My first memories of angels came of course from my favorite book, THE LITTLEST ANGEL by Charles Tazewell.  In fact, they are the only real memories I have of my early childhood days that are not influenced by family stories. I remember that the "littlest angel" always felt like an outsider in the group, different, never fitting in, somehow not good enough to be one of the heavenly host. I have always felt that way too. But I remember that he eventually learned that his place, although different, was just as valuable as all the others. I have also come to realize this later in life. I remember his chubby little legs and his bare feet, his robe that was not so beautiful, his halo that often slipped down or fell off completely and rolled away, and his wings that always looked frumpy because they would lose their feathers as he got into mischief with his "little boy" antics. And most of all I remember that he had only one treasure that he had kept from his life on earth as a little boy. That was a small box in which he kept all the things that he held most dear during his short time on earth.

Wow, what a metaphor for life, right? When you are sad, or find life is just too much to bear, haven’t you found solace in memories of happier times? Or perhaps reached back to see how you have coped with adversity in the past? That is exactly what I did a few days ago on this very blog page, when I talked about looking for how I had climbed mountains in the past to guide me on how to climb the mountain currently looming in my near future. And as for being a frumpy little angel that always felt like he didn’t fit in, that is exactly the way I have felt in this world my whole life too. Perhaps my angels gave me THE LITTLEST ANGEL as a guide for my life, both as a small child and now as a senior wanting to share what I have to offer to the world. Of course, it would need to be something different than normal people, since I have never fit into a "normal person" mold. So now, before I continue, I will stop and read my copy of THE LITTLEST ANGEL to see if my memories are accurate, and to revive the important parts I have forgotten……..

I was unable to locate my copy of the little book, so I went to our local bookstore. They didn’t have a copy, but they did find an audio version on Utube and showed me how to access it. So I did, and wow, what an experience! Everything I remembered was very close to the reality of the book, but there was so much more that I had forgotten. It is actually a sweet and powerful Christmas story, so reading it on Christmas Eve was very synchronistic. Thank you angels! Everyone who reads this should watch the Utube audio-video version of THE LITTLEST ANGEL as recited beautifully by Paul Reid. (I found it at   http://youtu.be/LkYxM4SPkbE ) Experiencing it for yourself will be much more powerful than anything I could add at this point. Be sure to have a box of tissues handy, I guarantee unless you have a heart of stone it will bring tears to your eyes.