a phenomenal rate of speed. Sparks flying I knew it was going to hit me and it did. I only had time to say, "Lord, that is going to hit me!". I grabbed the steering wheel as tight as I could. It happened so fast.

I am not sure what I expected the Lord to do in an instant. But, what I do know is He got to me before the truck did.

Never loosing consciousness I did not feel the actual impact. Jesus and His mighty angels got between me and the massive truck. I do not recall being knocked two hundred and seventy five feet into a gas station parking lot. I don't remember being airborne. I do remember something else though. I remember an incredible feeling of awesome peace and love like I have never experienced before. God gave me a glimpse of heaven. The hedge of protection came between me and the incredible weight and speed of the huge truck.

My car crumpled into a heap of metal trapped me inside. But inside the car were angels. I saw them and I felt them. They were there immediately, and I remember saying to them to go ahead and take me if it was time. I had no fear of going with them. I wanted to go with them. Nothing else mattered.

 I did not hear any audible voices but I knew somehow I was not going to die, not yet. Somehow they told me. Jesus was there. He did not speak but I felt His arms around me. Even after the paramedics got me into the ambulance, the angels were still with me. I knew they were there and that was all that mattered. Their presence was overwhelming and indescribably comforting.

At the hospital I could hear all the nurses and doctors talking and scrambling while they worked with me. Critical and loosing blood I could feel myself slipping away. The angels were there just in case. By the time I was evaluated in the emergency room the pain was almost unbearable. Again, I saw the light of the angels, small tiny brilliant lights circling around above me. Even through the pain I smiled and felt comforted by their presence. I talked to them, this time asking for them to take me because the pain was so intense. The things of this earth were "strangely dim".

The next thing I remember is seeing my husband and my parents. I started to cry. Doctors were rushing me to surgery. A surgical nurse leaned down and called my name, "Angela, in a minute you will be asleep and you are going to be fine." Then she started praying for me so quietly and sweetly in my ear as the anesthesia took effect.

Waking up in the ICU some days later recovery began. The first thing I told my mother was about the angels. My life will never be the same. I strive to never forget the feeling I had that day. I almost left this world, and in the process was given a great gift from God. He offered to me the blessed assurance of His presence and His awesome power and love. I never want to forget this small glimpse of heaven. I felt the incredible love of God present with me in "the land barge".

Lord Jesus. Thank You for Your awesome love and protection. Thank You Jesus for the angels that watch over us. Bring to our remembrance Your Words as You tell us "Fear not, for I am with you.". In Your Holy name I pray. Amen

©Angela Posey-Arnold 2009

 

The Power of Praying Grandmothers

By Angela Posey-Arnold

 

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.

The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.( Isaiah 26:3-6 KJV)

 

As she lay on the couch praying for God to heal her newborn granddaughter a verse of Scripture came to her mind. Quickly she sat up and marked the verse in her Bible, Isaiah 26:3-6 settled her mind and heart as she trusted God to heal her infant granddaughter.

 

Fully believing and completely trusting in her Lord, Etha told her son, “We have to trust her to the Lord. While I was praying the Lord gave me a clear message that she is going to be just fine, we just have to trust her to the Lord.”

 

At two weeks of age the baby had been diagnosed with Congenital Hip Dysplasia. Her malformed legs were uneven, one several inches longer than the other. One hip socket had not formed correctly and the outlook was grim for this baby’s future ability to walk.

 

The doctor told the parents, “even if she does walk she will have to wear a built up shoe and she will limp if she walks at all. There are some things we can do but the statistics of her ever being normal are not in her favor, we will start treatment as soon as possible.”

 

He went on to explain, “she will have to undergo general anesthesia and be placed in a body cast. The cast will have to be changed every month.”

 

The baby adapted well to the body cast with her legs in a horizontal position. Special equipment such as an adaptive stroller, high chair and a rocking chair with no arms were all needed and supplied by family and friends. The most important gift of all was the prayers of her family, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles and church family. Grandmothers on both sides joined together in trust and prayer believing God to watch over their precious little one.

 

Amazingly she was a very happy baby. The cast didn’t bother her, she didn’t know any different.

She learned to crawl by pulling herself and heavy cast along with her arms. She giggled and laughed when her Daddy would pick her up and bounce her in the air using the cast to hold her up. One such day, the cast split, right down the middle.

 

It was almost time for it to be changed anyway so the doctor decided to take it off and x-ray her hip before putting a new cast on. The cast off and the baby still asleep the x-ray results were given to the doctor. He rushed to talk to her parents excited to tell them what his own eyes had a hard time believing,

 

“Look”, Dr. Meyer said, “I don’t understand it and I don’t have an explanation for it. Two months ago one of her legs was two inches shorter than the other, but today, they are even. Her legs are the same length. She is a miracle, she is a miracle baby.”

 

Trust in faith believing. Isaiah 26:3-6

 

As she grew she wore leg braces for strength and then corrective shoes. Every month until she was sixteen years old she saw Dr. Meyer. Every month he would shake his head and say, “God’s miracle baby, there is no other way to explain it.” He called in other doctors and interns and had her walk up and down the hall. Then he would say to them, “this is the power of praying parents and grandparents, never discount prayer.”

 

Looking back, 48 years later, over the events and what Dr. Meyer said I’d have to agree it was the power of praying parents and grandparents. The baby was me, Angela Posey-Arnold. Forever thankful I can walk. I am thankful for a normal childhood. I was able to run and even jump though I was told not to. Jumping out of swings as if nothing was ever wrong with me and climbing on monkey bars only to show off my imitation of a monkey. I marched in the school band, danced at the school dances and church camp, and rode my bike all over my hometown. All of which were possible because of God’s amazing grace. Doing the simplest of things like the pleasure of walking on the beach to harder things like skiing behind the boat all without a pain, all without a limp or built up shoes or corrective hardware. God blessed me with a normal childhood and I will be forever thankful.

 

I miss Dr. Meyer. He passed away many years ago. I miss my Grandmothers. They are all in heaven now. But, somehow I know in my heart they still talk about the time God answered their prayers for me. As I hold Grandmother’s Bible in my hands I turn to the verse in Isaiah 26:3-6 to look once again at my name written there as part of her fervent prayers.

 

© Angela Posey-Arnold 2008

 

Grace and the Angels Sing

 

I can’t really remember much about Uncle Joe but my Mother remembers him well. I have heard the story many times. I feel as though I was there too. From her childhood she recalls Uncle Joe’s farm with fond memories.

 

The story begins with Mother and her cousins cuddling up in homemade quilts in front of the fire on a cold night. Intently they would listen as Uncle Joe told them his “special” story. It was always the same story and never varied in the details. As he began to speak in a kind gentle voice it was obvious that the experience he was about to share had changed his life. Peace and serenity would come over him like a flood while he shared the story with them. Joe gently remembered out loud his experience with angels, singing angels.

 

Psalms 91 promises us that God will “send His angels to keep charge over us to keep us in all our ways, lest we cast our foot against a stone”. Scripture does not tell us exactly how the angels will do that, but we know they do. Uncle Joe had proof, he was living proof. The proof and the story continue through me. Stories like this always should.

 

Times were hard in the early 1900s. Purchasing a new horse and buggy was like buying a new Cadillac. Joe’s father was a farmer who worked hard to make a living and to keep the family farm going. In the spring of 1918 the family purchased a new horse and buggy. It was Joe’s privilege to go to town, pick it up and bring it home. The spring of 1918 brought no exception to hard work so 23 year old Joe was excited to pick up the new rig in town.

 

The rainy season was fast approaching and some of the farmers were low on supplies. A neighbor had planned a supply trip into town so Uncle Joe hitched a ride into town with him. The plan was for Joe to ride to town with the neighbor and pick up the new rig and bring it back.

 

Usually it was a 12 mile trip into Cullman, Alabama from Jones Chapel where the farm was. On this day the trip would be longer. The main bridge over the rapid Crooked Creek had been washed out in a recent storm. Clarkston Bridge was notorious for being washed out in the spring which made the main road too dangerous to travel. The bridge was at the bottom of a steep curvy hill and it would be almost impossible to stop on such a grade. The long way around made it a half days trip to town but it was the only option with the bridge out over Crooked Creek.

 

Joe and the neighbor cheerfully left Jones Chapel early that morning and the sun was shining when they departed on their way. They arrived in town about one o’clock in the afternoon with the sun still shining. He picked up the new rig and then stopped into the general store for some needed supplies. This all took a little longer than he had expected. He hitched his horse to the post and loaded all the supplies onto the new buggy. In the store the other farmers were discussing the impending weather. All indications were that there was a strong storm brewing in the west. Knowing that most bad weather comes from the west he contemplated staying the night but thought he could make it home before night fall.

 

As he traveled along the road toward home he began to notice that the sky was quickly turning dark. He could smell rain coming as most farmers can. As he topped the hill he could clearly see a serious dark and ominous cloud approaching. The wind began to blow and the horse was frightened. Joe was frightened.

 

Joe wasn’t used to the roads on the long way around. He had only traveled that way with his father on one other occasion.

 

The storm grew stronger as it closed in on him. The winds began to howl and blow the trees in a circular motion. The rain was so hard he could not see. He realized that he was lost in the storm. The horse was new so he knew he had no help coming from the horse. Joe was afraid he would drive off into the now swelled and raging river. He feared that bridges were washed out on every road. He prayed and asked God to show him the way.

 

Joe buckled down and trotted the horse a little faster hoping that he was on the right road. The rain was coming in sheets. The thunder and lightning cracked as the wind howled more ferocious around them. He continued to pray. The new horse was resistant and Joe struggled to keep him moving.

 

He looked for shelter where he could wait out the storm. There were no houses anywhere. No shelter from the storm. The roads were becoming muddy and dangerous. He knew he was probably getting close to the river, known for its rocky edges and rapids after a rain. The further he went fear consumed him. He could not see a foot in front of him. Stopping in mud and lighting was not an option. Never before had he felt so afraid in a storm. This storm was bad, real bad. Just as it started to hail he faintly thought he heard singing. It sounded like a church congregation singing. Suddenly he heard it clearer and louder. Almost as loud as the wind and hail flailing around him

 

The horse had been walking slowly without such a strain. As Joe began to hear the singing it seemed as though the horse was following the sound of singing. He continued to trudge through the storm. The singing got louder and clearer. All of a sudden on the far hill he saw a glowing light. Bright the light beamed into the storm unlike anything he had ever seen before. The light seemed to appear suddenly in the dark. Pulling on the reigns he directed the horse toward the light.

 

Joe saw that the light and the singing were coming from a church. The entire hillside was illuminated from what appeared to be lanterns in a church window. Still he saw nothing that he recognized. Remember this was 1918—no electricity. No flood lights only gas lanterns.

 

As he approached the singing was the sweetest he had ever heard. Uncle Joe recognized the song, it was Amazing Grace. The echoes of sound surrounded him as he heard gentle singing “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound”. Oh how sweet the sound was to Uncle Joe. Peace washed over him and replaced the fear even though the storm continued to rage around him.

 

Exhausted, cold, soaked and somewhat confused he was drawn to the church by the brilliant lights and singing of a congregation. The closer he got the faster he reined the horse. The animal had almost given all it had but as though led by a spirit it sprinted as Joe called out commands to giddy-up.

 

The light was directly ahead, bright lights shining in the dark stormy night. As he got closer he could see clearer. He could now clearly see the church with a lantern burning inside the window and a pot bellied stove red from the warming fire inside. He recognized the church to be one close to his home, Pilgrim’s Rest Baptist Church. He had been there many times but he had never seen it quite like it was that stormy night. Never had he realized how awesomely beautiful the church was. Pilgrim’s Rest took on all new meaning for Joe.

 

As he approached he saw many horses and buggies hitched to the rail. He got close to the other buggies as the rain continued to pelt. A loud clap of thunder rolled in the sky as he hitched his buggy beside the others. Joe felt peace as he realized that he had found his way and had found shelter in the storm. He recognized his surroundings. He recognized the church. Uncle Joe had found his way.

 

He felt safe that he recognized the church to be Pilgrim’s Rest on the banks on Crooked Creek at Clarkston Bridge. If he had gone any further he would have driven off into the rapids of Crooked Creek and would have surely died. Peace, calm and a sense of safety came over him as he knew God had heard and answered his prayers.

 

As he shook off the rain from his hat he started to get down from his buggy to go inside and get warm. When his foot hit the first step down, in that instant, he was totally alone. Everything went dark and the singing stopped. He turned to look at the buggies and they were all gone. Everything had disappeared and all was quite except the storm. As mysteriously as the lights and singing appeared, they disappeared. There was no one there. No singing. No people. No light. No buggies there beside his. No lantern in the window. No pot bellied stove blazing red with fire. Nothing but silence and dark and the sound of the storm. He was totally alone.

 

Uncle Joe knew that instant he had been graced by the presence and protection of angels sent by God to protect him. It was angels singing. God had sent them to show Uncle Joe the way home. There never was one doubt about that for Uncle Joe.

 

Many years later Uncle Joe worked with the crew that rebuilt the Clarkston Bridge over Crooked Creek. As Uncle Joe grew older he never forgot the angels singing. The story never changed but the experience changed his life. He always said, “Angels singing is just not something that a person could forget”. He told the story many times and each time he would sing the verses to Amazing Grace, singing sweetly and softly with almost a mystery to his voice. His face would light up as he seemed to take himself back to that stormy day in 1918. Through each verse his voice would get louder and more determined as he sang the last verse. “When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun”.

 

Amazing Grace how sweet the sound, especially when angels sing.

 

This is a true story.

 

© Angela Posey-Arnold 2008