When Heaven Sends an Angel
By Susan Diamond
I was sitting with my prayer group and getting ready to
pray on a Wednesday morning, like I usually do. What was not usual was what was missing. Actually, who was missing. Darleen had passed away recently.
It was unexpected and tragic. Though she went on to be with God and her beloved husband Marty, Darleen left behind her daughter Jodi and the rest of her young family. Jodi took the loss hard. They were an inseperable mother-daughter
team. You know the type, phone calls throughout the day, dropping by to say hi, getting together for any excuse.
On this particular Wednesday, Jodi joined the prayer group. She sat in Darleen's regular place in the chapel. The seat to my right.
I held Jodi's hand for a moment and told her I admired her. Despite her
grief she made the effort to do something special. She honored her mother's memory by joining in prayer with our group that day.
I noticed that Jodi had picked up her mother's favorite prayer book from the stack of a dozen or so books at the shelf by the door. I mentioned it to her. "Your mother always selected that prayer book and she loved using it."
Jodi was surprised, she didn't know her mom preferred one over another and she smiled. She felt happy to be connected to her mother through God's words.
The service began and Jodi opened the book to page 24, our first prayer of the day:
I offer thanks to
You,
ever-living Sovereign,
that You have restored my soul to me in mercy:
How great is Your trust.
A penny dropped out. We both saw it and looked at each other with awe and amazement. Darleen was not missing after all. She was with us in
Spirit.
