Our Angels

"If you make the Most High your dwelling—even the LORD, who is my refuge—then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." --Psalm 91:9-12

Since all of this began, Bryant has joked that he feels like Job from the Bible--attacked from all sides. This week, he truly IS like Job, and he has the boils to prove it! He developed a nasty staph infection in the skin of his leg and backside, and has been in terrible pain. A visit to the doctor and several meds didn't work, so today he went to the hospital where they cut out the worst spots and gave him injections of antibiotics and pain meds. He'll be in a lot of pain for several days, but the infection should improve quickly. The ER docs said that they are now seeing about six cases of this staph infection DAILY! Ten years ago, they might only see a few cases each year. Praise God that Bryant's is treatable and not that horrible MRSA bacteria we've been hearing about in the news. This may delay Ben's homecoming, currently scheduled for Tuesday, so pray for quick healing.

I really do believe that we are under spiritual attack, but that God is protecting us. This was confirmed recently in a very strange and wonderful way. One night this week, Jack and I were eating dinner when he began to dart his eyes and head around like he was looking at a bug fly around the room. He started laughing and said, "It's so bright! It's so bright and shiny!" His eyes settled on a spot out in the middle of the room, and a minute later, he laughed and said, "He's funny! He's so funny!" I didn't give it a whole lot of thought until the next morning.

When we got in the car, Jack looked into the back part of our SUV and said, "He rides in there." I replied, "No, you ride in your car seat," to which he replied, "No, HE rides in there!" A bit perplexed, I ignored his comment. But a few minutes later, as we drove up the ramp onto the HOV lane, Jack shouted, "We go up! HE goes up! The angel flies!"

As you can imagine, I was floored. I felt such a sense of peace, and praised God for hours that He would so vividly confirm His answer to my prayers. From the very beginning of this roller coaster ride, I've prayed for God to surround our family with His angels and protect each of us, especially since we are often all separated, driving late at night, etc.

And to top it all off, when we went to church on Wednesday night, we pulled into a parking space right next to the glass church doors, and Jack pointed at the doors and shouted, "There the angels are!" And of course, there was no one there that I could see.

So despite all of the junk that's been thrown our way recently, we really are fine. We are not overly stressed, afraid, or worried, and we are growing closer as a family. I can honestly say that at this point, we are peaceful--and that's not my normal state. But this is a wonderful way to live!

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." --Romans 5:1-5