Everyone Knows What an Angel Looks Like

There's a children's picture book called Everyone Knows What a Dragon Looks Like. It's the story of a city in ancient China that, when threatened by barbarians from the north, prays for a dragon to protect it. When the dragon arrives, only the poorest orphan boy treats him with kindness and respect. You see, the dragon didn't look like what the city leaders expected. Each of them, including the Mandarin, was sure that a dragon would look a lot like themselves, in all their presumed greatness. When a short, fat, bald old man arrived at the city gates and announced to Han, a poor but happy orphan, that he was a dragon, the boy didn't doubt his word. He admitted he didn't know what a dragon looked like, and kindly shared his one bowl of rice with the weary traveler. In the end, after the dragon saved the city, Han was the only inhabitant who got to see the dragon in all his glory.

Most everyone can recognize an angel when they see one, and we all see them everywhere: in art, figurines, magazines, books, and of course, churches. The angels we see all have some common characteristics such as flowing robes, halos, and serene faces. And of course, they all have wings of one sort or another. But this week, we've had an angel at our house and he doesn't have any of those things.

Last Friday, on June 29, we were among the millions of people who weathered the terrible storm that ravaged the eastern United States. Thankfully, we suffered no real damage, just a lot of downed trees and power lines, and debris everywhere. We were not at all surprised when the electricity went out. The next morning, when Robin ventured out to survey the damage, he could tell that the power wouldn't be back on for a while. He immediately began locating generators to maintain freezers and refrigerators for ourselves and the neighbors. As the weekend wore on, it was becoming more than he could manage by himself. I helped as much as I could, but not having the strength to start the generators, I could only do so much. Just when we were about to be overwhelmed, our own personal angel arrived. His name is Phil. He's an old friend who hunts frequently in this area and lives in South Carolina. When he heard of our troubles, he rounded up four generators, drove seven hours, and rescued us from despair. His calm and reassuring presence was just what we needed. All week, he has worked along with Robin to tend the generators in sweltering heat.

Our electricity was restored just a couple of hours ago, after seven long, hot days. Phil is headed home early in the morning. Robin and I will spend tomorrow catching up, but we'll also be counting our blessings. Besides the protection the good Lord provided for us and our belongings, we'll also be thanking Him for sending us an angel. Like Han in the story,  I now know what at least one angel looks like. He doesn't have wings or a halo, but instead has short, graying hair, an easy smile, and a heart as big as all outdoors. He's a sweet reminder that there are still some really good people in this crazy world. Thank you, Phil.

Poetry Illustrated

When I was in the ninth grade, my English teacher gave the class a daunting assignment. It sounded simple at first: find pictures to go with the things mentioned in a short essay by "Anonymous." It didn't involve a lot of thinking and there was no writing other than to copy the essay lines beneath our pictures. No problem, right? Wrong! For starters, this short essay had the potential of 40 pictures to illustrate that man does not live by bread alone. And if man doesn't live by bread alone, just what does he live by? Things like truth, goodness, beauty, harmony, aspiration, and "the sublimity of a softly lighted cathedral." Good grief! What does truth look like? How do you find a picture of goodness? Even the specific ones were a challenge to find, like the softly lighted cathedral and the rustle of wind in the trees. And let's see, this assignment was made about 1974, long before the days of the Internet, Google, and the digital camera. My classmates and I embarked upon the ultimate scavenger hunt, turning through hundreds of magazines, pilfering old greeting cards and calendars, and begging from neighbors and relatives. Everywhere we went, the conversation always came to, "Do you have any old magazines?" and "I still need pictures of...." I was doing pretty well in my quest until someone swiped some of my best and hardest to find. Eventually, though, I finished, and the booklet I produced is one of the few samples of my school work that I still possess. It might be considered "vintage" by now, with it's un-laminated construction paper cover, stencil lettering, dry and crackly glue, and handwritten text. But I remember how much effort I put into it, which made the grade I received that much sweeter.

Recently I took some photos of the six-year-old granddaughter of friends. It was her first visit to our farm and she loved the horses and chickens. One of the photos brought to mind a line from the poem "Barter" by Sara Teasdale. And that made me think of my ninth grade "Not By Bread Alone" assignment, which then inspired me to find the poem and illustrate it with my own photographs. Thankfully, I did not need 40, only eight or ten. It took a while to round them up, and I had to shoot a few new ones, but here is what I came up with. I'm glad I don't have to worry about a grade, but still I wonder: what would Miss Ratliff think??

Barter

by Sara Teasdale

Life has loveliness to sell,

All beautiful and splendid things,

Blue waves whitened on a cliff,

Soaring fire that sways and sings,

And children's faces looking up,

Holding wonder like a cup.

Life has loveliness to sell,

Music like the curve of gold,

Scent of pine trees in the rain,

Eyes that love you, arms that hold,

And for your spirit's still delight,

Holy thoughts that star the night.

Spend all you have for loveliness,

Buy it and never count the cost;

For one white singing hour of peace

Count many a year of strife well lost,

And for a breath of ecstasy

Give all you have been, or could be.

Barter by Sara Teasdale (1884-1933); photographs by Nancy Vance.

Birds At My Feeder

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