JB's June Writing Challenge: A is for ... Angels

Character is what God and the angels know of us;
reputation is what men and women think of us.
-- Horace Mann, US educator (1796 - 1859)

How fitting that the first person to suggest a topic for my June writing challenge was none other than my original first reader, a dear friend to whom I affectionately refer as the WMVR. Thus beginneth the challenge ...

Angels
Yes, I believe in angels. I believe they exist in many forms, both spirit and human: "guardian angels", who protect us from harm; "guide angels", the voices in our heads that help us make decisions; and "gift angels", those special people whom God places in our lives simply for the purpose of enriching said lives. (The aforementioned WMVR was one of those, for me.)

If you believe, you know what I'm talking about. If you don't, I'm not asking you to, but consider the following:

How many times have you been two or three minutes later than you'd planned walking out the door, because you had to stop and search for your keys, and then discovered that there was a wreck somewhere along your route that you most likely would've been involved in had you left exactly on time?

How many times have you thought of doing something, and something--or someone--either encourages you to do it, or discourages you from doing it?

How many times have you been feeling a little downhearted, and out of the blue, a friend calls you just to say s/he has been thinking about you?

You may or may not have thought of angels in any of these situations, but go back and read them again, and think about it.

Therein, say I, lies the beauty of the thing. They're everywhere, but we don't always see them, at least not until after the fact, when something far greater than us opens our eyes and lets in the truth. Did you ever see the movie Angels in the Outfield? Christopher Lloyd's unfailingly likable character says, "Even though you can't see us, we're always watching." I believe this is true, and not just in the movies. It's just how, in my mind, this thing we call life operates.