Scars of My Guardian Angel

by Russell L Martin

  As we head down the long egress toward the lake, I have a memory where in the Bible it talks about having mansions when we get to Heaven. I look back across the beautiful homes, comparing each with the design of my Granny’s house. I come to realize, they are all mansions, just different styles with each fitting the hearts of who live there. What a cool thought. I look over at Uriel and catch him smiling.

  “Chado, you’re starting to catch on. ”

  “So which one is Dad’s place, can we see it from here?”

  Uriel points off to the left at a great big stone house that’s partially covered by a hill.

  “I wonder why they built it like that, I hope Dad’s not worried about tornadoes here in Heaven.”

  “You’re right, that is a bit odd. Chado, you’ll just have to ask him.”

  24

  Cuddles

  A s we get closer, I see a huge pasture behind Dad’s house, with at least forty head of horses grazing on the greenest river bottom grass you’ve ever seen. My dad’s house is sitting right at the mouth of a river that feeds straight into this crystal clear lake. It is truly gorgeous.

  I see Rex and Moushie dart around the side of the home facing the river and both were wagging their tails as if greeting someone. Only a few seconds pass and I see two old gentlemen appear. Both start waving with one tossing his straw hat in the air. Moushie, not wasting any time, picks up the hat and runs straight for me.

  As we approach both men, I could tell right away it was Dad and Uncle Spike. Without saying anything, I reach out handing my dad his hat while shaking Uncle Spike’s hand. And the first thing Dad says to me, as he gives me his ole stern look, “Boy, I thought sure you would have busted Hell wide open.”

  His comment takes me off guard and suddenly I remember how funny Pop was back on Earth, and realize God allowed him to bring his funny sense of humor along with him to Heaven. We all burst out laughing as we head back around the house toward a huge pin oak tree right at the water’s edge .

  Dad and Uncle Spike had built all kinds of chairs and tables. Some were out of wood, some were stone and the craftsmanship was unbelievable. I didn’t say anything, but my dad was not a very good carpenter back on Earth. So apparently God has gifted them both with some new skills.

  As we each found a comfortable chair to sit in, they both wanted to know how Mom and Aunt Sis were doing. I let them know they were fine, their lifestyles hadn’t changed much and they had the normal aches and pains that come with their age. They get out of the house for church and the usual trips to the grocery store, and Mom’s still planting rose bushes everywhere she can.

  “Well Chado, who’s this big fellow you got traveling with you?”

  “Dad, Uncle Spike, meet my Guardian Angel, Uriel.”

  “Hello, Mr. Uriel, why in heaven’s name would Chado need a Guardian here? This is the most peaceful place in all God’s creation.”

  “Well Dad, God has something special He wants me to do for Him and before you ask, neither one of us really knows exactly what it is. But if I survive it, I’ll tell y’all everything after it’s over.”

  My dad looks over at Uriel and I’m thinking, here we go, Dad is about to embarrass me or crack a joke.

  “Ole friend, you know Spike and I are brothers and we married sisters so that meant Spike’s two boys were my two son’s double first cousins. You know I never thought about it, but if either of the two of us would’ve had daughters instead of sons and they ended up getting married, our grandkids might have ended up playing a banjo.”

  I look over at Uriel shaking my head and we all start laughing at Dad’s corny joke. Uriel shakes his finger at Dad, “Travis, you know that’s borderline sin.”

  “Yeah Dad that’s right, you better watch it, you might get in trouble up here.”

  As our happy conversation continued, I felt a gentle touch of something on my side. Without looking, I reach over to feel what’s touching me, while still focusing on a story Uncle Spike was sharing. I notice my wine pouch is missing. I quickly turn just in time to see a hairy little critter dart around the corner of Dad’s home, with Moushie and Rex close behind.

  “Hey Dad, what was that? It stole my wine pouch that Samson gave me.”

  Uncle Spike gets excited, “Samson from the Bible, that Samson gave you the pouch?”

  “Yes sir, I met him on Tabula Rasa. So what kind of critter just stole my pouch?”

  “That was probably Benny.”

  “Who the heck is Benny?”

  “Y’all come on and I show you, as a matter of fact we’ll let you meet all our critters.”

  As we follow Dad I’m thinking this will be great; Dad always loved to have a few barnyard animals around back on Earth.

  “Chado, I got something I want to show y’all before we go out to the barn.”

  He turns and walks through a huge door to his home, as my curiosity gets the best of me. I want to ask, why in the world anyone would need a door that big, but I’ll hold my questions, I don’t want to spoil any of Dad’s surprises.

  Just like baby ducklings following their mom, we continued on. I was really surprised how neat the inside looked. Back home Dad was satisfied without having all the bells and whistles, but this was definitely nice. We passed in front of a beautiful fireplace and I had to ask, “Hey Uncle Spike, why would you need a fireplace if the temperature is always perfect in Heaven?”

  “You know, I asked the same question when I saw your granny’s wood heater when I first arrived. Well Chado, let me see if I can explain how it all works. You see, if a person desires to have all four seasons like we had back on Earth, they can.”

  “Well that’s cool, but what if your neighbor doesn’t like the cool weather?”

  “God knows the desires of everyone’s heart, so the people that are likeminded about the seasons settle in the same areas. And you know almost everyone that comes to Heaven still loves the seasons.”

  “Yeah, I understand, and as I think about it I would really miss seeing the fall colors or a beautiful white frost. What about in the cities at the twelve gates?”

  “God keeps it at a perfect temperature around each city and the seasons everywhere else are mild and comfortable. You might have a snow in the winter and before you know it flowers are blooming. Chado it’s nothing like you’ve ever experienced. I’m telling you, it is perfection.”

  Still following Dad admiring the woodwork and the interior of his home, we’re led to a huge rock wall with another great big door. It appeared that through this door was a hidden room in the side of the hill.

  I look over at Uriel,” Hey bud, there is no telling what my Pop is about to show us.”

  * * *

  Uriel smiles as we both turn and watch my dad on one side and Spike on the other, both grab hold of two big handles of the double doors. As they start pulling I hear the screeching sound of the hinges as they swing open. The room is so dark I could only see a couple feet inside the threshold.

  “Chado, go on in there.”

  “I’m not going in there, Dad. This is your house, you go in there. ”

  “Awe… don’t be a scaredy-cat, go on in there.”

  “I’m telling you Dad, I’m not going in there.”

  Dad and Uncle Spike burst out laughing with Uriel joining in on the fun, when I hear Dad, “Cuddles, wakey wake. Cuddles, come on boy, wake up.”

  We wait for a few seconds, nothing.

  “Come on Cuddles, wakey wake. If you get up I’ll bring you fishing.”

  I hear a deep growling yawn coming from inside the dark room. As we continue to wait, I hear the clicking sounds of claws against the rock floor and the sound is getting closer.

  At this point, we all take several steps back away from the door. The sounds of his claws stops just inside door with this giant creature still hidden in the darkness.

  “Come on Cuddles, don’t be afraid. It’s my son and his friend Uriel. Come on little buddy.” Dad looks over at us, “He’s a bit shy, bu
t he’ll warm up to you.”

  He edges a few more inches closer and I see his black nose barely showing through at the edge of the dark room.

  Uncle Spike tells me, “Go pet him Chado, I promise he won’t hurt you.”

  Uriel, standing behind me gives me a gentle nudge, “Go on and make another friend.”

  I stand frozen in my tracks, thinking, there’s nothing to be afraid of, and anything with the name Cuddles has to be a sweet little cuddly animal of some sort, right? It’s just the whole dark cave thing that’s kind of strange.

  As I take a few steps forward, the black nose disappears back into the dark room. In a friendly gesture, I hold my hand out in front of me as I slowly move in his direction. Now my hand completely disappears through the shadows of the dark cave. I start to feel the warm breath of whatever kind of animal that’s in front of me. Suddenly, I feel a huge warm wet tongue completely wrap around my hand. His tongue feels like it’s the width of a medium size bath towel. I knew at this moment this was definitely not something small and cuddly.

  I step a little closer reaching up with my other hand to feel the side of his face. The tips of my fingers slide through cool silky hair. I softly whisper, “What are you big fellow?” Without the animal resisting, I take another step forward, shoving my hand deeper into his fur. The thickness of his pelt reminded me of the giant woolly mammoth I had befriended in the dandelion fields on the other side of the wall. Surely this isn’t a mammoth, what the heck; I’m standing in total darkness with some kind of giant animal.

  I hear Dad, “Come on Chado, he’ll follow you out now. Let’s go get your wine pouch back from Benny.”

  As I turn, I feel his warm breath on my neck as we head out of the dark room and I’m thinking, this is so cool, I’ve made another friend, just don’t know exactly what it is yet, but got a friend.

  When we broke out into the light I couldn’t believe my eyes, it was another huge bear, just like I saw back where the three old men were fishing. He looked as big as or maybe even larger than the other one. This sucker was standing on all four feet and his back was as tall as a big Clydesdale horse, my goodness, this is so cool!

  “Dad, where did you get this big rascal?”

  “Well, the dark room back there was his original home. You see in the back of that room is a huge cave. When I got here to Heaven and was looking for a place to live, I stopped off and was fishing right over there at the mouth of that river. I was catching trout as fast as I could bait my hook, when Cuddles walked up. I shared my fish with him and made a friend. After he finished his dinner of fresh trout, I saw him head back to his den. And Chado, at about that same time I felt the presence of God tell me this will be my home.” Dad points, “I laid down right over there underneath that apple tree and fell into a deep sleep and when I woke up, the house you just walked through had appeared in the side of that hill. I guess you could say Cuddles and I are roommates.”

  “Dad that is the wildest story I’ve ever heard. I can’t wait for my brother Gerald to get here; he will get a kick out of this. My dad living with a giant bear! Who would have ever thought?”

  “Yeah, your big brother will love this. By the way how’s he doing?”

  “Oh, he’s okay. Stays busy, always building stuff and he’s got his place really looking good. Hey Uncle Spike, I bet you can’t get Gerald to walk in that dark room with Cuddles yawning.”

  Uncle starts laughing, “No he wouldn’t go in there; I didn’t either when your dad showed me.”

  “Chado, Benny is probably hanging out at the barn, and if that little rascal figured out how to get that cork out, he’s probably hid out and drinking your wine.”

  On our short walk to the barn, Cuddles heads over toward the river. I’m guessing he’s either thirsty or wanting to go fishing. When he sees we aren’t following him, he stops, sits down on his butt, and gives out a huge moaning sound.

  “Hey Dad, what’s the matter with Cuddles?”

  Dad starts laughing, “I got him pretty spoiled. That rascal will sit right there and pout like a three thousand pound baby. He’s trying to con me into bringing him fishing.”

  “Pop, you never spoiled me and brother, how is it you got so soft hearted?”

  “Well… I guess you could say, Heaven will just do that to you.”

  Rex and Moushie appear from the barn running out to greet us. After they say their hello, they run straight over to Cuddles.

  As they approach the giant bear, both dogs are shaking their tails showing that their intentions are friendly. Cuddles suddenly stops his moaning, rolls over on his back wanting to play with Moushie and Rex. Both dogs start rubbing against the giant bear with their bodies and finally Moushie leaps up on the stomach of Cuddles and all at once, all three get up and head for the river.

  “Chado, you do know they’ve been friends for quite some time now.”

  “No, I didn’t. Is this where Rex and Moushie have been the whole time?

  “Yep, this is their home and you’re welcome to stay here too Son, if you want. We really love it here. Now, let’s see if we can find that monkey.”

  “So Benny is a monkey?”

  “Yes, he’s a spider monkey and he is mischievous as they come. I believe the Lord truly has a sense of humor because Benny will tickle your funny bone. And he has a brother that’s just about as bad.”

  “Yeah, I ran into a couple spider monkeys on my way here and they were a hoot also.”

  Dad heads through the barnyard with chickens, ducks, and turkeys all running up to him begging for his attention. He squats down and they seem to love on him by rubbing their heads against his hand like a house cat would do. He stands back up, walks over to a wooden shelf at the barn, grabs a few handfuls of grain and tosses it in the air. “Here you go fellows, enjoy.”

  As we walk through the barn with no sign of Benny in sight, Dad tells me to watch this. He opens the double doors in the back of the barn, unveiling the most beautiful green pastures I’d ever seen, stretched out alongside the river as far as the eye could see.

  “Dad, I don’t know what to say, this is beyond words.”

  “Well that is a pretty piece of land for sure and certain, but you just wait and watch this. ”

  He reaches over and grabs an ole timey bull horn that was hanging looped over a wooden peg. This ancient bugle looked like it was made from the horn of some kind of mountain goat. It looks about three feet in length and has an odd twist from the mouthpiece all the way to the big end.

  I look over at Uncle Spike and he’s smiling with his index fingers stuffed in both ears. With a loud voice he tells me “It’s called a Shofar horn!” Suddenly I hear Dad take a huge breath, press the horn to his mouth and my goodness, he blows into it. That thing is so loud I bet Mom can hear it back on Earth. The chickens and ducks scattered, all heading toward the river. I even caught a glimpse of both spider monkeys as they bail out of the loft, and Dad finally runs out of air.

  “Good Lord Pop! Where did you get that thing and how could it be that loud? Goodness!”

  “When the Lord gave me this barn, it was hanging right there on that peg and I started using it.”

  “Using it for what, to scare all your critters away?”

  “Nope, just wait and listen.”

  * * *

  Within a few seconds I hear a rumbling in the distance, and over the horizon I see at least a hundred head of horses heading straight for us in full gallop.

  “Guys, this is one heck of a sight. Hey Dad are they all yours?”

  “No indeed not, they’re just like Cuddles the bear. They’re just our friends living here in Heaven with us and we all enjoy their beauty and friendship. You see that herd; it’s just a handful that stays around here. The rest roam all over Heaven. And Son, you see those two stallions in the lead?”

  “Yes sir. ”

  “Well, they are my favorite and I believe God sent them to me because there’s something special about both of them.”

 
“Yes sir, they are mighty fine.”

  As they get closer to the barn, the main herd peels off and heads straight for the river. Dad’s two favorite stallions run straight up to where we are standing. They both slide their back feet as they come to an abrupt stop only a few feet away. They stand side by side like they have been trained in a circus and are showing their God-given talents.

  Suddenly I catch a glimpse of something running between our legs heading for the horses. It’s the two spider monkeys and one is dragging Samson’s wine pouch.

  “Hey Dad, there’s something very familiar about this whole scene.”

  I walk over to the horses and as I looked in their eyes, it occurs to me this is definitely the same horses and the same spider monkeys that brought me to Heaven’s Gate. Dad and Uncle Spike break out laughing.

  “So… the three old men that were fly fishing with the bear. That was you guys?”

  “Yep that was us.”

  “Well Dad, who was the third man?”

  “Would you believe if I told you it was Theodore Roosevelt?”

  “No way, you’re pulling my leg!”

  “Nope it was him, the 26th president of the United States. He was an outdoorsman back in the early 1900’s and that hasn’t changed; he really loves to fly fish.”

  “Now that is truly amazing! Pop, how in the world did y’all end up meeting a President?”

  “Chado we met Teddy right there on that same river you saw us fishing on. ”

  Uncle Spike chuckles, “Come to think of it, we’ve met a lot of Presidents, Kings, Queens, Princes, you name it. But you know what? Everyone in Heaven is equal. There is only one King here and His name is above all names, Jehovah God!”

  “Amen, Uncle Spike, Amen!” I see Uriel shaking his head in agreement.

  “Hey Dad, how did you and Unc know where I was that day, I mean when you sent the horses and the monkeys to show me the way?”

  “Well Son that was a God thing. He gave Spike a vision, and let me tell you, it was pretty detailed. You know the Lord does that from time to time. Well anyway, He wanted us to give you a little help after Allayer and Nipper dropped you off. When Spike told me the Lord wanted to have a little fun with the monkeys snatching your clothes, and you having to run bare-naked through the woods across that meadow, I was all in!”