A Tribute To An Angel
By Stephen Doherty
August 16th, 2020
“It is only our fear or doubt that makes us blind
to the presence of our angels.”
Once upon a time, there was a man who had become broken and dispirited from the burdens of vice and excess. On the brink of his own destruction, God saw fit to send an angel his way to see if the man could be saved through the grace of the angel’s love and beautiful spirit.
God felt the man worthy of saving, knowing that he was a loving and caring soul that had fallen under the spell of Sirens. God was confident that the beauty and love of an angel would pull the man back from the jagged cliffs that the Sirens had tempted him onto.
The angel arrived in the man’s life and dazzled and charmed him from the start. The man had never seen any face more beautiful nor anyone more filled with love, kindness, and spiritual generosity. The man thanked God for this gift of love for he quickly recognized that this was no ordinary encounter but an intervention by the holiest of spirits.
The man knew that God rarely parted with his angels and that when he did, it was to save a waning soul from his own destruction. The man happily accepted the gift and soon reveled in the light the angel brought to his life. For the moment–the man was pulled back from the cliff’s edge.
Over the years, the angel dedicated themselves to creating for the man the kind of life he had heard about and dreamed about but never believed he would ever have for himself. Soon, a wonderful world sprung up around them born of the grace, love, and commitment of the man’s angel. It wasn’t long before two children arrived, allowing the man to experience his lifelong dream of becoming a father.
Indeed, God had smiled upon this man who now basked in the warmth of a whole new world that God’s angel had created and laid at his feet. The angel’s life seemed dedicated to one purpose-giving the man a life and a world that only God could imagine and deliver.
Over time, it became obvious that the man was incapable of honoring and appreciating God’s gift, as he eventually returned to the dangerous cliffs, lured once again by the song of the Sirens. God wept, as it became obvious that his precious angel was not going to be able to save this man from himself.
The love of an angel comes with few rules and requirements-but devotion, love, and appreciation were paramount. The angel departed, leaving behind the wreckage of the man’s fallibility and likely leap into the abyss. The loss was insurmountable as the man experienced the spiritual void that only the loss of an angel could create.
To God’s surprise, the loss of the angel became the man’s rallying motivation as he finally confronted and defeated the demons that had accompanied and plagued him for so long. Even in their absence, perhaps because of their absence, the lingering presence of the angel provided just enough light to guide the man out of the darkness that had forever been his constant companion.
Upon exiting the abyss, the man smiled at his good fortune. God’s angel had indeed saved the man albeit in the angel’s absence. The man’s only regret was that his own recovery and salvation came at such a high price.
If the angel is listening, the man has a few final thoughts of gratitude and tribute. The man now has a wonderful life that would have never been but for the angel’s love and devotion. The man will always carry the regrets of being unable to show the proper love and appreciation for his angel.
That said, the man will be forever grateful that the angel once thought him worthy of their love and devotion. As God wished, the angel saved the man from himself. The man’s only remaining sentiment for his angel is the realization that whatever feelings of anger or bitterness that remain, are for a man that no longer exists and hasn’t for a very long time.
As God knows, the power and grace of forgiveness are far more profound for the forgiver…than for the forgiven.
“People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.
When you figure which it is, you will know exactly what to do.” –Michelle Ventor
