Angels

Be advised that I am NOT an expert on angels. I know what I've read in the Bible about them, and I know what I have experienced first hand. And that is what I am finally, after a few years of silence, going to share. I feel that it is time to share my angelic experience.

A few years ago, at harvest time, I was driving home. I was not tired.  It wasn't dark out - it was after supper. I turned off the highway and headed north to our farm.  Our yard is about a mile off the highway.  The road is straight. We have a hedge of trees that encircle our 5 acre yard site. Within seconds of turning off the highway I was in absolute awe of what I saw.  Our yard was surrounded by the most amazing, glorious, bright white angels.  There are no words to adequately portray the sight that I was given the privilege of seeing. I pulled over.  I closed my eyes.  I opened them again.  And I still saw the angels. The hairs on my arm stood up.  But I experienced such peace and overwhelming gratitude to the Lord for allowing me to see what He had shown me. I couldn't even talk about it. And now I am finally writing about it. Now I feel that it is time to share my story.

I don't know why God, the creator of the Universe, the lover of my soul, revealed that to me. But the following spring, at seeding time, on a Sunday when we were at church, unbeknownst to us, our neighbors, who live right across the road, were battling a fire. It started, apparently, after we had went to church. The fire could have spread, so easily, to our dry, parched yard, but at the last minute the wind shifted and the flames that were on the way to our yard did not cross the road. I am convinced that the angels who I saw surround our yard the previous fall, were battling that day.  Thankfully, with the exception of a burned pasture, our neighbors did not have any other fire damage in their yard.

Hear these words from Psalm 34:7 - "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him; and He delivers them."

I have a friend whose daughter died. Her daughter was close to my age; she had cancer.  When she was in the hospital she had a visitor one night.  This visitor was the cleaning lady.  The cleaning lady had a name tag on.  She came in and saw that Crystal was awake; so she started encouraging her. That is what the cleaning lady did - offer encouragement.She  provided Scripture verses to comfort her.  And then she  left.  The next morning when Crystal was telling some of the nurses about the very kind cleaning lady she was surprised to discover that there was no such person at the hospital. Crystal and her mom are convinced that she was visited by an angel.

Hear these words from Hebrews 1:14 - "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?"    And what about Hebrews 13:2 - "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."  I am convinced that my friend's daughter was entertaining an angel who came to her in the form of a cleaning lady.

Some people have the wrong mind-set  about angels. I've heard many times, after someone has died, that "God must have wanted another angel in heaven."  People, when they die, do not become angels.  Angels are created by God for a purpose. People are created by God for a purpose.  Psalm 8 and Hebrews 1 tell us that "we are made a little lower than the angels..." We do not become angels.

Hebrews also tells us that Jesus, through the experience of death, was crowned so much higher than any angel, with a glory "bright with Eden's dawn light."  In that death, by God's grace, He fully experienced death in every person's place.  Hebrews 1:8-9  (message translation)

What a hope for this time of year - Easter.  We serve a risen Saviour who is crowned higher than any angel. His birth was heralded by the angels. He is worshipped by the angels. And we sometimes, might be witness to an angel. I was.

Time Spent

Ralph Waldo Emerson wondered "how much of human life is lost in waiting..."

We are "waiting" people. We wait, when we find out we're pregnant, for those months to go quickly so that we can meet who we've been waiting for.

When the baby arrives, we can hardly wait for them to start crawling, smiling, take their first steps, talk...

When they're older we can hardly wait for the milestones that surely, hopefully at least, they will experience - first date, first love, first kiss....

We wait at check-out counters, restaurants, airport security lines....

We wait, uncomfortably, for test results, prescriptions to kick in, water to warm up.  Wait, wait, wait...

We wait, longingly, for loved ones to come home - if they're away.. And then, if they've been visiting long enough, we wait for them to leave.

When we were children we could hardly wait for Christmas.  And birthdays. And summer holidays. And then, we could hardly wait for school to begin in the fall - we'd eagerly buy our new school supplies, new clothes, new shoes, and wait to be able to use them and wear them.

And we wait for the seasons to change. We're waiting, somewhat patiently, for spring to really come. It's snowing again.  It's frustrating.  There's nothing we can do about it except wait for it to warm up.

What do we do while waiting? What should we do while waiting? Worrying does not one iota of good. So, why not do something productive?  As farmers, the time spent waiting is time "not lost" but time spent preparing. The machinery, the crop insurance forms, the vehicles.  Being prepared for anything that might happen is essential. So while we wait, we work.  And we play.  And we worship.  And we grow.  And we, hopefully, gain some wisdom through it all.

Today, while waiting for spring, and wondering when it would warm up, I grabbed the camera and took a couple pictures. It truly was beautiful when I was "capturing the moment" - even though it's snowing.

Looking west towards our neigbhors who live right across the road.

The south view from our house.



Waiting - an inevitable portion of life is spent doing it. I wait.  And I am waiting.  I am "waiting for the blessed hope- the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own."  Titus 2:13

His very own. Hope amidst the waiting. What are you waiting for?

Getting Ready to Fish

We headed to the city today. The ice is off the dug-out, so it was time to go and pick up the rainbow trout! And since Costco was so close to the fish farm we made a detour and stopped there first. I wasn't overly enthusiastic about the Christmas-rush sized crowd of people that was shopping, but surprisingly, we were in and out of there in about an hour and a half.  Quite a feat for us!  After a quick lunch we headed out to the fish farm. Two lovely, very clean Golden Retrievers met us! I was wondering how they could manage to stay out of the mud and muck. I guess that's why they were allowed to meet and greet us.

After loading up the 800 little rainbow trout for the dug-out we headed home. 800 weren't for us. We picked up some for our neighbor right across the road and some for our neighbor straight south of us.

There sure was a lot of water in the fields on the way.  And halfway between the city and home we saw 1 field with thousands and thousands and thousands of geese. And there were thousands more flying overhead. I really wish I would have taken my camera along for THAT sight. I wonder if the geese were wishing that they would have waited a week or so before leaving the south and warmth to come north and to the cold.

When we got home and unpacked the Costco stuff, My Sweetheart and I headed out to the dug-out.

My Sweetheart is putting a screen in front of the culvert to prevent wayward fish from escaping.

Securing the screen...

If you look close enough you might see a fish in the industrial strength bag that was it's home for the past few hours..

Putting 1 of the bags in the dug-out to acclimatize the trout...

Here are the 3 bags with 350 trout.  They are wiggling with excitement before being released to their new home.

Ready, set,

Go....or ready to go anyway.  This little guy should be about 10 inches in length by next summer.

The new home for the rainbow trout.

When the trout are bigger and jumping, they just might catch a glimpse of my hometown - if they jump high enough..

I'm glad I took the time to accompany My Sweetheart to the fish farm today. I'm glad I went with him to the dug-out and saw the whole fish-releasing process. I was able to help by handing him stuff- not that there was a lot of stuff to hand him, just twine, a knife, hammer, that kind of stuff.  Hmmm, I just might need some help in the house...



Teenagers!

It was my turn to drive for band today. I wouldn't have minded quite so much if it would have been a lovely, warm spring day, but it was kind of wintery.  Again.  It started to snow just before I left home to dash into the school to pick up the 4 band students. Today there were only 3 band students.  And they all sat in the back seat, squished together, the teenagers, like sardines. I felt like a chauffer. Well, I guess I was a chauffer.

It's hard to believe that it's been 30 some years already since I've been a teenager. My mom used to say, and still does, that she doesn't feel any older now (at whatever age she was at the time of saying that) than she did when she was 16.

So, now I'm reminiscing and trying to remember that stage of my life. I can't really believe that it's been 31 years since I was 16. OK, the memories are starting to come back to me...

I loved being 16. 15 was great too, but not until I arrived at LCBI -the boarding school where I had desperately wanted to attend since I was 12.  Life, well school life, was not enjoyable up until then. Although I did well at school, I hated going to school.  I was a misfit.  I felt like 1 anyway. I was left out of almost everything.  I wasn't popular. Junior High was the worst. I was not good at sports, so was always the last picked.  Nobody wanted me on their team. And friends?  Well, with the exception of Elaine, friends were sparse. I was musical, and where I went to school, at that time, music was not cool.

But - LCBI was a totally different ball game!  Music was cool!  I fit in!  I had lots of friends. Very good friends. Friends that prayed together, and through the years, and with the help of facebook, have reconnected and stayed together.

Oh, back to 16.  I did not get my driver's license on my first try.  I thought I aced the test. I thought I did everything perfect.  But I lost 32 points for not shoulder checking 16 times. I remembered to shoulder check the next time I did the test, and I passed with flying colors!

I sang in the choir that I wanted to! I have such great memories of school, and most of them are related to music or drama.  Even phys ed.  I have Cliff to thank for that!  He was the best phys ed teacher ever! He didn't grade us according to how good we were, but he graded us on exams, and how hard we worked. He was very much of an encourager.  All my high school teachers were like cheerleaders.

My friends were, and still are, good friends. Not the stab-in-your-back kind of friends, but the kind of friends that cried with me and laughed with me and rejoiced with me in the times of rejoicing. The Proverb 17 kind of friend.

I remember in grade 10, we all planned the grade 10 sneak-out.  It was a tradition. Everyone had to sneak out of their dorms and meet, I don't remember where, but it was in the middle of the night. I lived on the top floor of Old Main.  My best friend, Heather, lived right across from me.  Dooder and Leanne were on the same floor too, as were others.  We had to sneak out the fire escape,I think. And not giggle, or make a peep.  But we did it, and met up with the rest of our class, and had a great time! I do think we all got caught at some point and had to do work duties.  But we did it together, and had a blast.

I giggled and laughed a lot as a teenager.  My daughter and her friend and I went out for supper after band tonight, and they were giggling and laughing a lot too!  Just how it should be for teenagers!

If I Knew

If I knew I had one day left
to live here on God's earth-
a day that I could do most anything-
would I bake a cake? or read a book?
or lift my voice and sing?

If I knew I had one day left
to live here on God's earth-
would I choose to live that one day all alone?
Or would I gather those around-
the ones I've loved so long?

If I knew I had one day left
to live here on God's earth-
would I have a nap?  or take a walk with you?
or would I choose to thank the Lord
for seeing me this far through?

If I knew I had one day left
to live here on God's earth-
I wonder what my Lord would have me do-
would He give me joy to share his love
and faithfulness with you?

If I knew I had one day left
to live here on God's earth-
a day that I could do most anything-
I'd share  Christ's love with you, my friend,
I'd hope you'd meet the King.

I do not know the future
I cannot see "that" day,
but I know who holds my future in His hands.
He guides the path He leads me on,
He holds my future plans.

So if I knew this was the day
that God would call me home-
I'd rejoice in Him and gladly go,
I would not be alone.



Those are the words I scribbled down on a scrap piece of paper on April 13, 1997 just before midnight. It took less than 10 minutes for me to compose that poem - I was thinking and writing at the same time. Less than 12 hours prior to that my dear Dad breathed his last breath here on earth. At that same time he was being welcomed into Heaven by his Abba - Daddy.  I love how Jesus called His Father "Abba" - Daddy - such an intimate, endearing title.  I'm so grateful to have been with my Dad as he made the transition from here to eternity. It was a peaceful, heart-wrenching, glorious, terribly sad, joy-filled, beautiful day.

On that day, at 6:30 am, my aunt phoned me. She woke me up. I couldn't think of why she would be phoning at that time of day. "Heather," she gently spoke, "I think it's time for you to come up to the hospital."
I couldn't for the life of me figure out what for. My mind was quite fuzzy at that time of day. I, being 5 months pregnant and the mother of a toddler, needed my sleep after all. "Why?"  I remember asking her. And that strikes me now as odd because I knew why.  I knew my dad was dying.  But I knew he was also very much alive.  I couldn't figure out why I should come to the hospital. And then it hit me. He was REALLY dying. And the family was called. I remember crying in the shower and trying to hurry myself up. I remember not wanting to go, but not wanting to be anywhere else. I hurried in.  Danny tended to Braden and took him up to his dad's before coming up to the hospital.  And then we waited.  Every breath Dad took, I watched.  Would this be the last one?  What about this one? The nurse came periodically and checked his pulse. So there we were - Mom, my brother, my aunt, uncle, cousin, husband, and me.  Waiting for the inevitable. The pastor came after church. Shortly after that my Dad took his last laboured breath. And he was gone. Just like that.

We all cried. And hugged.  And cried some more.  And then I had to leave.  I had to leave my Dad's body in his hospital bed and go. That was hard.  Very hard. I  stepped outside into the sunshine. I needed that sunshine. I needed the warmth from the sun. I needed to hear the birds sing.  And they did. It was a beautiful day.  The sun was shining.  The birds were singing.  The sky was blue.  The air was warm.  My dad just died.  It was surreal.

Just as soon as I stepped into Mom's house - it was now Mom's house, not Mom's and Dad's house, the phone rang.  My cousin wanted to know how Uncle Billy was. She was chipper and happy sounding on the phone. I remember saying, matter of factly, that he had just died. And so she was the first of the relatives to find out. And so the tears came again.

My Dad was a good man.  He was very humble.  Very quiet.  Friendly. He loved to tease. He was peaceable. He was thoughtful. He never spoke a bad word about anybody.  Never.

We found out that Dad had cancer the day before his 70th birthday. About a week after that he prayed and asked Jesus into his heart , and to be His Lord and Savior.  I am so glad. I know for sure that my Dad is in Heaven.  He arrived in Heaven a few short hours before his daughter in law. Yes, my brother lost his wife less than 36 hours after we lost Dad. I wonder if he was surprised to see her so quickly. I imagine he was in her welcoming committee with Jesus!

I'm going to share a few pictures of my Dad with you. You just might catch a glimpse of the wonderful man I am honoured to have been able to call "Dad".

This is Dad on his 70th birthday - the day after the cancer diagnosis. My Dear Son is on his lap.

This is an earlier picture of Dad in typical hot summer day garb. He always wore work boots or cowboy boots. Almost always anyway..

My first Christmas with My Sweetheart, and thus his first Christmas with my Dad and Mom. Dad always seemed to have trouble with a silly rooster tale. It's noticeable on the picture above this one too!

Here is my Dad, cowboy boots and all, with his first grandchild and first child! This is the brother whose wife died hours after Dad died.

This was our last Christmas with Dad, the last time he was in my house, and the last picture taken of Dad while he was still alive. I'm glad we get new bodies in Heaven. No more sickness... or tears.... or darkness...

Here I am holding the last gift I ever got from my Dad. That picture frame holds the following picture...

The daughter and the Dad she misses so much.

It Must Be Spring



This morning, when I was out for my walk with Chico, Bentley and Lady, I was serenaded by my favorite sound of spring - the meadowlark.  It was the first time I heard it this year, and I am so glad I did! I smiled when it sang. It seemed to follow me on my walk, although I couldn't see it. It's beautiful song brought forth many smiles from me.

I usually walk from the farm and head south towards the highway. It's about a mile walk to the highway, and I cut my walk off probably about 100 feet or so from there - for the protection of the dogs.  The traffic on the highway seemed exceptionally busy this morning. Lots of cars and trucks and semis were going by. And just before I got to my destination I heard another sound of spring...



Something very similar to this was going down the highway. For my non-farming friends who might be reading this, and wondering - this is an air drill.  It is pulled behind a tractor, filled with seed, and used to plant the crop. This isn't a picture of ours though - ours is tucked away in the pole shed until we're ready for it. I found this picture on an auction site. This spring the seeding will probably be later rather than earlier. Anyway, seeing and hearing the tractor while on my walk, convinced me that spring must be here!

My sweetheart is busy hauling durum today. Most years all, or at least most, of the hauling would have been finished by now. That is typically one of the farming jobs that gets done over winter. This year was weird though - I think there's still many hundreds of  thousands of bushels of last year's harvest  from many farmers that needs to be hauled.  And this is a very busy time of year.

Our yard is too muddy to get to the bins.  And it was too muddy in front of the pole shed to get the semi out. So, bright and early this morning, My Sweetheart was outside, dumping gravel in front of the pole shed so he could get his semi out. He's hauling from the north farm, where surprisingly, the yard is quite dry. He was glad he took a drive over there yesterday to check it out.  And glad there was room at the terminal for the durum. He will definitely be "making hay while the sun shines" today, so to speak!

We are going to enjoy this spring weather while we can.  I just checked the forecast. Winter still is looking like it wants to linger - wet snow is supposed to be coming on Thursday. Hopefully My Sweetheart will be able to haul 2 full days before then. I am praying for safety for him while he does. And also praying for no mechanical breakdowns while he's hauling.

For the next couple days I hope to be enjoying spring!

and still counting....

Oops - the weekend came and went too fast.  So here it is Monday after work, after supper and now I'm scrambling to get 10 more thankful items on my list before heading to Bible Study.  Here goes...

91.  I am thankful for my Bible Study group
92. I am thankful for the authors who have inspired and challenged me and continue to do so. Thanks for following your heart to the lonely life of writing....
93. I am thankful for the stick-to-it attitude of my family with this big eating change.  So far, I think, we've lost 35 -40 pounds as a family, since Christmas...Reason to rejoice!!
94. I am thankful that Chico didn't growl once when she got her haircut last night - the 1st time ever in 5 years of cutting her hair!
95. I am thankful for the teacher-student ratio we have in our small rural school.
96. I am thankful for the rapport we have with the teachers!
97. I am thankful for healthy food!
98.I am very thankful that the mud in our yard is disappearing!
99. I am thankful for walks after supper with my Sweetheart!! (and 3 dogs)
100.  I am thankful for my Dear Son who, very willingly I might add, mops the floors when I ask him to!

Now, off to Bible Study!