Angels come in all shapes and sizes

As I was walking to morning prayer yesterday mulling over the impending Angel invasion of two of my villages bringing the Christmas story to the inhabitants, I was stopped by someone who called me over. She said she’d hoped she would catch me. She is an art teacher and also has expertise in art therapy. She offered help to me in my Artful ELF videos. Wonderful. I asked her to give a critical review of what I’ve done. Then on the way home after morning prayer I met someone I often say hello to as she walks her dog. As we chatted it transpired that she had seen my art videos and knows someone who could benefit from watching them. So she is going to have a look. What a ‘coincidence’! I would call it a God-incidence. Or those who don’t believe in God might call it synchronicity.

Whatever we call it, often we can be the person in the right place at the right time with the right words to encourage someone. Angels in the bible are used by God to bring his messages to people. That’s what the word angel means: a messenger. God’s messengers don’t always have wings. Anyone can bring a message from God – the right words that come from an inner ‘prompt’ even when you are not sure if it is the right thing to say but somehow you know you should say something.

Because we are telling the Christmas story in one of my villages using angels, I need to produce an angel to go on my front fence along with part of the Christmas story. And because I have prepared the story pages I know which bit I will get. So today’s art activity is angel based. I have got to paint an angel so my viewers may as well watch over my shoulder. I didn’t finish the angel but will do so tomorrow – or another day. We will see. But I do have to get it in place by Sunday when we launch the Angel Trail around the village.

Here it is:

I painted the angel on paper a little larger than A4. I will then photocopy and enlarge it to A3 and have it laminated to then be fixed to the fence. If I had more time I would have liked to have painted a giant angel on a large piece of wood. But I had to be realistic and work within the time I know I have.