Ministering Angels

Yesterday morning a couple of dogs appeared unexpectedly in our back yard. One was a cream-colored Labrador Retriever that reminded me vividly of my beloved Bella (2003-2018).

As this is farm country and both dogs were clearly well-cared for, with collars, I can assume it was just a friendly visit en route to watching for rabbits.

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Ministering Angels

Sweetheart,
I think we humans are confused;
In all our mysticism we look up
And out at heavens full of clouds
And incense floating upward,
And we talk of angels.
How foolish of us.

This morning I looked down
Into your kindly eyes;
A stranger, you,
But when I called out to you
Up you came with smiles
And friendly mien and tail a-wag.
You saw my own eyes fill with tears,
You slipped your head into my hands,
You felt the trembling of my fingers
As I stroked your rain-wet fur,
And you snuggled close
And gazed up at me;
You stayed so quietly while I sobbed a little.

I had forgotten how deep
And ever empty that one big hole
Remains, somewhere in my heart;
For I had another angel
So like you, one who loved and comforted,
One who watched me through
The darkest hours,
Whose simple being was the best part
Of faith, hope, charity.

I don’t know why we look for mystic beings
With golden halos and swan’s wings;
I don’t know why we look so far from our own paths
Since there you are already at our footsteps
If we but share them:
The grace of ministering angels,
Tongues out, feet flying,
Running in the breeze,
Returning to give peace,
The kindly touch of the divine,
Our best guardians.

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In order to post this, I am seizing a short time of internet signal via my sister’s phone. Our router was the one thing left unprotected during a recent thunderstorm, and it seems to have been fried by a power surge.

In our rural area mobile signal can also be fugitive, so I may not able to respond promptly to comments, but please know that I will keep up as I can!