Article February 6, 2012 Issue

Angels at my side

Margaret White Penfield

When I want to be assured of God’s protecting power, I often turn to the Bible. The book of Psalms is a wonderful place to witness the sheltering care of God. The 91st Psalm is a favorite of mine—and of many others—as it covers such a vast array of ways in which God will aid us. One of my favorite passages that brings comfort in times of peril is verse 11, which reads, “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” To me this means that we can listen for angel messages from God at all times and in all circumstances. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, defined angels in part as “God’s thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; . . .” (Science and Health, p. 581).

About six months ago, I had an experience in which listening to God’s angel messages brought safety and security. It was a drizzly day, and I had just picked up my car after having it repaired. It has a manual transmission, which I had not really driven in three or four months, and so I knew I needed to be cautious. I was about to exit the parking lot of the repair shop when something stopped me from proceeding any further. I thought at first that it was just my hesitation, but it really felt like God was cautioning me about going out onto the main road in our city. I must have sat at the edge of the driveway for an extra minute, just listening for His direction, before I finally felt it was safe to make my way onto the street.

Within seconds, the wind outside kicked up to a fierce speed, to the point where I would never have driven if I’d had the opportunity not to. Small tree limbs began blowing off trees in front of me. I edged slowly along the street at maybe 20 miles per hour, and said out loud, “ ‘Our Father which art in heaven,’ please help me.”

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