Writing about the impact of Angels in my life happened during a Life Stories Class taught by Dana Perry at the St Charles Cancer Center.
Angels in My Life
By Oralee Stiles Hamilton
When I was four, angels from on high flew into my life in Christmas carols. They sang “Glory to the newborn King.” I didn’t have a personal relationship with them. I knew they were dressed in flowing white robes and had big wings that spread out over shepherds.
When I was forty, I became friendly and personal with angels. I was in the Findhorn community in Scotland taking the Game of Life workshop. It is based on an elaborate board game representing our life journey. When we are “born” in the game, we pull an angel from a pile of small cards with cute drawings of angels representing qualities. My first angel was Obedience. I didn’t like her. I didn’t like the idea of having to obey.
After the second day of the workshop there were more angels on my life path that I felt better about – Tenderness, Compassion, Beauty, and Communication. I finally realized Obedience wasn’t there to make me obey, she was there to help me obey. I could call on her for support. For example, it was hard for me to meditate for 20 minutes every morning even though I said I wanted to do just that. I asked Obedience to help me follow through. She made a difference.
When I was preparing for my long return trip to Portland, I was shocked to see the difference between the room in my suitcases and what I had brought with me plus all the wool sweaters, skirts, hats, and scarves I had purchased in Scotland for my sister and daughters. What was I thinking? What would I do?
The thought came – Call on the Angels of Packing! Were there Angels of Packing? I don’t know. This felt a little silly. I looked again at the clothes plied high on my bed. Try it!
“OK, Angels of Packing, I need your help!”
Fifteen minutes later a workshop friend from England came into my room. “Oralee, I don’t need this cloth backpack. Can you use it?”
“Yes, yes!!!”
Miraculously three hours later I somehow had everything packed into two suitcases, a large carry-on bag and a big backpack. That worked!
I was so impressed I decided to call in the Angels of Travel to help me get all this in the cab, on the bus, then the train, the subway to the airport and on the plane. It was a lot of juggling and heavy loads.
The whole trip I got the help I needed and made all the transitions over the 12 hours to London. I had a smile on my face the whole time.
Oh, my goodness – this angel thing works! I was in awe.
A whole new world opened up. What if they were angels for everything we did? What if help is available to us for the asking?
I begin to live my life as if that were true. I told my sister about my experience. We began to use specific angels with the staff in our bookstore. I called on angels for all kinds of things, including “a Kick in the Butt Angel” who stayed in the staff kitchen to get people to clean up after themselves.
I did feel I got help from whichever angel I called upon. One day I sat at my computer to write a sermon. I create a small sacred space on the shelf above my computer and prayed for the Angels of Sermon Writing to help me out. I felt a surge of hundreds of angels come toward me. “Wow!” I thought there are so many of them. Then I prayed for those who would help me compose a sermon that touched the hearts of those who listened. Three fourths of the angels receded. I had to laugh. Maybe a lot of sermons don’t touch the heart.
I enjoyed learning about the Archangels in both Jewish and Christian contexts. It took a few years before I felt comfortable calling on them for help. Learning this ancient Jewish prayer to invoke them, helped me.
“To God Almighty, The Lord of Israel, May Michael be at my right hand, Gabriel at my left hand, before me Raphael and behind me Uriel. And above me the Divine Presence of God.”
Years later I begin to combine this with teachings that came to me from Angeles Arrien, an anthropologist who studied cross-cultural spirituality and with some of the lessons from Dakota elders on the Four Directions. At appropriate times, I put these together when I prayed for someone or a group.
Here is how I would pray for our class:
“Great one, this is your daughter, Oralee, calling to you. I call to you on behalf of your daughters, Dana, Cathy, Doc, Glenda, Alex, and Jane.
“Come to us tonight through the East gate, the beginning of each new day. May Archangel Uriel bring the light of God into our presence and into our writing.
“Come to us through the South gate, the drumbeat and heartbeat of the earth. May Archangel Raphael bring the healing qualities of God into our lives and into our words.
“Come to us through the West gate, the place of the unknown. May Archangel Gabriel bring the strength of God into our lives and writing.
“Come to us through the North gate, the firmament above us. May Archangel Michael bring the protection of God into our lives, into our travel home this evening, into St Charles Hospital, Bend, Oregon and the world.
“May we feel ourselves firmly planted on Mother Earth and reaching upward to Father Sky. May we be the connecting rods to bring the energy of the universe into play, each in our own unique ways here on our beautiful planet. Thank you, Creator.”
Angels continue to be a major presence in my daily life. I name and call on angels for whatever is needed. And I appreciate Harry, my husband, as a special angel in my life.
November 2016