Angels Around Us

I have loved this painting by Brian Kershisnik since I first saw it. It speaks a variety of messages to me. Know you're not alone. There are angels around you to lift you up. More people care about you than you realize, on earth and beyond. Maybe that's a moment of despair, and angels are rushing to surround her, and those first few touching are just the beginning.

If our eyes could be opened to see the unseen, I wonder what they "they that be with us are more than they that be with them" would really look like. I realize periodically that I'm listening to messages and voices that aren't angelic, and have to kick them out - again. I wonder what the battle for us really looks like, especially as the battle continues to heat up. "Time is running out" (Russell M. Nelson, April 2019).

My husband's grandmother passed away in December, and a statement made at her funeral struck me with so much truth, I felt like it echoed through me for the next few weeks, and still comes to mind.

"She will continue to take care of us in ways that her body would no longer allow her to do here on Earth."

I reflected on her life and the way she lived. I'm grateful for the truth she knew and knows, and the many ways she will continue to nudge at her family to choose good, to love, and to serve.

Claudine Bigelow gave a talk at BYU on creativity. It's inspiring and beautiful, and helps me think about ways I create that have nothing to do with art. This quote from that made me think of the painting above as well.

"All textiles interest me. I am an avid knitter, embroiderer, and quilter. I love to work with my hands. I am a maker. It is hard to explain why I am good at it, but it is almost like I have a genetic connection on a cellular level with all of the generations of grandparents who have had these same gifts before me. My fingers just know what to do... I feel warmth, comfort, and connection to my ancestors who had these same talents and to God, who gave them to me. I feel at peace with handwork because I am doing what I was created to do. There are moments it feels sacred."

Both my grandmothers, my husband's grandmother, my mother, and my husband's mother all were or are blanket makers. One of them took it as a personal project during the last several years of her life to bless the world by making hundreds and hundreds of blankets (I wish I knew numbers) and donating them to the Linus Project. A special story that stemmed from that - my aunt set up a quilt in her elementary classroom for the children to work on when they had a break, and that was donated to the Linus Project as well. One of those children ended up at Primary Children's Hospital and received that exact blanket. #tendermercy

A few months ago when a friend was adopting three orphans from Ukraine, I thought and thought about what I could do for them. The thought came, make them each a blanket! Everyone loves a good soft blanket, right? Cuddling up, feeling safe and cozy. It wasn't until I was making them that I realized that special legacy and felt that "genetic connection." What a sweet, loving service they've given to so many, and especially their families.

I've felt angels while doing family history and temple work. I've felt people tapping me on the shoulder and whispers to keep looking on their line.

So thankful for all my angels.