Carrie's Angel

     When my sister drove my five-year-old daughter home from her first day at a new Christian school, Carrie ran in the door and hurried to find me in the kitchen.
     "Mommy!" she said excitedly. "I saw an angel today in chapel."
     I smiled. "You did? Was there a picture of an angel on the wall?"
     Carrie shook her head. "No, the angel was up on the stage, in the front of the chapel."
     Puzzled, I asked, "Are you sure you didn't see a picture of an angel?"
     "No, Mommy. The angel was standing right there in front of me---just like Mr. Jeffries was standing there."


     Now I stopped washing dishes. I dried my hands and crouched down to look Carrie in the eyes. "Did Mr. Jeffries see the angel, too?" I asked.
     "Oh, no. He was busy talking to all of us kids."
     "Well, tell me," I said, "what did the angel look like?"
     Carrie thought for a minute, then explained, "He had a long white robe. I couldn't see his feet." She stretched her arms up high, then flapped them like wings. Her face beamed as she exclaimed, "The angel was real big! He was looking right at me and he was smiling at me."
     "Was the angel looking at the other kids, too?" I asked.
     She shook her head. "No, Mommy. The angel was just looking at me."
     "Did the angel talk to you?"
     "Oh, no, Mommy. The angel was thinking to me. But when I looked over at my teacher and then looked back, the angel was gone. I didn't see him anymore."
      Singing a tune, Carrie skipped off to play and I turned back to my dishes, thanking the Lord for her special angel encounter.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, 

and do not forbid them; 

for of such is the kingdom of God. "

Mark 10:14

by C. A. Hartnell, author
Scary Spring: Our Polio Fright of 1955
First Book in a Four-Book Series
Henderson, Nevada