Blessings for Eileen

We both grew up in the City of Angels. We might guess that Los Angeles of the thirties, when you were growing up, or of the fifties, when I was growing up, was more angelic than Los Angeles of the nineties, when we moved to Portland, or certainly more angelic than today. But I suggest to you more angels reside in Los Angeles today than before. I say so because I believe people are angels at times. More people equates to more angels.

We can admire cherub-faced, winged visions in museum paintings or listen to stories about bands of angels descending from heaven. But what has been your experience with angels, starting with your first day on earth eighty years ago? Your mother had a difficult labor, and you were stillborn, or so it seemed to all but two, you and the nurse who despite your still blueness knew you as a live girl. She knew you. And in knowing, she acted, calling the firemen who were away from their fire station attending a special dinner celebration. The story was told to you and then to me. So we can only imagine the dressed up firemen hurrying to the hospital to resuscitate a newborn girl, kick-starting the life you have lived and continue to live certainly long after that nurse and those firemen departed this earth. The night of April 16, 1930, the nurse and one or more firemen performed angelic work.

We have been helped in large and small ways by the kindness of people. We have helped others in large and small ways through our own kind acts. I call such caring acts the works of angels. Every individual has a unique set of talents. We at times marvel at what someone can do, knowing that no amount of study or practice would enable us to do what the other person can do and can do in such a way that to us seems effortless. Throughout our lives, the talents, skills, expertise, or simple presence of another person smooth our way, take care of our business, make us feel good, or set in motion events that unfold into the course of our lives we did not previously imagine but, because of someone’s intervention, can appreciate and celebrate.

The saying goes that people come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. The notion of someone coming into our lives for a reason supports my thoughts of angels among us. I remember people that came into your life for a reason, but not to help you. They came for you to help them. You have been someone’s angel from time to time. I remember such times and know that you too, in quiet reflection, remember when someone’s need touched your heart. You knew them, just as that nurse knew you. And in knowing, you acted.

We sat together in a fast food restaurant in Marina Del Rey, enjoying our conversation and finishing our burgers. It was the late seventies, before the homeless and hungry seemed so prevalent and visible. When you glanced out the restaurant window, your keen eye spotted the bearded man hanging out by the dumpsters. You knew exactly what you wanted to do. You bought a meal to go. I watched as you walked up to the man, addressed him, shook his hand, and then handed your gift to him. Your gift was not the meal; although I’m sure he enjoyed it. Your gift was knowing his heart and treating him with kindness and respect. When you know someone’s heart, you quench the hunger of his or her soul.

Your special talent, your angelic expertise, is knowing the hearts of others. I remember another time we dined out, this time in Tustin, and a young woman at another table caught your attention. She wistfully eyed the meager meal on her plate, and you discerned a troubled spirit. As we left you went up to her and, handing her cash, told her that you wanted to treat her to a nice lunch. “Get yourself something really good,” you said. I didn’t know how your act would be received, but you knew in advance. The young woman got up from the table and threw her arms around you, fighting back tears so she could express her thanks while hugging you. I believe the meal itself meant little compared to the enormous joy the young woman felt in the connection of a knowing heart to a troubled heart, wherein a transfusion of hope provided another angelic resuscitation.

Those were not your only angelic works. Many times you presented flowers to cheer a neighbor or casual acquaintance on hearing of their loss or misfortune. You sent greeting cards for no occasion when you felt the recipient needed a “shot in the arm.” You offered rides to others needing to get to a doctor’s visit or needing to get to the store during a rain storm. Many times you knew my heart and shared my burden. But I especially like to recall those two examples of your kind deeds, how you helped the bearded man and the young woman, because in both cases I learned on the spot something I did not know. Each time I worried your gesture was off-the-mark, something that should not be done because the other party might react badly or assume you meant insult. I was wrong. Their reactions proved what you already knew. A man or woman with a gracious spirit will accept an act of pure kindness with gratitude, recognizing instantly the human connection forged by a heartfelt gesture.

Having spoken about how you were the angel in others’ lives, what can we say about the angels in your life? Like the nurse and firemen, others came to raise you up from trouble: the man who got your car out of the snow into which you drove, many others who just appeared and asked if they could help you each time you locked your keys in your car, the man in the pro golf shop who directed you when you got lost. No trouble went unmet with kindness. It’s as if an army of angels is assigned to you, always there when and where needed.

In the Bible, the archangel is Michael. As in the Bible, your chief angel has always been Michael, your father. You may have heard the story about how Archangel Michael helped the British soldiers in World War I. The British soldiers were in battle with German forces and looked to be facing certain defeat because the German army was advancing rapidly and with superior weapons. Suddenly the Germans stopped and then retreated. The surprised British forces captured some of the retreating German soldiers. Each of the captured Germans told the same story. As the Germans bore down on their enemy, a band of soldiers wearing white and riding white horses appeared in front of them, led by a white clad warrior with golden hair and a halo. The Germans fired upon the horsemen, but to no avail. Their bullets had no effect. The horsemen advanced upon the Germans, who fled in fear. These reports surprised the British because they had not seen the white clad warriors.

Your father, Michael, and mother, Anna, had opposite parenting styles. Your father held you in high regard, building you up, while your mother diminished and dismissed you. It may be too dramatic to suggest the parenting struggles between Michael and Anna were like Michael’s war with Satan. But there is a similarity between Archangel Michael and Michael Quirke. Michael is portrayed in the Bible as the protector of mankind, and your father was also a protector. He protected the family, earning a good living even in the tough times that were the thirties. He also protected your heart. He secured that space inside your soul where you sought your true nature and place in the world. He built a safe house in your heart, a place no one could assault or destroy. Even if Anna set fire to the bushes around your safe house, the kindness and strength of your nature that grew within the protected place in your soul could not be singed.

You grew up like two little girls, one bold and confident, and the other hesitant and worried. Your true nature is the girl your father raised. The girl your mother raised is important too. She is not you, but has lived with you as a shadow. The importance of a shadow is that it confirms the presence of light. The light cast upon you by your chief angel, Michael, endures and reveals to the world your true nature.

When you arrived on earth, your father blessed you. What you need to know is that a blessing overrides a curse. Once you have been blessed, you can never be cursed with any effect. You may not have known this to be so. But now that you do, you can be confident that no one can cause you ill. If you had known this as a little girl, your mother’s sharp tongue would have inflicted no pain. I want you to spend the rest of your life knowing the protection afforded to you by blessings. In knowing, you will enjoy each day with a free spirit and a joyous heart.

Blessings
May the two little girls who are Eileen share a conversation in the language of twins,
Noting the nature of all things and punctuating each thought with giggles and grins.
May the two little girls who are Eileen walk side by side through shadows and sunlight
And chatter about rainbows and lucky horses which are always, without exception, white.
May the two little girls who are Eileen hear Michael telling them not to worry,
Assuring them angels will appear, and Trouble will be captured or will flee in a hurry.

You are a writer! You're humility is admirable, and your writing moved me. What a precious gift this work was to your eighty-year-old mother. I am certain she cherishes it. Her loving Christian heart is one we should all strive to have.

Thank you for sharing this incredible story actually, this quite credible story. My fiance firmly believes that Michael is her guardian Angel. She cried out to the Lord in a time of great tribulation and her prayers were answered. She has felt his wings envelop her.
God Bless,
and thank you so very much for sharing this wonderful Blessing.
Peace.

Wow, that was an amazing tale very well told. I believe you would totally get my song "Everyday Angels". It's in the music lyrics section if you are so inclined to read it. Thank you for sharing, I really loved the line..."The importance of a shadow is that it confirms the presence of light." Very well done.