Lesson learned: Angels are important.

Today has been a day of lessons learned.

I have potty trained three children in this home. My carpets could tell a tale that many would not care to smell. So with this in mind, I had my carpets cleaned before our holiday guests arrive. Yesterday was the day I had the carpets cleaned. I had them steam cleaned. I am not sure I am a fan of that process, since the carpet was still wet last night when we went to bed. The 1st One helped me move all of the furniture off the carpet in the family room yesterday morning. This morning, before the 1st One went to school, she offered to help me put the furniture back. I gladly excepted the help. The sofa table was the trickiest. I had Christmas decor on it I didn't want to take off just to move the table a few feet. She grabbed one end and I grabbed the other. We carefully started to move the table. I noticed that one of the nativity pieces was wobbling. Before I could save it, the angel took a nose dive and shattered on the hardwood. The lectures started from the younger children. "Mom, you need to be more careful. It wasn't our fault. Can we fix it?" There was no fixing this poor angel. She had taken her last flight. I swept up and we moved on with our day. It was just the angel, she couldn't be that big of a deal in the nativity set could she? She wasn't Mary or Joseph or heaven forbid the baby Jesus.

My days are filled with driving children to and fro. Today was no different. The 1st One goes to school at 8:15. The Little Jamaican goes to pre-school at 9:30. This is when I have a few hours to get stuff done and work with My Son. At 12:00 we leave to take the Wild Child to kindergarten. Immediately following dropping the Wild Child at school, I drive back to my neighborhood to pick up the Little Jamaican from my dear friend Wendy.

Let me tell you about Wendy. Wendy is the woman that when you meet her, you adore her. She is beautiful, funny, smart and incredibly compassionate. Everything I wish to be, but fall short of. Wendy picks up the Little Jamaican from preschool and keeps her until I get back.

Today when I pick up the Little Jamaican, Wendy hands me some beautifully wrapped gifts. I am a believer in waiting until Christmas to unwrap gifts. Especially when the wrappings are that beautiful. When I got home, I put the gifts on the kitchen counter and proceeded to go upstairs to make some calls and change the laundry. When I came back down stairs, I find the beautiful wrappings torn apart. My Son had decided he couldn't wait for Christmas, or his mother, to unwrap these red velvet and gold foil packages. The one was a family gift and the other one was for me. The family gift was still there on the counter, but the wrapper was all that was left of the one that was for me. I started looking throughout the house trying to find where and what the gift was. Several minutes later this is what I find:

Turns out angels are important. Though this angel is ridiculously large for this nativity set, this is where she will stay this season. Between Wendy, My Son, and a well placed gift, I am reminded how important angels are now, as they were for the birth of our Savior.

Luke 2:8-15
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

Angels seem to be around whenever we need them. A friend, a sister, a child or the type that aren't so easily seen, have blessed my life countless times. Today a sweet anxious for Christmas child and a dear friend were the angels that reminded me that I am loved enough by my Heavenly Father that he has surrounded me with angels.