Poetry Friday: Angels Among Us, Angels Above Us

Head over to Penny Parker Klostermann's blog, 

for this week's round-up of poetic goodness.  

Thanks, Penny, for hosting this week!

I'm a sometime poet and a frequent procrastinator.  A friend reminded me at church on Sunday that it was my turn to write the message for our monthly women's newsletter.  I assured her that it was on my schedule for Sunday, and I would get it to her soon. Somehow, Sunday got away from me, and Monday was spent laboring with my daughter at the hospital.  Then I found myself at home after grandson's arrival on Tuesday morning, needing to write the message.  Since I write the message once a quarter, I keep a file of ideas that I collect and refer to for inspiration.   As I flipped through the file, nothing seemed quite right.  And that's how I found myself composing a poem for the message.  I grew up with a mother who definitely believed in angels.  This is my meditation on angels.  

Angels Among Us, Angels Above Us

A December meal together,

angel decorations at each table.

But the most beautiful angels

decorating the room

are the sisters among us.

We celebrate angel actions,

blessings that come

as sister angels serve and

reach out to bless our lives

with loving care.

A January morning

I reflect on the spirit child

who will soon join our family.

I send a plea to my mother,

“Give him up, Mom.  Send him our way.”

I peer into Jack’s wide open eyes

and think of the spirit world

so freshly left behind.

I ponder the poet’s words,

“Trailing clouds of glory do we come . . . ”

I pick up the February Ensign.

The cover art,

She Will Find What Is Lost,

takes my breath away.

Angel hands reach out in love.

Our beloved apostle, Jeffrey R. Holland, confirms:

“Angels are still sent to help us. . . .

I testify of angels,

both the heavenly and the mortal kind.”

Angels above us, angels among us. 

- Ramona Behnke

She Will Find What Is Lost  (I'm not trying to sell the print, but I wanted to share the image I saw on the cover of our monthly church magazine, the Ensign.) http://www.latterdayhome.com/products/b-kershisnik-she-will-find-what-is-lost-framed-print-no-glass  I love what the artist, Brian Kershisnik, had to say about this painting:   "...many unseen forces are interested in you, love you, and work to influence matters for your profound benefit.  Most of what we all do is resist it, misinterpret it, or mess it up, but my experience indicates that these unseen efforts persist impossibly.  I thank God for that."

“The Ministry of Angels,” Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, October 2008
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/the-ministry-of-angels?lang=eng