Angels and Prinicpalities

So I was being subjected to another episode of Touched by an Angel, a show which I hate by the way. You want to know why I hate it? Because these beings... these angels supposedly... walk into these dysfunctional peoples lives and with a few sleight of miracle tricks they make everything perfectly right again. For a moment I thought "if only it worked like that." And in a way I still kind of think that way. I mean... if every person who was going through a tough time or was making bad decisions just needed an angel to walk in and snap their fingers to help them change their minds and make life better in two days or less then wouldn't this world be an AMAZING place to live? Oh sure there'd be trouble every once and a while but we wouldn't have to worry about it for long. We'd have an earthly paradise.

So since that's not the way it really is... I started thinking about what angels actually are. Are you ready for this? Cause these are some wild thoughts.

Ok so I was thinking that if an angel is someone who makes life better for someone else... wouldn't I be an angel? When I'm bent over helping pt Mrs. Tebbets shoes on... or helping her go to the bathroom... or changing her pants... or feeding her lunch. When I'm abasing myself and forgetting myself to make her comfortable and happy.

And then again... what if I'm merely helping an angel? What if by forcing me to abase myself and forget myself... she's actually the angel teaching me the lesson. Preparing me for life. Introducing me to the real world, the world of living in God's favor. Helping me to learn to truly love. Teaching me about patience and constant prayer. So that I can be a better woman.

Now don't get me wrong. I know there is a special being created by God that is not human and is called an angel. But I also know that sometimes angels masquerade as humans. " Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:2 And I'm also playing on the fact that the word for angel in the Greek is evangelion- meaning messenger.

But I also know that the best lessons in life can be learned from the person you least expect to learn anything from. I know I have learned SO much about life here at Mrs. Tebbet's house. I have seen that by doing these menial tasks for her... even tasks that make me gag... ESPECIALLY tasks that make me gag... I am loving her. I am showing God's love to her by being willing to do it. And in that way, I am bringing the message of God's love to her every day. Whether she remembers it or not.

She brings me the message of God's love by showing me how God will stick with me through horrible things day by day by day like He has with her. Also by illustrating to me exactly what God does for us. He sees us in our helpless estate and He reaches down and takes care of us every day through thick and thin, good and bad, to make our lives a better place. Sometimes He makes us do things we don't like, like when I make Mrs. Tebbets eat. Sometimes He takes us through painful things, like when I make her do her therapy. But in the end, it's all for the better, and we come out stronger and more alive then we were before.

In that way... haven't we all been Touched by an Angel?