Boxes filled the bedroom.<\/p>\n
We had only days to go before my daughter, J.J., and I had to move.<\/p>\n
But I was having second thoughts. Downstairs, the front door slammed and J.J. called up to me. \u201cMama,\u201d she said. \u201cGuess what? I saw another angel today!\u201d<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t too surprised. With all the time J.J. spent at the little church next door to our house, angel sightings had become a common occurrence.<\/p>\n
Although she was an adult, J.J. had Down syndrome, so there weren\u2019t many places she could go on her own. At our church, I knew she was safe with her friends among the staff and congregation.<\/p>\n
J.J. ran up the stairs and frowned at all the boxes. \u201cI don\u2019t want to move!\u201d she announced.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know, sweetie,\u201d I said. \u201cBut you\u2019ll like our new house. You wait and see.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to move!\u201d J.J. said and stormed out of the room.<\/p>\n
Lord, am I making a mistake?<\/em> I thought as I taped up a box of linens. Our neighborhood had become rife with crime. We just weren\u2019t safe. But how could I tear J.J. away from our church\u2014and her angels?<\/p>\n I thought back to all my weeks of house-hunting. One afternoon the real-estate agent finally showed me a place that felt right to me. \u201cWhat\u2019s that on the side of the house?\u201d I asked, pointing to the outline of a wooden figure someone had hung for decoration.<\/p>\n \u201cA wooden angel. Isn\u2019t it sweet? And it comes with the house.\u201d It felt like a sign. We may not have a church next door to rely on for support<\/em>, I thought, but J.J.\u2019s angels will be here waiting for her<\/em>.<\/p>\n J.J. didn\u2019t agree. She sulked for weeks over the move. The chilly day we left our old house for the last time she fought back tears. Even a promise of ice cream didn\u2019t help.<\/p>\n \u201cJ.J., remember the big angel I told you about on the front of the new house?\u201d I asked. \u201cShe will be there to protect you. So you don\u2019t have to worry about leaving the church behind.\u201d<\/p>\n But I wasn\u2019t sure I believed it any more than she did. A wooden angel was nice, but it couldn\u2019t replace the real angels that filled our little church, angels J.J. had seen herself, even if I couldn\u2019t. Who will I rely on to watch over her now that I can\u2019t? <\/em>I thought.<\/p>\n I barely glanced at the wooden angel when we got to our new house. Neither did a tearful J.J. We unpacked as much as we could, then fell asleep exhausted.<\/p>\n I woke with a start. Five a.m. Something wasn\u2019t right. I have to check on J.J.<\/em> I got out of bed and went into her room. Her new bed was empty.<\/p>\n \u201cJ.J.!\u201d I called, running through the house. \u201cJ.J., where are you?\u201d The house was empty. But where could she be? If only we still lived next to the church I\u2019d know exactly where to find her<\/em>. She\u2019d be in God\u2019s house with her angels. But the only angel in this house is made of wood,<\/em> I thought bitterly. \u201cJ.J.!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m out here, Momma!\u201d I heard J.J. call. I ran toward her voice in the kitchen. When I looked out the glass door that led to the porch I saw her sitting on a bench in her pajamas. It was below freezing outside! Yet she had no shoes, no socks, no coat. She was ice cold and shivering. Her lips were blue. \u201cJ.J., how long have you been sitting out here?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll night,\u201d she said. \u201cThe door got stuck. I was locked out. But an angel came and sat with me.\u201d<\/p>\n All night in the cold with only an angel to keep her warm? I wasn\u2019t taking any chances with J.J.\u2019s health. I called 911. The paramedic checked J.J.\u2019s vital signs. Her heart rate was normal. So was her pulse. No signs of infection or frostbite.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t understand it,\u201d he said, closing his medical bag. \u201cShe\u2019s perfectly fine.\u201d<\/p>\n It was still early when I tucked J.J. back in bed. I got to work on the unpacking. Yet my mind kept wandering to the night before. I couldn\u2019t get the image out of my head: an angel comforting my daughter, sitting beside her on the porch, watching over her. That angel is here watching over us, in this house<\/em>, I thought. And always will be.<\/em><\/p>\n Things got easier. For J.J.\u2014and for me. In our new town J.J. grew more independent. It showed in little ways. First she asked for a new hairstyle at the beauty shop, then she insisted on splitting the grocery list with me so she could help with the shopping.<\/p>\n The move gave me a new confidence too. We didn\u2019t have to live across the street from a church to be near the angels. Angels were all around.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Boxes filled the bedroom. We had only days to go before my daughter, J.J., and I had to move. But I was having second thoughts. Downstairs, the front door slammed and J.J. called up to me. \u201cMama,\u201d she said. \u201cGuess what? I saw another angel today!\u201d I wasn\u2019t too surprised. With all the time J.J. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25876,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[170,62,203,180,51,72],"ppma_author":[2334],"class_list":["post-14336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-angels","tag-angel-sightings","tag-blessings","tag-community","tag-guardian-angel","tag-inspirational-stories","tag-stories-of-faith"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n