Friday, March 26, 2021

2 + 2 = 4 An Angel Message

 Another amusing angel lesson appeared near the community mailbox today.  The white rooster that lives on the farm next door was standing in the middle of the road. I got out of the car to make sure he got home safely, not sure how that would happen. I'd only seen Chanticleer (my name for him) once before, but often  hear his wake-up call.  

To my relief, that speedy rooster had crossed to the other side, and was now making tracks for home as I followed him down the dirt road.

 I was happy to see he ignored the NO TRESPASSING SIGN on the wide metal gate, and ducked under the lowest slat, safely back at home with the hens.   Not exactly cooperative for a photo op, that feisty rooster quickly strutted behind an old tree, and let out a cock a doodle doo as I bent down to take his picture between the slats.  

Turns out a bit of synchronicity was at play.  The day before on our walk to the mailbox, Elliot had almost collided with a tiny inchworm.  It was swinging down on an invisible thread, tied to an upward unseen source.  I snapped the camera, hoping to catch him measuring along.  But a sudden gust of wind bounced the tiny worm so high, I was out of luck.  

Then the lilting words to the Inch Worm Song came to mind: 

 2 + 2 are 4

4 + 4 are 8

8 + 8 are 16

16 + 16 are 32


Inch worm, inch worm

Measuring the marigolds.

You and your arithmetic,

You'll probably go far.

Inch worm, inch worm

Measuring the marigolds

Seems to me you'd stop and see

How beautiful they are.

I got it.  A gentle reminder to think more from the heart and less from the head.  Something I'm guilty of at times, over-analyzing. 

So today, back at home, before going inside, imagine my surprise as I gathered my stuff up in the car.  The mail, my camera...

LOL, the angels of nature had done it again!  When I looked down at my lap, what a surprise.  A tiny green inchworm was resting on my pant leg!



Go figure! It felt as though I'd been touched by an angel.

The  little hitchhiker must have climbed aboard my pants when I was in pursuit of the rooster.  Cock a doodle doo.  A wake up call to remember that angels are with us on this journey, helping and guiding us toward a safe return home. We are never alone.   "God plus one is a majority." 

 I was humbled for yet another lesson on enjoying the beauty of nature in the moment, and not trying to analyze the best angle for a photo. One thing leads to another...and what is yours will come to you to help you grow and share. Trust in divine timing.

Oh, and the little journeyer was escorted on a prayer card to a green leafy branch by the pasture.


Enjoy your day with the Angels.

Love and peace,

 

Rae Karen


 

 

 

 

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Against all Odds: An Angel Message

On the Spring Solstice, the view at the lake had shifted.  The devoted sandhill parent was off the nest. A daily sight I'd become fondly accustomed to the last month.  The vacant nest was a sign of good news.  A local birdwatcher had recently predicted the imminent birth to be within three days.  He also explained that the parents' take turns on the nest.  The female has night duty and the male sits on the nest during the day.  The couple shares in the incubation.   I was happy to hear that. 

When the weekend weather brought windy rain and colder temperatures, the nesting cranes came to mind at night, and I asked the angels of nature to watch over them.  

 On Sunday, to celebrate the Spring Solstice, Elliot and I stopped by the lake.  He spotted the cranes far off at a new grassy area. Wanting to respect their privacy, I zoomed in with the camera hoping to get a glimpse of their offspring.  The lens kept jumping, but I thought I saw a fuzzy brown ball in the grass by them.  It seemed like wishful thinking as I snapped the picture, not expecting anything but a blur of grasses, with no cranes at all.  I soon forgot about it. 

Today at the lake, the cranes were back by the nest, but the sunlight was so bright only my reflection appeared in the LCD screen.  I gave up, and took pics instead of a wading bluish bird fishing in the shallows.  

Back at home, when the photos were uploaded, I could hardly believe it.  The one and only photo taken on the Spring Solstice of the sandhills had captured the cute little chick (colt).  A mini miracle, at a day or so old.


And, what had appeared hopeless at that time, turned out to be a family portrait, featuring the newborn and both parents. A little quirky, but they were all there in the picture.    

Smiling, I recalled having asked the angels for help as I sat in the car, zooming in. I so wanted to see if they had their baby.  

And, they delivered.  :-D

A good lesson for me to remember with other things that appear too difficult to maneuver, to ask the angels for help.

Love and peace,

 

Rae Karen


 


Saturday, March 20, 2021

Happy Spring Solstice 2021

 

 
The first day of spring began here with a surprise.   I'd read that turkeys can fly but have not seen one in flight until early this morning. A rather large young female flew over the pasture fence.  Flying low, with her wings spread wide, she glided over the yard, about 100-feet, and hit the ground, running toward the woods, in a sudden burst of great freedom.
 
Turkey is all about thanksgiving and abundance, a perfect harbinger to celebrate the Spring Solstice.  Spring is such a great giver of new life and joy. 
 
Archangel Raphael is the governor of the season.  The name Raphael means  'Divine Healer' or 'God Heals'. He can help us seek the gift of healing, and shows us ways to heal ourselves in nature and through universal divine energy.

The winter season, under the leadership of  Archangel Gabriel,  brought feminine energy to the earth through the water element.  Now the fire element, the masculine energy is most active.  The keynote is resurrection, witnessed in nature, as dormant life reaches outward and upward from darkness into the healing light of new beginnings.

This powerful spring-time energy can  be used to:

--Initiate a new order within your life.  The veil between the physical realm and the spiritual is thinner with opportunities to access spiritual energy from the higher realms.  

--Burn off the old dross to make room for new creative seeds to sprout and take form in expression.  

--Release healing energies, especially through working with nature. Spend time outdoors tuning in to nature's many gifts. Meditation and prayer also help to open the gate for new beginnings.

Welcome Archangel Raphael,  please assist humanity in healing our differences in a way that promotes harmony and peace on Earth.  May the energy of resurrection surge through each of us bringing in a  state of higher consciousness in tune with Divine Love. 

 Love and peace,



Rae Karen





Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Gratitude for Grateful Eyes: An Angel Message

 This morning when I opened the window shades, what a unique surprise to find tom turkey on parade in the pasture.

He strutted up to the fence, shuffling his feet back and forth, doing a little dance, and showing off his glorious fanfare.   This blue-faced turkey with his animated jive brought a smile that jump-started my day with joy. 

His message was one of gratefulness and gratitude.  His surprise visit inspired me to look up the Angel of Gratitude in an angel book by Anselm Gruen.  

The Angel of Gratitude would like to bring a new taste into your life.  It would like to teach  you to look on everything with new eyes, grateful eyes.  Then you can be thankful for the new day, that you have your health and can get up and see the sun rise.  You are grateful for the breath that is in your body.  You are grateful for nature's good gifts which you can enjoy for breakfast.   You are aware.  Gratitude makes your heart open and joyful.  You are not obsessed with the things that might annoy you.  You do not begin the morning by grumbling.  

There are people who make their own lives difficult because they see only the negative side.  And the more they do, the more their experience confirms it.  Their pessimistic view of things attracts small misfortunes. 

 

Try to go through this week with the Angel of Gratitude."You will realize that a loving God touches you in creation and wants to show you how extravagantly he cares for you."

Peace and joy,


Rae Karen

 

 


Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Worth the Wait: An Angel Message

Sometimes angel messages come to us in a gentle way expressed by nature.  During the past month, a recurring message has appeared in the bend of road by the lake.  A reminder to be patient and kind to yourself. To rest in peace, and let it be as it is for the moment. 

This lone sandhill crane, resting on her nest of straw, is a picture of serenity.  In all kinds of weather, she has remained faithful, waiting to bring forth new life.  Her selflessness is her gift, her vocation, her rite of passage to motherhood.  To those driving by, day after day, it  may seem as though she is lazy and unproductive, lounging on a soft tuff by the still waters, doing nothing meaningful.  But in truth, a mighty work is incubating beneath her, eager to hatch at the right hour.  Her vigilance and faith will make it well worth the wait. 

I believe this is true for humanity during this unprecedented time of isolation/introspection on our planet.  Something greater than we can presently understand, the mystery and wonder of new life, is being birthed within each of us.  And, with the help of Love's comforting angels, it will have been well worth the wait.  

Blessed are those who wait.
The globe whistles past them.
The sharpest bit of the world
  doesn't deter their gaze
     from the promised direction.

                           --Ulla Hahn


Love and peace,


Rae Karen

Saturday, March 6, 2021

The Wood Stork on High: An Angel Message

 Nature came calling this morning, a welcoming spectacle in a gray sky!

His visit seemed deliberate as the Wood Stork posed on one leg, high on the dead tree across the lane.   Stork is about new birth, new beginnings.  An excitement of something new and different stirred the air... we're all ready for a new beginning.


These wader birds are far from lookers.   A reminder not to judge by appearances. It's what's on the inside that counts. God reads our hearts. The Wood Stork's bald head and feathery body seem mismatched. Fluffy white feathers up to his neck, suddenly frame an old man's face. Although I've only seen Wood Storks a few times,  I like these rare old birds.  They have character, and exude wisdom and patience, as if they know the ending of the story and can afford to be patient.   

Not only are storks symbolic of new birth, but I just learned they also represent our Higher Power.  With no song or cry to call their own, they use bill clapping, body gestures, and dance to communicate. 

Our wader bird is oddly out of place, far from the lake, keeping watch on high.  When a bird makes a spectacle like this, nature is sending a message your way so pay attention.   

 

The first wood stork I saw 7 years ago.

Wood storks like to fish in an unusual way.  They open their bills underwater, patiently waiting for a fish to swim by.  Then like a mousetrap their bills snap shut and they eat the fish.  They eat small fish, but many of them.  A sign to pay attention to little opportunities that come your way for sustenance. 

Our vigilant visitor stood still for over an hour, and then disappeared in the pouring rain...

But he left a lasting impression.  Rely on your Higher Power, and do not be deceived by appearances. 

 Love and peace,

 

Rae Karen   



Thursday, March 4, 2021

Turkeys on Parade: An Angel Message

 Yesterday morning, no sooner had I said something about expecting good things to come when a sudden treat from nature appeared. A welcome sign of thanksgiving and abundance.  The wild turkeys were back, (after a year) roaming the pasture.    

What happened next, caught me by surprise.  Old Tom Turkey fluttered his wings and landed on the wooden fence post. 

He jumped down onto the driveway, and his hens immediately followed his lead.  

 

Soon the happy Thanksgiving messengers were on parade toward the sun-room.  

There had been four in the pasture.  Where was the missing one? 

My eyes traveled toward the fence.  

There he was--strutting back in forth, in a panic!  Not sure how to get over the fence to follow the others.  

We all have felt that way at certain times in life-- held back by unexpected barriers not of our own making.  

I could feel the young turkey's distress.  

Remembering an opening in the fence where the sandhill cranes come and go, I wondered if he could be shown that exit.  Since I was barefoot, and time was a factor, I asked Elliot to go out and talk to the turkey...maybe he could lead him to freedom somehow.   

Elliot was puzzled what to do, as he went out the door, saying he'd ask the angels for help.  Walking slowly toward the pent-up turkey pacing by the fence, an idea came.

CLAP YOUR HANDS! 

That loud NOISE did it!  

Instantly the turkey flew over the fence!  

Soon he was strutting freely across the yard to eagerly join his family.  In a moment of fear, he had done it.  He did it afraid, taking flight to freedom, perhaps for the very first time.    

That's so true of human nature, too.  Often it may take a jolt to get us to bolt into the right direction, finding inner strengths, qualities, and possibilities that have long been dormant.   We take a leap of faith, and do it.   

In her book, Animal Messengers, Regula Meyer writes:  The message of the turkey is to give yourself, unquestioningly and boundlessly.  Give yourself up, give in to life.  Immerse yourself to the fullest in your life's narrative.  Now is not the time to set boundaries and modify the events and relationships you live through, but to let them happen.  In external self-abandonment, discover internal self-development. 

I'm so thankful for the lessons from the angels of nature. It makes life more meaningful and takes us to a deeper level of understanding.  The outer is always a reflection of the inner.   

Love and peace,


Rae Karen

 

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Watchful Weaving: An Angel Message

You might have noticed a big gap in my blogging last month.  It just wasn't happening.  Nature kept showing up, but I was feeling flat.  Then something else creative snagged my attention. Suddenly with the help of a neighbor, I got hooked on relearning to crochet.

What began as a skinny 56-ft. long blue chain of yarn, steadily began to shape into a birthday gift for my son.  Racing the clock, one afternoon, I happened to look up.  

A big garden spider was on the sun-room slider, looking in at me.  I laughed.  

The conversation had been on creativity, and here was the spider cheering me on.   Create! Create! Create!  Spider teaches that everything that you do now is weaving what you will encounter in the future.

Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little, the goal is reached.  When the royal blue afghan was finished in less than two weeks, perseverance and patience had paid off.  And, in hindsight,  almost a mile of yarn had been woven in a labor of love, building muscles I didn't know I had. :-D


The angels remind us to take it one day at a time, to do our best, and leave the rest to God.  Expect the best.  Heavenly help is near, offering comfort, strength, wisdom, and guidance.  All is well. 

Peace and Love,


Rae Karen