In this month’s birth story of Jesus the Great Healer and in next month’s Epiphany story of the Magi, we get angels. A lot of them. From all of the incidents in these two stories, it is clear that angels interrupted to either announce a new trajectory or to change a certain trajectory. Either way—interruption.
Let’s look at the incidents:
*Joseph, engaged to Mary, finds out she’s pregnant and plans to dismiss her quietly rather than publicly shame her. “But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel appeared to him in a dream and told him, ‘Don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Spirit…’”
*The angel Gabriel appeared to the elderly, childless Zechariah to announce that his barren elderly wife will bear a son, John. (John later paved the way for his cousin Jesus’ ministry.)
*The angel Gabriel also appeared to Mary and told her about her miraculous pregnancy.
*An angel appeared to shepherds in their fields and then a multitude of angels announced Jesus’ birth to them.
*In the Epiphany story, the Magi set off alarms for King Herod the so-called Great who was threatened that they had come to find a “newborn King.” After the magi visited Jesus and then left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him.”
*Then when Herod dies, another angel appeared to Joseph in Egypt, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go back to Israel.”
*Joseph was warned again in a dream (by an angel presumably) to go to Galilee rather than Judea.
Many, many interruptions by angels! The biblical stories of angels are often dismissed as myth. However, I know from stories I’ve heard privately and ones I’ve read about, that angels have interrupted many modern people’s lives. One story I love comes from a friend whose neighbor’s house caught on fire. The little children who had been upstairs in their bedrooms on the 2nd floor were found standing on the lawn, completely unharmed. The children said they were rescued from a second story window by “a really tall man who reached up and pulled them out and put them on the ground.” There, of course, was no one around.
Angels have certainly interrupted my life. I’ve written about some of these stories in my books, My Karma Ran Over My Dogma and Confessions of a Mystic Soccer Mom. For so many incidents of angel interruptions, I lament that we are reluctant to talk about such things publicly. Perhaps it’s because angels in general are often scoffed at, as they don’t fit very well into the modern mindset (according to scientific materialistic and corresponding psychological paradigms). However, the irony is that with modern scientific technology, angels are being captured via digital cameras, and the through social media, angel news is spreading. Last year, I asked my archangel to appear, because I wanted to take a picture of the orb with my rinky-dink digital camera. I was in the front yard of our home and this is what I got--
Let’s look at the incidents:
*Joseph, engaged to Mary, finds out she’s pregnant and plans to dismiss her quietly rather than publicly shame her. “But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel appeared to him in a dream and told him, ‘Don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Spirit…’”
*The angel Gabriel appeared to the elderly, childless Zechariah to announce that his barren elderly wife will bear a son, John. (John later paved the way for his cousin Jesus’ ministry.)
*The angel Gabriel also appeared to Mary and told her about her miraculous pregnancy.
*An angel appeared to shepherds in their fields and then a multitude of angels announced Jesus’ birth to them.
*In the Epiphany story, the Magi set off alarms for King Herod the so-called Great who was threatened that they had come to find a “newborn King.” After the magi visited Jesus and then left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him.”
*Then when Herod dies, another angel appeared to Joseph in Egypt, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go back to Israel.”
*Joseph was warned again in a dream (by an angel presumably) to go to Galilee rather than Judea.
Many, many interruptions by angels! The biblical stories of angels are often dismissed as myth. However, I know from stories I’ve heard privately and ones I’ve read about, that angels have interrupted many modern people’s lives. One story I love comes from a friend whose neighbor’s house caught on fire. The little children who had been upstairs in their bedrooms on the 2nd floor were found standing on the lawn, completely unharmed. The children said they were rescued from a second story window by “a really tall man who reached up and pulled them out and put them on the ground.” There, of course, was no one around.
Angels have certainly interrupted my life. I’ve written about some of these stories in my books, My Karma Ran Over My Dogma and Confessions of a Mystic Soccer Mom. For so many incidents of angel interruptions, I lament that we are reluctant to talk about such things publicly. Perhaps it’s because angels in general are often scoffed at, as they don’t fit very well into the modern mindset (according to scientific materialistic and corresponding psychological paradigms). However, the irony is that with modern scientific technology, angels are being captured via digital cameras, and the through social media, angel news is spreading. Last year, I asked my archangel to appear, because I wanted to take a picture of the orb with my rinky-dink digital camera. I was in the front yard of our home and this is what I got--
—a beautifully detailed golden orb. It takes my breath away.
And here’s an angel interruption that I love from the news during Christmas 2008.
And here’s an angel interruption that I love from the news during Christmas 2008.
Being okay with interruptions in general is a Big Meal Deal spiritual menu item. Can we change and go with the flow when a loved one or a stranger interrupts us? If we aren’t open to human interruptions, we might miss angel interruptions. Angels don’t always appear as golden orbs, glowy white images, or take humanlike form to rescue, announce, or heal. Much more often, they interrupt subtly, much more subtly than a human: a gentle whisper or an inner nudge in a certain direction. Lorna Byrne, who has seen and spoken with angels since she was born, says each person’s guardian angel (in addition to helping angels), is always there—always—always guiding and always encouraging us towards our higher light. She suggests praying that people will listen to their angels.
Frank Lloyd Wright one of America’s great and creative architects shares a story about a defining moment in his childhood. Little Frank Lloyd Wright went on a walk with his uncle. It was winter and very snowy. They walked through the backcountry farm out to do an errand in a distant barn. When they got to where they were going, his uncle turned him around and said, “Now look at our footprints in the snow. Look at where we’ve been. My footprints go in a straight line. But yours go from where we started over to the fence over to the woods over to the rock over here and there zigzagging all the way. I learned a long time ago Frank, that the only way to make it in life is to set a goal and to go straight for it.” And Frank says about that moment that it changed him for the rest of his life for he determined not to miss everything in life like his uncle had.
Are you open to being interrupted away from your well-planned trajectories? A straight line from point A to point B may not be the sign of someone listening to higher light. In the Christmas and Epiphany stories, Joseph and Mary, Zechariah and Elizabeth, even the Magi are all open to the interruptions of angels and Spirit. Only Herod isn’t interruptible. He has one agenda and one agenda only and he does not stray from that path—a path of personal power and destruction of others.
The life of a soul who’s listening and interruptible may look more like a zigzag than a straight line. Stop and take time in silence to listen this Holy-Day season. An angel’s interruption may help you in immeasurable ways.
More tips on connecting with your guardian angel and your angel team/squad/band/crew/gang/posse/gaggle—take your pick.
1. Meditate/pray. If you don’t have time to meditate/pray for luxurious amounts of time (i.e., you’re a parent with children at home), take silent breaks. Even 30 seconds of silent deep breathing can do a world of good.
2. In the silence, when you are still, ask mentally or out loud for your guardian angel to guide you. If you have a specific question, ask it. Notice whatever you hear or feel inside.
3. Ask your guardian angel to become real to you by touch or sound or sight. Even if you get the chills or shiver or feel a flutter of energy or air or a temperature change—this is an angel sign.
4. Some people have concrete “signs” from their angels—a white feather, a penny, or a song, for example. Ask your angel to help you find their “sign” for you and then pay attention to recurrences of things you see, hear, or find repeatedly.
5. Talking to your angels is different than praying to God. A lot of people get hung up on “Well, I only pray to God. I won’t pray to angels.” My reply is “But you talk to friends and ask them for help and guidance, yes? Think of your angels as spiritual friends for you that you can talk to whenever you want. Pray to God, talk to angels.”
6. Enjoy your angels! They are messengers of Divine Unconditional Love and Peace and are only here for your guidance, protection, and help. They are not kill-joys. They encourage us towards fun with “glad tidings of comfort and joy” (to use carolish verbiage, which reminds me...)
Frank Lloyd Wright one of America’s great and creative architects shares a story about a defining moment in his childhood. Little Frank Lloyd Wright went on a walk with his uncle. It was winter and very snowy. They walked through the backcountry farm out to do an errand in a distant barn. When they got to where they were going, his uncle turned him around and said, “Now look at our footprints in the snow. Look at where we’ve been. My footprints go in a straight line. But yours go from where we started over to the fence over to the woods over to the rock over here and there zigzagging all the way. I learned a long time ago Frank, that the only way to make it in life is to set a goal and to go straight for it.” And Frank says about that moment that it changed him for the rest of his life for he determined not to miss everything in life like his uncle had.
Are you open to being interrupted away from your well-planned trajectories? A straight line from point A to point B may not be the sign of someone listening to higher light. In the Christmas and Epiphany stories, Joseph and Mary, Zechariah and Elizabeth, even the Magi are all open to the interruptions of angels and Spirit. Only Herod isn’t interruptible. He has one agenda and one agenda only and he does not stray from that path—a path of personal power and destruction of others.
The life of a soul who’s listening and interruptible may look more like a zigzag than a straight line. Stop and take time in silence to listen this Holy-Day season. An angel’s interruption may help you in immeasurable ways.
More tips on connecting with your guardian angel and your angel team/squad/band/crew/gang/posse/gaggle—take your pick.
1. Meditate/pray. If you don’t have time to meditate/pray for luxurious amounts of time (i.e., you’re a parent with children at home), take silent breaks. Even 30 seconds of silent deep breathing can do a world of good.
2. In the silence, when you are still, ask mentally or out loud for your guardian angel to guide you. If you have a specific question, ask it. Notice whatever you hear or feel inside.
3. Ask your guardian angel to become real to you by touch or sound or sight. Even if you get the chills or shiver or feel a flutter of energy or air or a temperature change—this is an angel sign.
4. Some people have concrete “signs” from their angels—a white feather, a penny, or a song, for example. Ask your angel to help you find their “sign” for you and then pay attention to recurrences of things you see, hear, or find repeatedly.
5. Talking to your angels is different than praying to God. A lot of people get hung up on “Well, I only pray to God. I won’t pray to angels.” My reply is “But you talk to friends and ask them for help and guidance, yes? Think of your angels as spiritual friends for you that you can talk to whenever you want. Pray to God, talk to angels.”
6. Enjoy your angels! They are messengers of Divine Unconditional Love and Peace and are only here for your guidance, protection, and help. They are not kill-joys. They encourage us towards fun with “glad tidings of comfort and joy” (to use carolish verbiage, which reminds me...)
7. Enjoy singing the carols about angels this season! When you're singing, thank your angels for all the help they've given you and your loved ones, whether unseen or seen help. They don't need the thanks, but the gratitude helps you connect with them.
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“The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'own,' or 'real' life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one's real life -- the life God is sending one day by day.” ~C.S. Lewis
"Interruptions can be viewed as sources of irritation or opportunities for service, as moments lost or experience gained, as time wasted or horizons widened. They can annoy us or enrich us, get under our skin or give us a shot in the arm. Monopolize our minutes or spice up our schedules, depending on our attitude toward them.” ~William Arthur Ward
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“The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'own,' or 'real' life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one's real life -- the life God is sending one day by day.” ~C.S. Lewis
"Interruptions can be viewed as sources of irritation or opportunities for service, as moments lost or experience gained, as time wasted or horizons widened. They can annoy us or enrich us, get under our skin or give us a shot in the arm. Monopolize our minutes or spice up our schedules, depending on our attitude toward them.” ~William Arthur Ward
