Alex Opalstone and the Window of Heaven's View: Life 101 Part 2

by T. M. Meek

  The next Saturday morning, Alex called Leena on her cell phone. "Hey. It's me. What are you up to?" Leena was painting her toenails.

  "I'll give you a hint. It involves fingernail polish."

  "How in the world are you painting your fingernails and talking to me at the same time? Do you have me on speakerphone? Because you know how I hate being on speakerphone without knowing it." Alex chided.

  "What?!" Leena protested. "You know I'm not that rude. I'm not going to put you on speakerphone and not tell you. And I'm not attempting the so-called impossible task of painting my nails since I'm doing my toenails not my fingernails." She said more kindly.

  "Oh." Alex said a bit embarrassed for assuming Leena would betray Alex's known preferences for phone etiquette.

  "What are you up to?" Leena asked.

  "I just wondered if you might want to hang out today."

  "Sounds good to me. But just so you know, we're out of fresh raspberries and strawberries over here so we won't be able to make any low-sugar smoothies today. Just in case you were wondering."

  "Actually, I thought we could make some smoothies at my house today since Aunt Meredith just bought some fresh berries this morning." Alex responded. Leena nearly dropped her phone in shock that Alex was inviting her to play at the Andrews home.

  "Are you really inviting me to come over to your home?" Leena asked.

  "Yep. That's what I'm doing. So what'll it be? Are you coming?" Alex asked. This was an exciting proposal for Leena since she had only been over at Alex's twice and both times Leena had only been as far as the front entrance since she was with her mom and they were only there to pick up Alex and Meredith when they took turns providing rides to do their presentation. Julio's mom had driven them all once also. Leena wanted to ask what took Alex so long to invite her over but she didn't want to potentially spark an argument. She figured she'd wait to actually in Alex’s room and then see how things felt if it might be okay to ask then. Otherwise she would simply remain silent and enjoy the time at Alex's place. Leena valued their friendship too much to start a fight over such a trivial matter of how long it took to be invited.

  Quickly fanning her toenails dry in excitement over going to Alex's home, Leena said, "Let me go ask my mom. I'm pretty sure she won't mind. Can you hold on a second?"

  "Yeah. But if you take longer than sixty seconds to find out, I might change my mind." Alex said in jest.

  Leena chuckled. She secretly liked it when Alex was commanding even when she wasn't joking. "I'll be fast." She then ran over to her mom who was playing with Leena's little sister, Leah. "Mom, can I go over to visit Alex at her house today?" She asked with quiet pleading facial expressions.

  "You over at Alex's home? I suppose that's fine. But don't stay more than a few hours."

  "Okay. Thanks mom!" Leena covered her cell phone and let out a quick squeal of excitement before giving Alex the news. "My mom said it's okay. I'll see you in a few!"

  "See you soon." Alex said before hanging up.

  Leena felt Alex's invitation to hang out at her place made it nearly official that they were best friends. For much of the time so far Leena wondered how much Alex really liked her since she had never invited her to visit with her at her Aunt and Uncle's home. Leena didn't really mind that they always hung out or studied at her home instead of Alex's since she was just thrilled Alex kept coming over nearly every time Leena invited. But now that she was invited by Alex, she felt hopeful that their feelings of close friendship were more mutual.

  “If you two need me, I’ll be in the garage,” Meredith smiled just before she headed out the door.

  “Okay,” Alex replied. “She’s helping my Uncle Samuel out while he’s at work. She’s agreed to rotate the tires on her car. Sometimes he does them. Sometimes she does them. It’s actually his turn but he’s too busy to do it. They call it compromising, which is another way to say that she’s off the hook for dinner tonight because she’s handling the tires,” Alex said to Leena but Leena was more excited about simply being with Alex at the Andrews home more than what was going on with Meredith and Samuel.

  As the two sat at the kitchen table finishing their homemade smoothies, Leena sat smiling at Alex. This made Alex give Leena a knowing look. "You want to see my room, don't you?" Alex smiled as if reading her mind. Leena smiled even wider as she nodded her head essentially unashamed to admit that's what she was thinking. "You know, my room is no big mystery." Alex said as if she were bored while spooning up the last traces of smoothie at the bottom of her glass. She then smiled to let Leena know she was teasing her. Leena had already finished her smoothie and was now simply waiting eagerly for Alex to lead the way and shed some light on what Leena felt was a mystery. But Alex tortured Leena a little longer in delaying the further invite by dragging her spoon slowly across the bottom of her glass in vain as no smoothie was left.

  "So if it's no big mystery, then why haven't you invited me over sooner?" She asked Alex teasing back. Alex tried to hide her smile as she left her glass and quickly stood up.

  "Let's go." Alex then led the way.

  "You didn't answer my question." Leena said wryly as she followed Alex.

  "Maybe I will. Maybe I won't." She retorted while looking over her shoulder at Leena. Leena smiled while squinting her eyes at Alex as if Leena were a detective who would be watching her every move cautiously. Once Alex opened the door to her bedroom, she walked in and shrugged her shoulders and said, "See? No big mystery."

  She then leaned up against one of the walls and let Leena's eyes explore her room. Alex’s room was just as it usually was at the Andrews: clean and orderly. As Leena walked in and looked around, Alex picked up her multicolored laser pointer and began to shine it first on the ceiling, then on a nearby wall until finally pointing it at Leena's necklace. Alex made circular motions which made the colorful beams reflect and shimmer in different directions off Leena's necklace.

  Leena noticed the sparkling effects and asked without looking at Alex, "Do you like my necklace?"

  "I like what my pointer is doing with your necklace." Alex smirked. "But I also like your necklace."

  Now looking directly at Alex, Leena held out her open hand and politely commanded, "Pointer." Alex turned it off and tossed it to her and she caught it easily in her hand. She then turned it on and pointed it right back at Alex so the lights danced along her forehead. "Tell me why it took so long for you to show me such a supposedly boring and non-mysterious room or I'll shine these lasers into your eyes and blind you right now," she said playfully to Alex.

  "If you point those lasers in my eyes you really will blind me! You do realize that. Right?" Alex said trying to joke and mask her real worry that Leena might actually shine the lasers in her eyes and blind her.

  "Then you better tell me why." Leena threatened in jest. Alex grabbed a nearby pair of sunglasses and put them on to protect her eyes and continue the so-called mystery.

  "No fair." Leena said with a teasing sour face. She then turned off the laser and plopped herself down to sit on the edge of Alex's bed. "Okay. That's fine. You know there’s’ no way I would’ve pointed the lasers into your eyes. I like you too much to ever blind you. You don't have to tell me why it took you so long if you don't want to." She then looked around as if to find something else to talk about.

  "I wasn't sure what you would think." Alex mumbled as Leena looked around.

  "What?" Leena asked. She was looking directly at Alex.

  Alex removed her sunglasses and repeated more clearly yet still timidly, "I said, I wasn't sure what you would think."

  "Of what?" Leena asked bewildered.

  "My room." Alex shrugged. "I mean, it's not as big as your room. It's certainly not as nice." Alex's eyes then gazed on her room. "You would've liked my room back home. You know, at my real home. My parents home."

  “Maybe I wouldn’t have liked your old room back at your real home,” Leena challenged.

  “Why not? You haven’t even seen
it,” Alex protested confused. Leena remained quiet for a few moments as she simply looked into Alex’s eyes. This caught Alex off guard and caused her to soften a little as Leena had Alex’s full attention.

  “I heard what kinds of things happened to you, Alex. Your aunt Meredith talked with my mom and my mom told me. You tell me how cool your room was back home but what your brother Dex so often did to you in your room wasn’t so cool. Was it?” Leena asked with a half-smile of an awkward attempt of compassion on a subject Alex hadn’t brought up yet. Alex wasn’t sure what to say.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Leena asked quietly.

  “No. Not right now. The fact is, God saved me and now I live in this room, which I still think isn’t as cool as I’d like it to be,” Alex said trying to avoid talking about any negative memories. “It’s okay if you don’t like my room,” Alex added trying to hide the fact that she really did care if Leena liked it or not. Leena was happy to talk about whatever Alex was comfortable with. So she decided to just follow Alex’s lead for now and not pry further into Alex’s pain about her family.

  "You didn't invite me over this entire time because you thought I wouldn't like your room?" Leena asked in compassionate disbelief. "Alex. That's ridiculous. I can't believe you thought I might reject you because your room might be boring. And it's not, by the way. I think it's nice."

  "You think it's 'nice.' But it's not cool," Alex replied carefully noting Leena's choice of words.

  "There is one particular feature of your room that is very cool." She smiled mysteriously. Alex tried to hold back a smile over what Leena might say. "The fact that you are in it..." She smiled. "…and me too!" she half-squealed excitedly as she clapped her hands together. Alex rolled her eyes over Leena's excitement.

  "I don't know why you like me so much."

  "Because you're ambitious and you're bossy. But you're only bossy because you know what you want." Leena smiled more.

  "I'm bossy?" Alex asked unsure how to accept it as a compliment. "Bossy isn't usually a complimentary word, you know."

  "You're a leader. It's like you don't know how to follow. I wish I was like that."

  "Yeah, well, if I were more of a follower, maybe I'd be more teachable." Alex said thoughtfully.

  "I suppose there's a time for each of us to lead and a time for each of us to follow." Leena responded. "I think I just need to work more on strengthening any potential I have as a leader. I'm not sure I have much potential that way though."

  "Yeah you do. You've got plenty of potential." Alex encouraged. "I think the fact is, those who struggle the most with being too much of a follower have a greater chance to be a great leader."

  "Why do you say that?"

  "Because you care about it more. If you don't care about improving something you're not going to have as much desire to get to it and improve."

  "That's a good point." Leena replied. She then walked around Alex's room and explored more. She saw several financial articles pinned up on the wall by her desk. "You really do care a lot about money. You must really want to improve your finances. However much or little you have, anyway," she said to Alex. She then looked over and saw Alex's empty wooden window frame behind her bedroom door. "What's this?" she asked as she picked it up and looked at it.

  "Something I care about more than money." Alex answered as if to politely warn Leena to handle it carefully. Alex watched Leena's face to see what Leena might think of Alex's humble treasure.

  "But it's just an empty window frame." Leena said thoughtlessly.

  "No, it's not," Alex corrected. She then walked over towards Leena as she noticed Alex's earlier childhood handwriting along the center of the top board of the frame.

  Leena read it aloud. "Lest you live a life of regret, never forget the love and blessings of heaven’s view." Leena looked curiously at Alex. "Did you write this? How old were you? Four?"

  "Seven," Alex answered in disappointment as she sensed Leena wasn’t being sensitive enough to Alex’s feelings about her cherished window. She reached to take the frame away but Leena moved it teasingly out of Alex's grasp.

  "I want to know what this is for."

  "Stop joking Leena. Give it back," Alex sighed in frustration. "I told you I care more about it than money," Alex said as she held her hand out waiting for Leena to give the window frame to her. Leena handed the frame to Alex.

  "And you wonder why I took so long to invite you over." Leena then realized it was more than just the image of a potentially boring room that Alex was protecting. She then felt awful and apologized to Alex.

  "I'm sorry, Alex. I guess I didn't really know how important that was to you. Was that something special your grandpa made for you or something? Did your Dad make it?" Alex remained silent as she put it back behind her door. "It's okay. You don't have to tell me. We can talk about something else if you want." Leena's heart was now filling with compassion for whatever it was about the frame that Alex was so sensitive over. Alex then returned over to the wall she was previously leaning against. The silence became a bit awkward and so Alex decided to break the silence with something she had been thinking about.

  "Do you remember when we agreed to have our rooms and friendship be drug-free? Remember when you told me about the tragedy of your younger sister's death from huffing?"

  Leena looked at Alex curiously and answered, "Yeah. I remember. Why do you ask?"

  "Well I think we should also agree to a sex-free friendship as well. How about we agree to not peer pressure one another into having sex with anyone before marriage? No matter how much we may like them."

  "I'm okay with that." Leena said.

  "Yeah but do you feel strongly about it? Because I feel strongly about it."

  "Of course I feel strongly about it." Leena replied adamantly. "I don't want either one of us getting hurt and getting some STI or having an unwanted pregnancy because we were too weak to say something out of some social fear of rejection."

  "Good. That way we help each other avoid a lot of unnecessary heartache."

  "Absolutely." Leena agreed.

  "Alex, I really am sorry if I hurt your feelings with my curiosity over your window frame." Leena said now trying to ensure Alex she truly was sorry. Alex felt Leena's sincerity and decided to see how Leena might react to some of Alex's deeper feelings and beliefs about God before telling her more about the window frame and her favorite pastimes of imagining heavens blessings.

  "Do you ever have dreams? Dreams you're not sure what to do with?"

  "Of course I have dreams. We all do. And I find it very difficult to believe that you would have anything in your life that you didn't know what to do with," Leena said referring back to Alex's natural tendency to make quick decisions and know what she wants. Alex looked bewildered that Leena was so surprised that Alex might have a dream she really didn't know what to do with. "Besides. If you're talking about the Triple-C I think we'll win. You're doing a great job presenting." Leena smiled confidently.

  "First of all, I'm actually not talking about the Triple-C. And second of all, I'm not so sure we're going to win." Alex replied.

  "Thanks a lot. You know, Julio and I have worked hard too. We should be optimistic." Leena encouraged.

  "We should be ‘realistically’ optimistic and I think realistically, we may not get first place. We may not even get second place."

  "Well I think we've got a good chance for second place at the very least. But I still hope we get first place."

  "I hope so too." Alex sighed. Leena noticed they got off the subject of Alex's dreams and this had Leena intrigued.

  "So if you weren't talking about fulfilling the dream of winning the Triple-C, then what were you talking about?" Alex thought deeply and then figured it wasn't the right time to tell Leena about the symbolic dream she had shortly before starting school at North Ivy.

  "Nothing. Never mind," Alex retorted tersely.

  "No. Not 'nothing.' Tell me about it. Was it a good dream?" Leena asked.
She then thought more and gasped, "Was it a nightmare?"

  "It wasn't a nightmare. It was actually a good dream. A very good dream. But I've changed my mind. I don't want to talk about it yet." Leena sighed in frustration as she hoped they could do more bonding by opening up more to one another. After all, what's the point of being invited to your friend's home if they're not going to open up their heart too? She then chastised herself in her mind for wanting things to move too fast with Alex. Friends are patient with each other, Leena thought to herself. So she decided not to press her to talk about anything she didn't want to. This way, whenever Alex did decide to open up, it would be more because she wanted to and not out of peer pressure that might build some form of resentment in Alex later. But just in case Alex was the type who wanted her to press further, since Leena knew some people see a little more pressing as an expression of love, Leena decided to let her know that her backing off didn't mean she didn't still care.

  "That's fine. I won't pressure you. But if you ever do want to talk about it with me you can, okay? Because I don't want you to think that just because I stop asking you now about your dream that it means that I don't care because that's not true. I actually really want to know but I'm choosing to respect your privacy."

  "Thanks," Alex responded. This simple response by Alex was still a bit frustrating for Leena as she still had a part of her that hoped this clarification would help ease Alex into opening up about it anyway. So Leena sat on the edge of the bed and tried to get herself to really mean what she said so she could be sincerely patient with Alex. Then Alex broke the silence with a deeply felt question. "You know I sometimes go with my Aunt Meredith to meetings at Linda Wise's office, right? The meetings about God and the art she wants to display at the museum my Uncle Samuel is building for her. You knew that, right?"

  "Yeah. But you haven't really talked much about it though. Why do you ask?"

  "Do you believe in God, Leena?"

  Leena thought for a moment and said, "Yeah. I guess I do. I'm just not used to anyone asking me."

  "I know what you mean. I believe that Jesus Christ is Heavenly Father's Son."

  "Same here. Most Christians do."

  "Exactly. So I've been attending these meetings with Aunt Meredith where a bunch of researchers are studying things about Jesus and why we're all here on earth and why the atonement of Christ is so important. One of the things I learned recently is that there's more to Christ's great atonement than being redeemed or saved to live in heaven after we die. Another important part of His sacrifice is grace to enable us to get help right now while we're alive before we die." Leena looked like she was struggling to understand. Alex clarified further.

  "What I'm learning is that ultimately, the gospel of Jesus Christ is to change human nature by making bad people become good people and for good people to improve to become even better than they were before. So God lets us have experiences to help us improve upon our own natures to become good or better. We get help from our Savior because during His atoning sacrifice, He literally experienced what it was like to be every person who was ever born or will be ever born and He did that so He could have perfect compassion and empathy for us and help us just the way we need it when we need it."

  "So He experienced what it was like for me to lose my sister when she died from huffing?" Leena asked quietly in awe.

  "Yep. He even knows what it feels like to be you every time you fell off of your bike or were bullied or when you missed your mom anytime she had to hire a babysitter when you were little. Everything. From the moment you were born all the way up through your own death with experiences you yourself haven't even experienced yet. And not just the bad things but the good things too. All of your happiest birthdays or Christmases or anytime you accomplished anything important and felt successful. He experienced everything in your life and everyone's life so He could be the perfect source of help for all of us."

  "That's… amazing," Leena said wide-eyed. "But I guess that makes sense because God is supposed to know everything," she added thoughtfully.

  "Now, sometimes in life we have challenges that we just can't get through on our own. And even though we might want to pray for a certain challenge to be removed from us, sometimes we have to go through the challenge in order to learn and grow and become better people. So when it's best for us to go through a certain difficulty in life and overcome it, we may not be able to overcome it on our own. This is when we pray for help and then Christ's enabling power is provided through His atonement which provides us divine strength that helps us to be more than what we could be without His help. He can help us to do things we could never do with our own limited abilities."

  Alex studied Leena's face for a few moments and then asked, "If I tell you why that window frame is so important to me, do you promise not to make fun or tell anyone else about it?"

  Leena could tell Alex was serious. The fact that she was actually opening her heart to her made Leena all the more inclined to be serious about it herself. "Yeah. I promise," she said matching Alex's depth of emotion.

  Alex pulled the window frame over near her and looked at it and said, "My brother Glade and my Uncle Samuel helped me make this a long time ago. It was for an extra big dollhouse that would be built in our backyard. You know big enough to play in. But I didn't want a dollhouse so I decided I would make it a comfortable place for our dogs, "Twinkle" and "Bubbles." Leena giggled over the cute names of their family pets. Alex smiled as she agreed they were cute names for very cute pets. Alex missed them both. She then continued.

  "It was a gift from my mom. She said she would make sure it got finished. But it never did. Uncle Samuel even offered to help me finish it once but I never really pushed him for help so it didn't get built. So I started to use it for something else."

  "What did you use it for?" Leena wondered.

  "I used it to visualize hope. A hope that isn't easily seen or heard but is more like a feeling of the heart. A miracle of hope that rings loud enough in the human heart to make doubts and discouragement disintegrate." Alex answered.

  Leena looked confused and replied, "I don't get it."

  "There's a lot of sadness and pain in this world, right?"

  "Unfortunately, yes," Leena sighed.

  "You've experienced it. I've experienced it. Your mom has. My mom has. Other kids at school have." Alex then paused to gather her thoughts. "If we don't have hope for some kind of good that comes from our pain, some good that we recognize sooner or later, then why are any of us still here? Why care about life itself if we can't see the good that's all around us even blessings we can't always see." Leena was listening intently. "When I was little, I used to imagine that this was a window up in heaven. Like a window of heaven's view. Heaven's view of life. I would picture blessings happening that only God could see and that we were meant to simply have faith in. Then once we had faith and believed enough, we would see more of how God had His hand in our lives as a blessing for us and those we love."

  Leena started to catch on more. "You mean like imagining angels helping us?"

  "Yes!" Alex said excitedly. She was thrilled that Leena got it.

  "No way." Leena said enchanted with the prospects of such imaginations.

  "But here's the thing you have to know before I show you some things." Alex said in a tone of caution. "Most people think that in order to have a spiritual experience that you have to see some big dramatic display from heaven. But since I've been studying the bible more, I'm learning that big manifestations from God are actually pretty rare. That's why they're often called extraordinary experiences because that's basically what extraordinary means is that it's a rare thing to have happen. Of course they happen when God wants it to for us as His children but usually He guides us through quiet inspiration you know, like thoughts and feelings in our heart. Usually peaceful feelings and thoughts that encourage us to be better people. I think that's why most law-abiding citizens believe in God."

  "So you imagine bless
ings happening through angels that none of us can see and only God sees, but yet you want me to remember that people expect to see angels or some big miracle when they shouldn't?" Leena looked perplexed.

  "Yeah. I think it's a good thing to look for the good in what some may see as a bad situation. Like a car accident. Some people only focus on the bad and they usually have a lot of depression and sadness and even bitterness if they get angry enough. But other people look for whatever good comes from what may be a bad situation and they usually heal faster and are happier. I think it's good to imagine God's hand blessing our lives but I never expect to actually see an angel or some other big divine manifestation from God just to satisfy my own need to believe in Him," Alex said. "I believe that spiritual blessings including many of God's miracles are often done privately as God strengthens his relationships with each of his children in sacred ways. Since God is humble and therefore doesn't feel a need to show off his divine powers, he manifests his powers to us often in ways that others can't see. This is a pattern we read about in His holy scriptures. This way he keeps sacred things hidden from those insincere individuals or groups who would mock or otherwise remain skeptical of his divine love and purposes." Alex said.

  "What do you mean 'divine manifestation'?" Leena asked.

  "That's like a big heavenly display like when Moses parted the Red Sea or when fire shot out of the sky when he was still trying to get Pharaoh to let God's people go. Miracles you can actually see or hear."

  "Got it." Leena replied. "Do you think God still uses angels today?"

  "Of course He does. He hasn't changed that way. He's just as selective today with who sees angels and other divine manifestations and who doesn't and He still has His purposes in all that. He hasn't changed."

  Leena then said wistfully, "I wonder why so many people don't believe in angelic help or God's power anymore."

  "I suppose when it's been hundreds of years since most people last heard of a divine manifestation occurring by God's hand for His people that it might be hard to believe He would do so again. But He teaches us that no miracle can occur when people choose not to believe. We have to have faith in His ability to work miracles. So we need hope to believe," Alex replied.

  “So God really cares about us, huh?” Leena asked.

  “Absolutely! He loves us more than we can imagine. This life is the only time we’ll live under what you could call an illusion that we are not surrounded by love. Because when we lived in heaven with our Heavenly Father as His children before we were born, we were all surrounded constantly by love. You know the bible says that God notices even when a sparrow falls from the sky. That’s because I believe He has assigned angels that we can’t see to watch over us and all of His creations to silently take notes on what’s happening. He wants to know how we spend every minute of every day of our lives so God can know what blessings and guidance we need for our happiness. The Lord is eager to bless us.

  “Record keeping angels are assigned to each and every one of us – starting at each person’s birth – but they wait to take note of any sins until each of us become old enough – around eight years old to understand the basics of right from wrong. These notes also help God to know all of the good that we do so we can get blessed for it now in this life and later on when we meet Him to be held accountable and judged for what we did with the gifts he’s given us – our bodies, our lives, our fond relationships etc. But when these angels take notes of all of the bad things we do, the only way to get our bad deeds erased is to sincerely repent and then He’ll forgive us for messing up and then our personal history book that heaven keeps as a record of each of our lives is edited to show the atonement of Gods Son, Jesus Christ, covers us. But we have to be sincere which means we admit our mistakes to the people we’ve hurt and we stop committing the sin and become better people in our heart and in what we do and say from then on,” Alex replied. “I bet there’s two angels – maybe more – assigned to each person born since the law is that the testimony of two or three witnesses is how truth is best established.”

  “Wow,” Leena mumbled in awe.

  “God really looks out for us so He always knows what we need as blessings in advance. Cool, huh?” Alex said.

  "Yeah,” Leena answered still amazed at the idea of angels taking detailed notes of everyday life to bless us and at times warn us. “So what are some of the things you imagine with the window frame?" Leena wondered.

  "Lots of things. Tell me a hard situation someone could have in life and we can think of what blessings and miracles could come from it."

  Leena began thinking deeply. “A man goes hiking and gets lost and is attacked by a wild animal when he tries to find his way back home."

  "Perfect! What country? Here in America? Or in China? India?" Alex asked.

  "Australia!" Leena answered excitedly.

  "How old is the man?"

  "In his twenties." Leena said. Alex thought for a bit and then clapped her hands in excitement as she got an idea.

  "Now as we do this, keep in mind that because angels work with divine power they don't need wings so they don't have wings. We're talking about human spirits before they’re born that are bright white with light and are just like an adult but they’re a heavenly spirit. When anyone paints or draws an angel with wings, it's usually because they've been taught incorrectly about angels. God isn't limited in his powers so I promise you, angels don't have wings because they don't need them."

  "Why would angels only be spirits? Didn't a bunch of people get resurrected after Christ's resurrection? That's what it says in the New Testament. God could use them as angels and they would have a physical, immortal body, right?" Leena asked. Alex was surprised at Leena's insight.

  "Yeah. That makes sense. I'm not going to say God can't use immortal resurrected beings from the time of Christ as angels."

  "Okay. So what's the challenge the guy in Australia is going through that he needs heaven to help him with?"

  Alex then began a hypothetical scenario. ”The hiker’s father began to worry when his son didn't return home on time. So the father prays to God for help and then does what he can to help that process along as God desires all of us to do all that we can for our own freedom in self-sufficiency. God will help us after such faith but He also helps us while we do what we can. So after the father prays for the safe return of his son, he leaves to go looking for him while continuing to offer a prayer in his heart from time to time along the way. As the father is praying and looking for his son, his son has just survived a serious attack from a wild animal and the son is trying to get back home to get help for his wounds. But the young man is in pain and is becoming ever weaker as he remains lost as he tries walks with a bad limp. He stops to rest under a tree and he prays to God for help as he is exhausted and can do no more. So God sends three angels. They’re all super bright with light. They all wear just solid white robe like clothing. Everything about them is so bright with light. Even their clothing is intensely bright with heavenly light.”

  “They’re so bright it’s like lightning.” Leena added using one hand to partly cover her eyes. She squinted her eyes imagining they were too bright to look at directly.

  “Yes! That’s it!” Alex was ecstatic that Leena was getting it. “Blindingly bright white light! But no one there can see them. So the hiker doesn’t see them. Two of the three angels silently hold a special book and write notes of everything they see that is going on–– including the thoughts of the hiker and the animals. They can write it perfectly accurately and thoroughly and make a perfect video like recording of everything at the same time. A third angel guides a large water buffalo over about five yards away from this severely injured man who is now resting under a tree as the sun is going down. The angels are dressed in all white and glow with a radiance of extremely white light and they’re right there by the injured man, right next to him–– but he doesn’t see them and he doesn’t hear them. The water buffalo does not attack the young man but
instead simply sits down and stays put.

  “That is sooo cool!” Leena whispered. Alex nodded, smiling excitedly in agreement and then continued.

  “Although the presence of the nearby water buffalo alarms the young man who is alone, he is too weak and too tired to move. The water buffalo stays in the same spot all night while another angel remains near the young man to comfort him enough to help him sleep since the young mans body will heal faster if he gets some rest. He'll also have the energy he'll need to keep looking for help the next morning. Having the angel command the water buffalo to lie down near the young man and to refrain from attacking him and to not leave him until the morning is a highly effective way to protect the man since all other animals fear the water buffalo and so as other predators stalk the young man as potential prey, they soon see the water buffalo nearby and they leave the young man alone. So the end result is a success: to protect the man from further harm so he could safely rest until he finds the help he needs.”

  “That’s so cool how the angels make good use out of the animals nearby, cleverly using the one with the greatest power to protect him be the one that’s there to ironically save him rather than harm him. That’s amazing!” Leena was loving it.

  “If heaven can achieve the same end result with one angel as it can with a dozen angels called to protect from all other animal threats, it makes more sense to simply use the one to get heavens work done and thereby free up other angels for other heavenly work. The young man cannot help but to fall asleep but when he wakes in the early morning to the sudden sounds of an approaching swarm of bees he is quickly motivated to get up and move on to find help which he does within about fifteen minutes as he happens upon a group of people who have just arrived for a hike. He would not have crossed their path at the right time if he had slept longer. They have a first aid kit, food, water and they help him with his wounds and get him back home safely. The rescuing angel returned to heaven once the young man had found further help through others while the other two angels continue to stay with the young man to take notes of his life. His father is grateful to see his prayers of faith answered as he greets his son who is now safe in the hospital.” Alex smiled brightly. She was thrilled by the possibilities of how God cares and shares his power to save in so many ways.

  Leena’s mind was baffled over how much detail Alex would use to imagine how God would bless someone. "Let's do another one. You pick a story of another dangerous situation someone gets saved from." She then grabbed a nearby scented candle that was by Alex’s bed and smelled it. Leena took a deep breath enjoying the vanilla scent before she set it back down to listen more.

  "Okay." Alex agreed. “A woman on a business trip stays in a hotel and wakes to the sounds of approaching footsteps outside. The motel she is staying in has immediate outside entry to all motel rooms just as most apartment complexes do. She is on the first floor. It is 12:45am and she has the thought to go brace herself against the door to keep a man with the intent to harm her from coming in. She follows her intuitive thoughts immediately and sneaks over quickly to the door. As soon as she gets to the door she realizes the man outside has successfully unlocked her door and is trying to get in. Two unseen heavenly angels are taking notes about everything he is doing and thinking and everything she is thinking and experiencing. So she pushes harder against the door to keep him from entering since the security chain lock near the top of the door is broken. As the man pushes and pushes and tries to get in, she looks around for something heavy to put against the door but anything she could use is too far out of her reach. If she stops pushing against the entry door to go get something even for a moment she knows he can get in. She can't even reach the phone to call the police. So she prays to God for strength to keep the man out. Her prayers are answered as a third angel sent to save her from harm touches the woman’s head and blesses her to have superhuman strength for the time she needs to continue pressing against the door to keep him out.” Leena was so excited she chimed in.

  “She never sees the angel or feels the actual touch but the strength she is given is real. It’s so real that it lasts far beyond what a woman of her small size could normally handle on her own since the man tries persistently for nearly five hours straight to enter. The angel also provides thoughts in the woman’s mind that encourage her to stay with it and notice how long she's been able to keep him from getting in so far. Other thoughts are given to her that keep her strong and believing to remain prayerful. Just before sunrise, the man gives up and she feels at peace that he has left.” Leena was glowing proudly over the brilliance of ideas that she shared.

  “As always, two angels assigned to record everything about the man’s life were all the while taking careful notes of the evil harm the man was trying to inflict upon the woman,“ Alex added as she joined Leena to sit next to her on the bed.

  “She was given miraculous strength as if she were much larger and stronger so she could hold out a determined criminal for nearly five incredibly long hours nonstop.”

  “The rescuing angel leaves as soon as she is safe and the criminal is gone and the now exhausted woman is able to put herself in a better position to get some much needed rest safely. Next time she stays in a motel with an outside entry, she brings her door jam she uses at home with her to secure the door with against potential intruders so they can’t kick open or otherwise force open the door.” Alex was thrilled Leena was enjoying it so much.

  “This is so much fun! No wonder you like your window frame so much!” Leena smiled as she bounced up and down a bit.

  "Want to do another one?" Alex asked excitedly.

  "Yeah!" Leena replied. “Let’s do imagine a story about a seventy-year-old grandmother who lifts car after surviving a major car accident to save her grandchild who is trapped inside. The vehicle is upside down with most of the roof crushed. She prays for help and an unseen angel provides the elderly woman supernatural strength. One angel stays with the grandmother to help her think clearly despite the stress.

  “She also gets the health and strength needed to lift the car.”

  “Another angel remains near the grandchild and makes sure that comfort is given to the little one and that no major injuries have occurred. The angels remain with the grandmother and grandchild to comfort and strengthen them throughout the whole thing. When the police arrive they have a hard time believing that the woman actually lifted the car. But when a stranger pulls their car over and talks to them, they explain that they saw the woman lifting the car so they turned their car around to go back and see who this miracle woman of such extraordinary strength was and to offer any help to her or whoever she was trying to rescue. The police were amazed. Both the grandmother and child survived. Again, the whole time, each person had bright white, glowing angels assigned to them who were silently taking notes on the details of their lives in anticipation of blessings requested and given in heavenly mercy.

  “The angels were also there ready to provide any justice needed, either on earth and/or after death as divinely justified and lawfully fulfilled because, after all, we may each choose to sin but we cannot choose the consequences. Technically, higher eternal laws cannot be broken but we can only break ourselves against them if we freely choose it.” Alex chimed in. She then moved a decorative pillow over on the bed so she could sit more comfortably.

  “I totally believe an old grandma could get that strength to save someone,” Leena said as she clapped her hands a few times excitedly.

  “That’s a great one!” Alex’s mind was racing with how much faith Leena had in the power of God to answer prayers.

  “This is much more fun than the Triple-C!” Leena sighed with a smile. She then leaned back on Alex’s bed to get more comfortable.

  “Or how about this one?” Alex asked as she stood by the side of her bed and then pretended to act out parts of the next story.” A firefighter goes to rescue a mother and her child who are trapped upstairs in their burning home. Everyone involved has angels that ar
e assigned to provide loving assistance although the lightning bright angels remain unseen by all who receive the heavenly help. The firefighter pushes a door open with miraculous strength to rescue them as the mother prays in her heart with faith in the Lord's ability to help the firefighters to rescue them. Had the firefighter seen what was on the other side of the door he was pushing against he may have never even tried to enter that way and had he tried another entrance it would've been too late to save them. What was on the other side of the door that he miraculously pushed through was a large heavy, wooden beam that was at an otherwise impossible angle to push through but he did it with divine aid and the mother looked on in awe over what she witnessed. The firefighter, the mother and her child all got out safely. The mother and child had only moderate burns.” Alex looked at Leena and smiled since she realizes now that she has Leena as a friend she can trust to share her feelings about God with.

  "Oh! I've got another one!" Leena said. “A woman is out at night in the early evening alone and isn't aware that she's being stalked by her ex-boyfriend who is about to attack her. Once she realizes he is following her and that she is in danger because of his past abuse of her, she starts running away from him as fast as she can. As she is being chased by her ex-boyfriend, she is saved by divine intervention as he chases her. An angel, not seen by her or anyone else, appears to provide additional divinely appointed aid in answer to the woman’s prayers. As she prays with faith in Christ for heavens help she is given extra strength from God by the touch of His angel to out run her ex-boyfriend.”

  “He gives up chasing her but he then starts firing at her with his gun as she continues to run away. One of the shots completely misses her and the other three go right through the back of her coat jacket missing her body with the exception of one that slightly grazes her side. Now, imagine the woman running in slow motion…” Leena then hopped off the bed and pretended to be the woman running in slow motion. Alex then continued. “ …and the super bright white angel dressed in all white simply places her heavenly hand close behind the woman and absorbs the bullets force with her immortal hand so that it ultimately appears that one of the bullets is stopped miraculously by the back of her pant belt. As soon as the man is done firing and gives up, the angel returns to heaven.”

  “After the woman successfully escapes and survives the attack, she considers the lodged bullet stuck in the back of her belt along with the other three holes in her coat jacket as souvenir gifts of God that witness of His supreme divine and loving protection. She files charges with the police against her ex-boyfriend for trying to kill her since the street she was running down had a working security camera on it.”

  “She also expresses heartfelt gratitude in her prayers to God regularly for her safety and divine protection.” Alex and Leena stood and looked at each other. As the two were in awe over the endless possibilities for how the Lord can work miracles, Alex’s eyes widened with a big smile. She had another thought. “Or maybe an angel simply touches her and temporarily changes the physical laws of her body to operate on a higher plane so that the bullets pass right through her body without doing any damage at all to her,” Alex moved her hands and made a wooshing sound to imitate the bullets hitting nothing but air.

  “The man stops firing and the woman is safe!”

  “So the physical laws that normally affect her mortal body return as that divine protection is no longer urgently needed. Heavenly angels took careful notes of all involved since that’s part of how blessings are ordered in heaven for those in need.”

  "That is so cool!" Leena smiled with great excitement.

  Alex nodded in agreement with a big smile and replied, "Sweet!"