Chapter Four



The Angel of Work (Action)

Joshua and I stood there for the longest time and stared into the horizon. I was at a loss for what to do next. My son seemed anxious to move on into the wilderness so we did.

I thought as I walked about what Direction had told us. He told us to look for the Angel of Action so I guess my son understands that we need to move.

As we were leaving the clearing, I noticed the Angel of Direction had left the basket of food. I ran back and got the basket. I figured that was one less thing to worry about if we have at least a little food to sustain us in our journey.

Joshua walked into the wilderness like he knew where he was going. I had a hard time keeping up with him until he stopped next to a small creek. He sat down and refreshed himself with the cool running water. I followed his lead.

Then I asked Joshua, “Would you like a little food? The angel left the extra food for us. Would you like an apple?”

Joshua all but ignored me. He shook his head as to tell me no and then he got up and we continued on our journey.

It was getting close to dark and Joshua stopped and looked around in the trees in order to find a good place to spend the night. He found a fairly sheltered location and decided it was getting cool so he started a fire. I recall it wasn’t but just a few short years ago that I taught him how to do just that.

Still with no conversation, we heated our food and had a nice warm supper of leftovers from the basket the Angel of Hunger had left us.

Finally after several hours Joshua spoke, “Father, do you hear it?”

I looked around in the dark and strained my hearing to see if I could hear what he was talking about and then I answered, “No. What am I supposed to hear?:

“I…I think it’s the angel. Remember when you said you heard the other angel? Just like that.”

After a few minutes, I gave up trying to hear what he was hearing and we both were very tired so we laid down in the tall grass. It was a wee bit chilly so we pulled our jackets close and use a rock for a pillow and tried to go to sleep.

I was very uncomfortable but Joshua was sleeping like a baby. I rummaged around in the dark looking for something I could put over me to keep me warm because I was so cold.

Finally when it seemed like I just went to sleep, the sun pushed over the hilltops in the east and woke me up in a fright. At first I didn’t remember where I was or what I was doing and then I saw Joshua washing his face in the nearby creek.

I got myself up from the wet grass and then I shivered from the dampness and the cool morning. I looked over to the fire pit that Joshua had constructed the night before and saw the flickering of light. Feeling quite chilled, I saw the stack of wood near the pit that my son had collected and put another log on the burning embers. Within minutes the fire came back to life and I my chill was gone.

As I warmed myself, I noticed a hand axe leaning next to a nearby tree. I asked myself, “Where did that axe come from?

Just as that thought passed through my mind Joshua returned from the creek and announced, “The angel was here a few minutes ago and left that axe, over there, with us. He said he would drop by a shovel later on.”

“When…..did this angel come? How did I miss him? I was awake almost all night. I was chilled and couldn’t sleep. Did he say anything else?”

“No, just said he’d be back and that he was really busy.”

“Ummm, that makes sense to me…Ha Ha, after all he’s the Angel of Action.”

“Yea, I guess. Are you ready for some breakfast, Dad?”

I didn’t say anything for a few minutes and then I replied, “Oh, yea, I suppose….but how will we do that?”

“Oh, I didn’t tell you…I gathered some fire wood and I remembered some of the outdoor stuff I learned in Royal Rangers, when we used to go to church. In our basket, Hunger left us was the fixings of any awesome bacon and eggs breakfast. Are you OK with that?”

“Sounds really good…I’m hungry…..Hungry?”

Joshua pulled a frying pan and the needed utensils from the basket. Again he opened the basket and found a dozen eggs in a carton and a slab of bacon. I watched as he set up the fire-pit for the frying pan and he started cooking.

I wondered to myself again, “Do you mean, I was carrying that big frying pan and eggs and bacon. I had no idea…But it wasn’t that heavy.”

My son found a large rock that was flat on top and laid out the table cloth that he found with the supplies. The aroma of the food cooking reminded me of the day we met the Angel of Hunger.

Within a few minutes Joshua was setting out plates and silverware and place a pot holder down in the middle of the rock. My son brought the warm frying pan over from the fire pit and placed it on the pot holder and the morning meal was ready to eat.

I was invited by my son to come and eat, but I’d realized I hadn’t washed up so I excused myself , and said I needed to wash my hands and face before we eat. I promptly walked to the creek.

When I came back to our little camp, I noticed a shovel leaning up next to the same tree that the axe leaned up against. Then I asked, “Did the angel come by again while I was at the creek? You mean I missed him again?”

Joshua was sitting at the rock waiting patiently for me when he answered, “Yes, just a minute ago…He said he’d be back. He didn’t say when…Come on, Dad, let’s eat. I’m hungry.”

I looked around the woods and scanned the horizon to see if I could catch a glimpse of this elusive angel. There was nothing but midst in the forest and wilderness in the distance. I wondered if maybe the angel was avoiding me or something.

I sat down with my son and it was quiet as we ate the delicious bacon and eggs. Joshua even found some refreshing orange juice in our food basket and it hit the spot.

When we completed our meal, Joshua quickly got up and walked to the creek with an empty pan to gather some more water to heat on the fire. When the water was hot, He washed the dishes and placed all the clean and dried items back in the basket.

After these chores were completed he pulled out a large black book from the basket, sat down, and leaned against a tree. He invited me to sit next to him and he began to read.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Then Joshua asked, “Shall we pray?.....Dear God, my Dad and I sit here as your children. We are here in this wilderness waiting for answers to our ultimate challenge. We want to find your purpose for our lives…Our destiny…At the moment we know you have called us to Action. Show us what we need to do with the axe and with shovel. Show us which way to go, today. Thank you for the answer dear Lord, amen.”

I said, “Amen.”

My son stood up and grabbed the basket that was ready for traveling. He handed me the shovel and then handed me the axe; One tool for each hand. Immediately, Joshua turned around and began walking down a small trail that led us deeper into the wilderness.

As we hiked through the heavy brush, I noticed that it was getting extremely colder and clouds were forming on the horizon. But Joshua kept walking forward until we came to a small clearing in the wilderness. He laid his burden down and opened the basket.

I dropped the axe and shovel and sat my weary body down in the soft most grass of the clearing and shivered. Joshua quickly searched the area around us and picked up a bundle of dry brush and sticks to start a fire.

It wasn’t long when I could feel the warmth of a blazing fire in front of me. I stood up and sat near the heat source and warmed my cold aching body.

Joshua, who was in a flurry of action, reached into the basket and pulled out a large wool blanket and place on my shoulders. My son then retrieved a blanket for himself and sat down next to me, by the now, roaring fire.

We both sat quietly for a few minutes accept for occasionally feeding a log or two on the blaze.

Joshua broke the silence. “Dad, the weather is beginning to turn. I anticipate that we need to build ourselves a shelter because a big storm is coming. Do you have the strength to help me cut some large trees and drag them back here so we can start before it snows?”

I looked at him and said, “Sure I do. If we want to survive this journey to our destiny and come out of it alive we must do what it takes. Let’s do it.”

“You know, Dad, that’s just what the Angel told me a few minutes ago in the woods. He said in order for us to complete this journey to find our destiny we needed to prepare, using the tools he has provided for us. He then gave me a hammer and a rope.”

“You saw the angel again. I really think he is…..”

Joshua interrupted, “Dad, we need to get busy. It’s going to snow, soon.”

I was kind of frustrated. Why did that angel speak to Joshua and not me? Then it dawned on me. He is hearing the angel because he is listening for the angel. I had been looking for him and not listening for him.”

For two hours we carried and drug logs into the clearing and then we prepared the logs to build a small lean-to in a protected area on the far side of our camp.

We used the axe to chop down the trees that we needed and to trim the logs once on the ground. Joshua used the shovel to dig a trench around the fire pit and to make ready the location of the shelter.

Later we utilized the rope to strap logs together for the roof. The brush and tree limbs that were left were used to cover the roof area to keep the rain and snow out. Smaller limbs and branches were placed on either side for protection from the wind.

The hammer came in handy when we prepared a make shift door. We sharpened the end of two thin branches and pounded them in the ground on either side of the opening. The door was made with several medium size branches that were roped together securely. Finally, we strapped the door, on the top and the bottom, to one of the thin post we had pounded into the ground.

It seemed like forever but within a few days we had completed our project just before the storm arrived.

First we heard the wind began to blow in the trees, and then came the cold crisp air. I looked up and felt one small flake fall into my eyes and then another and another. Before two long it was a full-fledged snow storm.

Joshua and I quickly gathered all the fire wood we would need and piled it in the narrow end of the lean-to. We stoked the fire with large split logs and moved our basket of food and supplies into the shelter. Then we went into the lean-to get out of the storm. Joshua pulled the door closed and tied it shut.

Inside the shelter all you could hear was the howling of the wind and occasional whistle as it blew inside our sanctuary. Joshua reached into the basket and pulled out the two wool blankets and we wrapped ourselves with them to protect ourselves from the cold. It seemed like it was getting colder by the minute.

We ate a quick meal of bread and granola bars that we found in our basket. We then decide we’d better get to sleep and strengthen our bodies because in the morning we would have to dig out from all this snow.

It didn’t seem long, that we were awakened by a loud crashing sound outside our shelter. Joshua untied the door and attempted to push it open so he could look out. The door would barely budge.

Joshua asked me to hand him the shovel, but I couldn’t find it in the shelter. Then it dawned on us we left it on in the snow. Not to be defeated, Joshua pushed and pushed the door that was blocked by heavy wet snow. Finally the opening was wide enough for my son to squeeze his way out.

Once out in the snow, Joshua searched for the shovel. He found it leaned against a tree several feet away from the lean-to. Promptly he dug out the snow that almost completely blocked the doorway.

Once the door could be opened, I crawl out and the two of us assessed the situation. Joshua said to me, “Dad, we had about a foot of snow last night. It would be difficult for us to travel in this much snow so do you think we should plan on being here for a little while, at least?”

I thought for a minute or two and then responded, “I don’t know about you, but we aren’t really dressed for travel. We have ordinary shoes and no winter gear.”

Joshua again responded, “I believe we do have gear in the basket we brought with us, but the angel told me…”

“The angel? When did you see the angel? We’ve been together all this time…I didn’t see him.”

“It was last night as you slept. I was praying and he walked through the walls of our shelter and he gave me some advice and instruction. He told me we have the tools and gear that we need for winter travel in our basket but he thought that maybe we should stay here a little while….He just suggested that.”

“Well, if he suggested it……That was the suggestions but what were the instructions that he gave you?”

“He instructed us to continue doing what we are doing for all that we are doing is preparing us for the discovery of our destiny and purpose. That’s why he is called the Angel of Action or Work. We are being taught to do the work not just sit and wait. If we would have sat and waited last night we would have probably froze to death. He told us to keep doing what we are doing because action keeps us alive.”

“No joke. We could have been popsicles. So now what?”

“Now we are looking for the Angel of Character and then the twin headed Angel of Integrity and Trust of, whom Action speaks highly of them.”

“That’s nice. New angels and I didn’t even get to see this one. Well onward son…onward.”

Tags: Humor, Leadership

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