IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE AND THIS MAN IS DOWN ON HIS LUCK.
SO MANY SITUATIONS HAS DRAGGED HIM DOWN INTO THE PITS
OF DESPAIR. HE IS WALKING THE STREETS OF THIS TOWN THAT
HE WAS BORN AND RAISED IN. THERE IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT
ABOUT HIS DESPAIR, HE FEELS AS THOUGH A SHADOW IS FOLLOWING
HIM. HE DOES NOT WANT TO BE BOTHERED WITH SOMEONE WHO IS
FOLLOWING HIM, TO MUG HIM OR ANYTHING ELSE AS FAR AS THAT
MAY GO.
THE STREETS ARE BARREN THIS EVENING, IT'S 29 DEGREES, HE
WORKED HARD ALL DAY, HE IS HUNGER, HIS WIFE TOOK THEIR KIDS
AND LEFT HIM FOR GOOD. ALL BECAUSE SHE WANTS A BETTER LIFE-
STYLE THEN HE CAN PROVIDE AT THIS TIME. IT'S NOT ALL HIS
FAULT, SHE REFUSES TO WORK AND SHE SPENDS HIS CHECK BEFORE
HE CAN OPEN THE DOOR ON PAY DAY. HE'S A GOOD MAN DOING THE
BEST HE CAN.
NOW THIS, THE FEELING AS IF SOMEONE IS FOLLOWING HIM. HE
SUDDENLY TURNS, DRAWLING HIS FISTS, READY TO DEFEND HIMSELF...
NO ONE IS THERE..THERE IS A BENCH TO SIT DOWN ON UNDER A STREET
LIGHT. HE SITS IN A DEFEATED MANNER. BOWS HIS HEAD AND HOLDS
BACK AN OCEAN OF FRUSTRATION AND LONELINESS HERE ON CHRISTMAS
EVE. AFTER A WHILE HE FEELS SOMETHING COLD ON HIS NECK, PULLING
HIS HEAD UP HE REALIZES ITS BEGINNING TO SNOW. HOW PERFECT, IT
HASN'T SNOWED ON CHRISTMAS IN A VERY LONG TIME HERE. HE SITS
UNTIL HE NOTICES THE SNOW IS COMING DOWN HEAVIER AND LAYING IN
SEVERAL INCHES. IT'S GETTING LATE AND HE IS SINKING DEEPER AND
DEEPER INTO DEPRESSION. HE LOOKS UP AT THE STREET SIGN AND
REALIZES HE HAS WALKED COMPLETELY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN
FROM WHERE HE LIVES. BILLIE DECIDES TO GO BACK HOME, THAT WASN'T
HIS INTENTION EARLIER BUT THINGS CHANGE ONCE YOU GET A CHANCE TO
THINK THINGS OVER.
THERE'S THAT FEELING AGAIN, BILLIE TURNS THINKING HE CAUGHT A
GLIMPSE OF A SHADOW DUCKING BEHIND A BUSH. HE TURNS AND KEEPS
ON WALKING WHEN HE SEE'S A LOCAL CHURCH, WITH ALL THAT IS
HAPPENING AND THIS EERIE FEELING; HE DECIDES TO GO INTO THE
CHURCH FOR COMFORT AND WARMTH. THAT WAY HE WOULD BE ABLE TO
HEAR OR SEE SOMEONE COME IN OR HE COULD LOOK OUT AND SEE IF
SOMEONE IS WAITING FOR HIM.
BILLIE WALKS SLOWLY UP THE ISLE TO THE ALTER, WITH EACH STEP
THE WEIGHT OF HIS PROBLEMS EBBS UP LIKE A TIDE RISING TO THE
SHORE. HE SITS IN THE FRONT AND LOOKS UP AT JESUS ON THE CROSS
AND MUTTERS, "W H Y"? FOR CHRIST SAKES, "W H Y"?
"Here it is Christmas Eve, the day you were given to us.
The greatest of all things in this world,
I want to tell you some things and I hope it makes sense,
Because it sure as Hell doesn't to me." Here I am in
Your house and to get here I have been carried along the
way;
In the arms of the Angels
I have walked many miles
All these steps just to hold onto
The beauty of the written word
My heart sees what clear can be
In the eyes of the Angels
All this lives in my own hearts reflection.
In the arms of the Angels
There within the deepest of my adoration
Contains what I hold dear
So many dreams unfolding before me
The wondrous moments held so tenderly
Came together in a story form of never-ending hopes.
In the eyes of the Angels
A legend has been written
For those who have walked miles after miles
In a heart so pure, for my eyes did gaze
Upon the beauty before me
So like the most precious of gems so clear
Pure and vibrant now over whelmed me.
Life sang a song so beautifully written
In the arms of the Angels
I did cry and my soul but did search in vain
Yet it was never to be discovered
In the arms of the Angels
There is no limit to their love
My heart has found no boundaries.
The voices of the Angels
So soft, calm and gentle made my heart weep
His love flowed through me like a river
Every tear rambled through Heaven's trumpeting
He opened his wings in Glorious Magnificence's
There his heart opened to me and shined brightly
The warmth was just for ME.
In the arms of the Angels
I traveled miles just to discover that
What I have wanted all along
Has been right inside of me all this time
My value, my worth is there to be tapped
Now I know what the feeling of being followed is
My shadow, the shadow, are the Angels, Guardian Angels
In the arms of the Angels
My worth was and is warmed by their light
I found in their hearts, that My heart
Does shine with such brilliants, my world is illuminated
In the eyes of the Angels
There is a place for me in Heaven
I am not alone, ever!
For I am
In the Arms of the Angels"...
by Richard Lee Cook
Copyright 2011
An SILVERFEATHER Creation