ANGELS WATCHING OVER ME....

Have you ever had the feeling that you are not alone. That something or someone is looking out for you? Or that there are forces beyond your understanding guiding you?
  
I’ve been an artist now for three years. Actually, I’ve been an artist my whole life and never really acknowledged it. It had always come easy to me and I‘d always been one to look for the challenge. If there was difficulty and struggle, I was there. But art?… Too easy for me. Then, about three years ago through the most difficult challenge of my life, I turned to art because it was easy. I’d had enough of “hard”…

 As time went on, easy wasn’t good enough. I wanted to be better. And then I wanted to be the best I could be. Well, early on, people began to take note of my work and I began to get requests for more. For the first time ever, I began to see that my hobby might be lucrative. But I wasn’t sure just how to go about turning my sketches into a salary. Or if portraits were the only approach to bringing in a salary. But I was willing to learn as I went along. And I wasn’t above asking God for a little help. Which eventually led me to Kinko’s. I needed prints of my work to sell to potential buyers.

 The first time I handed one of my drawings to the woman at the desk, her eyes lit up with delight.
“Did you draw this?” She asked.
I nodded, a bit timidly.
“Wow!” She replied. “A lot of artists come through here. But this is fantastic! Especially since you didn’t trace any of it.”

Well, that had my attention. She then proceeded to tell me how the method of tracing worked and just what kind of money could be made. She also gave me ideas on what type of artwork would sell. And she asked for a few business cards. When I left that day I could definitely state that I’d had complete customer satisfaction.

The next time I returned to have a woman tell me that my talent was a true “gift from God” and that each and everyone of us is given talents that should never be wasted. She couldn’t have known that I had contemplated just how I could use my work to raise money for charity  as a thank you to Him for that very gift. It was a confirmation  that I was on the right track.

The time after that, I stood at a copy machine thinking about how I could market my artwork when another artist noticed the piece I was copying. He paid me a great compliment then proceeded to  tell me about art and craft fairs and how lucrative they were.

And then came the day when I contemplated color portraits. I had been doing black and white ones to that point and had seriously considered going back to school for more training as I thought that people would prefer the ones in color .
I stood in the middle of Kinko’s,  reviewing my most recent portraits and trying to decide which prints looked better, when a man came over and asked, “ Is that your work?”
“Yes.” I replied. “But I’m thinking of going back to school for more training.”
“Training?”  He laughed. “Don’t waste your time. You’re already better than you know.”
I think I blushed at that.  “But I’d really love to do color portraits.” I explained..
“Well,”  He responded.  “You could certainly do that. But I can tell you that in the long run, most people love the black and white portraits. I’m an artist as well and I’ve been at it a long time. In fact, I have artists working for me. Trust me…Stay with the black and white.”

That particular day I walked out of there with chills running up and down my spine.

Now I was beginning to wonder just what it was about Kinko’s that made me feel like I was having a religious experience. And I realized that every time I’d entered that place , I’d gotten a sign from above as to just what to do next.

Then recently, I was having an issue with letting go of some people that did not belong in my life and someone suggested to me that I call upon Michael the Archangel to help cut the etheric cords that bound me to them. Now I’d heard of angel guides and guardian angels and such, but I’d never heard of “etheric cords”.  And at the time this was suggested, I was extremely busy, so I put the suggestion to the back of my mind. Then a few days later, I happened to be in a book store. I had some time to kill and I’d decided to grab a few travel guides for a trip I was planning, then find a nice chair somewhere in the store to plop down in until I needed to get to the next thing on my agenda.

After gathering the travel books, I found a chair in the very back of the place.  As I sat down, I realized that right across from me was the Metaphysical section of the bookstore. For some reason my eyes were drawn down to the lowest bookshelf. There on the very bottom was a book on… Michael the Archangel. My senses went to high alert. Why I’d chosen that particular chair I couldn’t really explain  but obviously I was being given a message.  Quickly I grabbed the book on Michael and discarded the others.  As I read about Michael, I began to see just exactly what was meant by etheric cords. And how Michael could give me the “support, courage and confidence” I needed to move on.  I decided to then look for other books on angels and I found one in particular that opened my eyes as to just how many times angels had been watching out for me.

And then I realized that I had been listening and watching for them as well, though I hadn’t  consciously realized it…From hearing my name whispered upon awakening, to songs that I simply could not get out of my head and conversations overheard by strangers that seemed to have a message just for me. Then, there were the times that I’d turned on the radio or the television to a program with a message that seemed an answer to my prayers. And of course, my dreams, which on some occasions had been downright prophetic and at others quite informative and  inspirational. 

And there had been other signs as well… Times when a little voice in my head gave me a warning or suggested I do something that put me in the right place at the right time because I’d listened. Like the time my daughter stood too close to the brass enclosure of our fireplace and  I told her to immediately step back. It was the moment after she did, that the doors of the enclosure exploded. Then there was the time when something told me to turn around and I ran right into a person who would become a very important part of my life’s journey.

Coincidence? I don’t think so…Not at the frequency at which I’ve had these experiences. In fact, just earlier today as I was pondering just what I wanted to say in this article, I took a time out and turned on the TV.  What came on the screen? A program on the History Channel about…ANGELS…

Yes, angels are everywhere. And they want to help you. In the words of August Rush, “All you have to do is listen.” And I, for one, am truly listening….