It's
a see through color pink- there is no paint or
markers like that. (Whit, Age
6)
My angel is a comfortable
feeling. (Newlin, Age 6)
My angels are many.
Sometimes they are small, 7 to 100 of them fit
with me inside my seat belt when I drive places.
They sparkle all the time.
(Samantha, Age 4) |
 When
my daughter Whitney, four years old at the time,
began telling me about Sophine, an angel who visited
her, I had no idea just where this angel would
take us. “Mama, Sophine came to my room
last night.” “Who is Sophine?”
I asked, surprised as this child was not prone
to fantasy or make-believe. Whitney was my practical,
pragmatic first-born, always reporting in full
detail the truth of most any situation. “Sophine
is the angel who comes to my room each night.”
Chills ran through my body. I stopped stirring
the morning oatmeal and grabbed a piece of paper.
It was as if something was telling me that this
was important, that I must get it all down exactly
as she told me. “Tell me about her, Whitney.”
“Well, I was also an angel before I was
born. I watched over you and I picked you to be
my mommy. I knew Sophine then and she comes to
me now. I also call her ‘One Who Brings
Me Flowers.’ She makes my flowers grow,
Mama. She makes them the colors they are supposed
to be.”
I wrote each word down exactly the way she said
it. I told her what a blessing it was that she
had such a special friend and how grateful I was
that she had picked me to be her mom. She then
drew a beautiful picture of Sophine holding a
bunch of flowers with yellow light all around
her. The day went on, but I could not keep away
from that piece of paper. I believed Whitney.
I knew her to be a sensitive and special child,
and it seemed incredible, but right, that she
would experience an angel.
A few days later, I was cleaning house and was
about to throw away a shriveled, sad looking African
violet. “Oh no, Mama, don’t throw
it away,” Whitney cried. “Let me put
it in my room.” Anyone who is a parent knows
that sometimes it’s easier to comply with
our children rather than going into a long song
and dance to explain something. I gave the poor
plant to Whitney and forgot it. The next morning
she came running down the stairs with the African
violet in her hands. “Look, look, Mama!
Sophine made my flower grow. She made it all better.”
So it was. There were four beautiful little pink
violets where only dead stalks existed the day
before.
I had to know if other children experienced angels
in the vivid and intimate way my young daughter
did. I began asking them. I started with my children’s
friends, and pre-school, kindergarten and first-grade
classes in my home town. I would ask the children
to tell me about angels then have them draw pictures
of what an angel looked like. The results were
breath-taking. In taking the time to listen to
and view children’s personal visions, I
discovered that angels appear to young people
in some vivid and nontraditional ways. They aren’t
always white winged ladies. They are as rich and
varied as children themselves.
If so many children saw and experienced angels,
I wanted to talk to more who lived much different
lives than those close to home. I continued
working with children but went out farther than
my own community. In an effort to include a wide
variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, cultures,
and religions, I spoke with children across America
who described their own angels with candor and
conviction. I wanted a way to share children’s
rich images with the world. Drawing Angels
Near (Pocket Books) was a result of that
desire.
Sophine, drawn by my daughter that morning four
years ago, was picked by the editor at Pocket
Books to grace the cover of the book. She had
no idea when she selected it that it was drawn
by Whitney, the inspiration for it all!
Children do seem to see and experience angels
in a vivid and personal way. Validating children’s
spiritual connection has become my passion. They
are still connected with the world so many of
us have forgotten. I’ve written 4 more books
since Drawing Angels Near and give talks
and workshops to parents and educators around
the world to encourage them to honor and nurture
children’s divine spirituality – sharing
specific tips and techniques to do so. Listening
to children’s descriptions of angels is
certainly a beginning.
Sophine no longer appears to my daughter, who
is a vibrant college student. It is almost as
if she came to manifest these projects for other
children and then slipped away from view when
Whitney was about 7 or 8. At about 11 years
old, however, Whitney quietly shared with me that,
“I have a new angel now, Mama. He was in
the kitchen last night and again this morning
on the deck with his strong, loving wings around
our house.” I trust that there
are yet more angels surrounding Whitney as she
now lives on her own in a college dorm, keeping
her safe, and lighting her way.
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