Tuesdays With The Angels-Real Angels

As I practice my Youtube videos, Jody Sharpe The Angel’s On My Shoulder, I ponder what to say. Yes I can talk all day about the angel characters and others in my books. Themes that run through my mind all come back to love and kindness, the very essence of angels.  Maybe I meet angels sometimes on the street as strangers. Like the time a man came walking down the street and asked if he could help me as I struggled with my suitcase up the steep  stairs of my daughter’s  apartment steps in New York City. I asked him his name and he said, ” Val”. I wrote him as a character in my book, To Catch an Angel. Maybe they come to me in dreams like Hannah’s special tears in The Angel’s Daughter. Truly, the lovely idea came in a dream.

All I know is I believe angels are real and are there to touch us with love and goodwill. This is what I focus on when negativity comes calling. Writing and thinking about angels helps me find ways to  cope with the complexities of life.

I don’t ever leave a conversation with a loved one or friend without a kind word. This is my calling, to write about angels and to live as if angels are on my shoulder. For I know it’s true.

 

Tuesdays With The Angels- Love vs Bullying

 Bullying happens at some point to all of us either in person or on social media. When very personal unkind questions were posed to me the other day,  I didn’t hesitate. For long ago I realized the gift of love, forgiveness and carrying on.

As I write in my novels and blogs the bully is the ultimate sad character. He or she never wins while only trying to feel superior  by hurting others.

Recently, one of my children told me of a friend who said racist remarks about another. “How sad,” I said. “I’m so happy you have grown up to be a kind loving person.”

The other day I turned a bullying comment away myself by ignoring the intrusive negative comment and moving on to a positive yet vague comment of my own with no personal information given.

Today in our world, I believe there’s a spiritual awakening and only love can mend us all. Loving yourself and others is the only armor anyone needs to counteract any cruelty. The angels have been with me on Tuesdays and everyday all my wonderful grateful life.

 

Tuesdays With The Angels-Messages about Bullying

 During my twilight sleep at night when I can’t discern between falling or dreaming,  I often get messages for my writings. Lately, messages for my books are about bullying. The last book  I wrote, Special Needs Children The Angels On My Shoulder, had a theme about bullying. Are these messages from the angels? I believe so.

The other night one line ran through my head. It wasn’t  a voice, just a sentence….

Find the meaning in your own incredible life

Working with my special students gave me a purpose in life. Helping their self esteem through encouragement and kindness helped me. These kind and vulnerable students changed my world and my belief in my hope for humanity. They thrived on the kindness.   

As a child I witnessed bullying and was bullied. I saw my own students and children suffer because of bullying at school.  As I have written before in my mind the bully never wins.. ever. The words that came to me on that night have found a solid place in my heart. Despite cruelty from others we all can find the meaning in the life God has given us.  I know for sure the angels have been on my shoulders for years encouraging kindness. Angels are on the shoulders of all my former students, my family, my friends and all of us who do the best they can each day.

I wonder if the sad bully who enjoys hurting others ever lets the angels’ voiceless words in at night as they drift to slumber…

  Find the meaning in your own incredible life? 

Tuesdays With The Angels-The Light of Rescuing

I remember a true story I read long ago of geese flying over a frozen pond. A duck was frozen struggling in the pond. As the writer told  the flock of geese flew down and pecked the ice around the duck freeing it from certain tragedy.

And so as I write this I ponder how rescuing is kindness in motion. I’ve made so many mistakes in my life as we all do but rescuing animals, helping those children and adults less fortunate brings me humbleness and joy.

To me, the angel writer, bitterness, harmful words, and cruelty  casts shadows on us all. If we all sought to help others less fortunate and especially those with no voice like children and animals wouldn’t life bring  more joy?

I wasn’t at the pond that day long ago witnessing the geese rescue the duck but thankfully I will always save it as a treasured memory of the written word. I can picture angels nearby surely watching with joyous celebration.

Tuesdays With The Angels-Bless The Children

It came to me one night before my eyes closed in slumber, to donate my children’s book When The Angel Sent Butterflies to children in group homes and shelters. I’ve begun the process sending books to  Lovehousekidsprogram.org. This is a program near and dear to my heart. Also, I hope to donate my memoir Special Needs Children The Angel’s On My Shoulder, to organizations benefiting those special students who changed my life for the better. Many wonderful organizations locally and around the country include Downs Syndrome Network of Arizona and Best Buddies. Other organizations include ones endorsed by Maria Shriver. There are so many incredible people sharing their time and efforts to help those with special needs.

Mohamed Ali said in his later years that he was, “Getting ready to meet God.”  What an inspiring message. Helping others in need to me is what life is all about. The angels are always near to help us reach our loving goals 

Tuesdays With The Angels: Angel Story by Dawn B.

Yes there are angels! If you allow yourself to become still, in a quiet space of love and trust, you may just see one too. I saw my angel during a crystal bowl meditation. His name came first which confused me, so I questioned why I was seeing the name “Gerald” and the name appeared a second time, even more clearly. Then I saw the most beautiful, tall, huge angel and I realized it was his name. Although I could not see details of his face. He was the most magnificant angel with light blue/grey colored wings as long as his body. I remember this vividly! What is also interesting is that I picked up a journal I had kept in 1993, and just before Christmas that year I had journaled seeing “the most powerful and beautiful angel with huge arching wings” in my twilight state just before falling asleep. I personally believe they are joyful when we see them and acknowledge their existence, and that we begin to feel them always with us. I gives me great peace and comfort. Believe. Love. Trust.

Tuesdays With The Angels-The Angels Sent Courage

My daughter, Elizabeth read the draft of my memoir, ‘Children With Special Needs The Angels On My Shoulder’. She called and told me she never knew the story of how I became a teacher or how the students impacted my life helping me cope with the loss of her sister, Kate.

We all grieved and grieve still after twenty-five years but then Elizabeth said something that touched my heart. “You must be the strongest person I know, Mom!”  I told her I don’t think it’s just strength but more the blessing of love and courage from God. 

My memoir is a love story about my students with special needs. I was blessed to find a career teaching. My own children and the children I taught helped me find the courage to go on. As courage came little by little. I realized faith and courage are like gloves on my hands and the soothing pillows for me to lay my head down at night.

Tuesdays With The Angels-Special Needs Children The Angels On My Shoulder

I’ve written a memoir of my career teaching children with special needs. A hint below of what’s to come from my heart and soul:

“You must be so patient teaching special ed!” I must have heard that comment one hundred times over the course of my twenty-five year teaching career. I usually would reply,” I love teaching the kids.” Of course I didn’t know until years later the magnitude of what my students brought to my world. My students over the twenty-five years taught me so much about kindness and living in the now. They showed me gifts from their pure and honest hearts. Oh, there were challenges of course, but we met them together.

As I wrote the memoir,  I can tell you I believe in angels, in heaven surely for I know I met one once.  But also, I’ve been fortunate enough to meet some people who to me are angels on earth, They guide us all with their unique gentleness of persuasions. Such is the case I believe with children with special needs.

I believe people come into our lives for a reason and have many qualities I believe angels have.  This has been my writers message to all who read my novels, children’s book and blogs. The truth is I’ve always believed this. At age three, I had  imaginary friends, three of them. Yes, three! But I can’t remember what they looked like only that they happily played with me. I have a psychic friend who told me they were my guardian angels. I’d like to think they were.

So many of my life experiences have fallen into place, a synchronicity, a tapestry woven together with a fabric of kindness.  Besides my guardian angels,  I believe heaven sent two teachers who unknowingly influenced the path I took on the road to teaching. To me they were angels on earth guiding me, albeit unknowingly, towards my teaching children with special needs.

Decades later I can still see the kind and loving face of my second grade teacher, Mrs. St. John. I see her kind and loving face as if next to me and remember she was the first person who made me feel worthwhile.

Through grade school and up through high school and beyond life was difficult. My family life unfortunatley was disfunctional and  so I suffered as an underachiever. But this story isn’t about my childhood. It’s about the synchronicity of events that changed my life, the people I met, the students I taught and lastly at the saddest part of my life. This is also the time I know I met a real angel.

These were the defining moments in the steps to a rewarding career teaching children with special needs. This is a book about the serendipitous events unfolding the teaching career bringing me my life’s most valuable teachers, my students….

Tuesdays With The Angels- On My Shoulder

As I sat down in early morning to write chapters for my memoir today, I reflected as I often do on God and the angels sending me blessings everyday. Sent from above are calls from family members, hearing from a caring old friend or kindness from a new friend. I’m fortunate to know  people who have graced my life with just that, their grace. I’m writing  my memoir about my life as a special education teacher. It will be a love story all its own. It will be the story not so much about me but how these special students changed my life’s journey. There will be others who have graced my life with their kindness and helped me down the path I’ve taken. I hope to honor each and every deserving child and person in my new book in the making. Special Needs Children, The Angels On My Shoulder. Oh, and of course added in will be the time I met a real angel. This event has to be in the book for it was the primary event that turned my face towards heaven.

Encounter With An Angel – Submission By Jill Maksym

I was visited by an angel in the late 1990’s…

My mother and I were not getting along at the time. She was verbally abusive. She was hurtful, etc. I did not want to be around her and was having a difficult time dealing with her. I reluctantly agreed to meet her at a Bob Evan’s restaurant because I felt she was my mother and I did love her.

We were seated in a booth. She began to start criticizing me and verbally abusing me as usual. I just sat there while she hurled the abusive and hurtful things at me. In the atmosphere of the restaurant, I could hear the banging of knives and forks and conversations of all the people there.

Then, something changed. All of a sudden it was like a new sound frequency had happened. I could no longer hear my mother’s voice or the other people in the restaurant, etc. There was a high pitch sound as if a thousand violins were playing the highest note possible at the same time. My mother was still talking. I turned to my left and noticed a person cleaning the empty table across from us. The table was not dirty and did not need to be cleaned.

As I watched this…man…I knew something was very different about him. He was dressed as a waiter in clean black slacks with a perfect crease in the front and he wore a crisp, clean white shirt. But, it was the way he was cleaning and his appearance that made me captivated. You see, he was smiling while he moved the salt and pepper shakers out to clean behind them and most importantly, his head was the color of black and bronze. From the top of his head, there was a golden light as if his head was lit from within with a warm glow. He was bald. He went about cleaning that table as if it was the most joyful thing to him. He loved doing it. He then turned to me and smiled. When I saw his entire face, it glowed. I was mesmerized. I could not take my eyes off of him. He was looking into my soul. As far as he and I were concerned, there were no other beings around. He then came over to me and softly whispered in my left ear, “Can I get you anything?” Can I do something for you?”

I could not move my mouth to answer. It was as if I had seen a celebrity and was dumb struck. He stayed near me waiting to find out if I needed something. His voice was soft and well, there are no adjectives in any language to describe it. He knew I was upset with my mother. I managed to eek out a wimpy, “no” when he asked me if he could get me something. Then he took his left arm and covered my mother’s face as if to tell me, “don’t pay any attention to her.” He then asked again, “Can I do something for you?” For a moment that seemed to last a lifetime, only he and I were there…kind of suspended in a time warp or another dimension. While there, I felt the most abundant peaceful state that I have ever felt in my lifetime. It was intense peace that hovered over me and in me. Then, he left and walked away.

I looked at my mother and she was still carrying on talking like she did not see him at all. Then, the frequency changed in the atmosphere. I could hear the knives and forks clanging on the plates and the other conversations again. I sat there….and I said to my mother, “I am leaving.” I got up and went to my car. I was still in a peaceful state. I do not remember how I drove home. I felt as if I was floating in peace and tranquility.

Two weeks later, my husband and I went to the same Bob Evan’s restaurant. We were seated in the same booth that my mother and I were in before. The whole time we were there I kept thinking that maybe I would see this angel again. I asked myself, “Will he show up?” I wanted to thank him. We ate and my husband got up to go to the register to pay the check. I was following behind him. But, I stopped. I then looked up at the breakfast bar area and …..there he was.

It was my angel. He was alone standing up against the bar. He had his arms crossed against his chest. I froze. I didn’t know how to tell him, “Thank you.” I looked to the right and saw my husband at the register and it was alright because he did not know I was not with him. I started to walk up to the angel and he…mentally told me not to do that because….no one else could see him but me and that would look weird if I were to start talking to him. So, I stopped and looked at him and said, “thank you.” He was grinning from ear to ear and nodded. In fact, at the time, he was quite pleased with himself in that he felt he had sort of “gotten me” like it was a nice little joke to speak. He did have a sense of humor.

I turned to walk toward my husband and then turned back to see the angel and he was gone. The day with my mother, he came to give me peace. The peaceful feeling he gave me lasted for hours. And, I don’t know how to describe him. I can tell you that he was the most exquisite and beautiful being I have ever seen. The beauty of his perfect features is not easy to describe using words from this earth. He was perfect in every feature. Perfect. They say that some times people may just fall down and die when they see an angel because of their perfect beauty and love. I can understand this. But, i did not die. I think he was able to not release his beauty and power to a certain extent so that I would be able to understand his message.