Scars of My Guardian Angel

by Russell L Martin

  ‘Mr. Jerry, I think that will serve him right. He wasn’t only shooting at Buck; he was pointing his rifle right at the equipment.’

  ‘I didn’t know that Chado. If that’s the case, he could have shot you or damaged the equipment. My goodness!’

  During our conversation I felt a peace, now that I knew Mr. Jerry had my back and I wasn’t going to lose my job .

  ‘Mr. Jerry, I guess I’ll go and see if I can get those charges dropped.’

  ‘Ok Chado, I’ll let daddy Fred know and inform that room full of company men. You get back out to the equipment and first thing Monday morning run over to the courthouse and take care of that. Oh yeah, keep up with the cost of the vet bill and whatever the court cost might be for dropping charges, and I’ll refund you every dime; and Chado, I’ll be praying that Buck pulls through.’

  Monday came and went and our prayers were being answered. I was able to pick Buck up from the hospital and within days he was as right as rain.

  My crews and equipment had moved farther up the pipeline away from the location where Buck was shot and everything seemed to be back to normal. I was back to reading God’s Word daily and I felt led to scripture about forgiveness, because I hadn’t forgiven this cruel man that shot my dog. I felt that God led me straight to: II Corinthians 2:9-11,

  ‘For to this end I also wrote that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things.

  Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ,

  Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.’

  As I pondered over this scripture, it was easy to realize that I was falling into one of Satan’s devices and my only escape would be to go and see this hateful man face to face.

  After much prayer I felt that I was ready to look him in the eyes and tell him that I forgive him.

  The following evening before my shift started, I drove to the crime scene. I boldly walked up to his door, lightly knocked several times and suddenly the door swung open, ‘What do you want? ’

  ‘Sir, I have come here to tell you that I forgive you for shooting my dog and hold no animosity toward you.’

  ‘I shot your dog because he was attacking my cows!’

  ‘No sir. You can tell everyone else that lie but you are forgetting one thing.’

  ‘And what could that be?’

  ‘I was there and I watched as you shot your rifle multiple times and finally hit my dog that was standing only a few feet in front of my truck and the equipment.’

  He immediately slammed the door in my face. So I headed back down his driveway, thanking God that he didn’t shoot me. Suddenly I had a sense of peace that I had done the will of God and it was now completely over. I had truly forgiven the man from the bottom of my heart.

  That very night a violent storm came through the area and I sat in the truck all night with my trusted friend Buck resting his head in my lap. We both dozed off as the driving rain pounded the metal roof of the pickup.

  I woke up to the sound of my CB radio, it was Marvin. ‘Breaker breaker, come in Chado Cole, you got a copy?’

  ‘10-4 Marvin I read you, what’s up on your end, did you make it through the storm okay?’

  ‘Yeah, 10-4, that’s what I need to tell you about.’

  ‘Roger that. Did our camper make it through all the wind?’

  ‘10-4 camper is fine, but you need to drive by the guy’s house that shot your dog.’

  ‘What’s going on? What happened?’

  ‘A tornado came through there and wiped his barns completely out. His home was spared, but the barns are totally disintegrated.’

  ‘Wow, I was just there before dark yesterday.’

  ‘You went over there? You crazy rascal, you’re braver than I am. Why were you there?’

  ‘I didn’t tell you, but I felt led to go and tell him to his face that I forgave him for shooting Buck.’

  ‘How did he act when you told him?’

  ‘He slammed the door in my face.’

  Marvin keyed the mike and I could hear him laughing, ‘Man that’s powerful. He didn’t realize that he slammed the door in the face of one of God’s children that had just humbled himself before God with a forgiving heart. Chado Cole, I truly believe that storm was sent for a special purpose.’

  ‘Roger that Marvin, roger that.’ “

  * * *

  “Well Uriel, what do you think? Was I pretty accurate on the details?”

  “Yes, you have an excellent memory, good job Chado.”

  “Okay Uriel, with you being my Guardian Angel, would you mind telling me how your scars play in to all this?”

  “Chado, you know each night when you sat in your truck on his property and you were reading the Word of God?”

  “Yeah, I sure do.”

  “Well this guy and his land were under a generational curse and had two fallen angels and several demons that were assigned to him and his family. When you rolled up every evening and opened your Bible, Lucifer was immediately informed of your presence. The fallen angels and those demons wanted you gone. Chado you have to remember Lucifer has always known that God was going to use you somehow later in life. So he saw an opportunity and tried to push you to a point of falling in one of his traps. In other words he wanted you dead, and he almost prevailed. The trick he used that night to bring you to the point of being out of control was that he knew how much you loved Buck and he also knew that was your weak spot. You know when you threw your Bible on the seat of your truck, grabbed the pistol and took off running down the hill?”

  “Yes, I was so upset and out of control.”

  “That’s right Chado; you were cursing and had killing that man in your heart. At that very moment you had two demons with their claws on your back pushing you toward your death.”

  “What do you mean toward my death?”

  “That land owner was standing in the shadows of his home behind a patch of dead flowers with you in the scope of his rifle. He had just clicked off the safety and was squeezing the trigger when I attacked and killed the two demons that were pushing you. I then stood in front of you with my hands raised to Heaven asking God to stop you from going any further. While my hands were lifted toward Heaven one of the fallen angels struck me several times in the back, and at the same time another demon from out of the darkness reached up with his nasty claws and scarred the left side of my face. At the point when you turned around heading back for your truck, I lowered my hands of praise and defended myself against the dark forces. In only a matter of a few seconds, they fled back into the shadows.”

  “My goodness Uriel, I am so sorry I was out of control.”

  “That’s okay Chado, I survived and here we are standing in Heaven. Hey, you want to hear something else about the ordeal?”

  “Sure Uriel, I would love to.”

  “You know that lady judge you went to?”

  “Yes, she was so nice to me, not to mention how pretty she was.”

  “Well Chado, what do you think the odds were of you walking off the street and getting to see a judge?”

  “I guess pretty slim.”

  “That’s right. God gave her a vision about the same time He gave you your vision of Buck’s face covered in blood. The vision she received was of you coming to her for help. So when the receptionist came and told her there is a young man at my desk asking to see a judge, she knew that her vision was from God, and your arrival was divine appointment.”

  “I never imagined God was so involved. I knew the dream was a bit odd and after talking with Marvin, I felt it was something strange happening. Not to mention the storm that hit the guy’s place. Uriel, can you tell me the reason all this happened? What was God up to?”

  “Chado, over the years God has given this man many opportunities to humble himself and submit his life to Christ. But this was his last warning, God used you and Buc
k in his life, and when you humbled yourself and told him that you had forgiven him for such a hateful act, he slammed the door in your face.

  At that very second God turned him over to a reprobate mind, being filled with all unrighteousness, immorality, wickedness deserving of death and Hell.

  He blasphemed the Holy Spirit several times in the past and Chado, he walks the Earth condemned and will never see the inside of Heaven.”

  “My goodness, that’s pretty scary Uriel, so a person can reject God to the point of Him turning away and allowing them to live the rest of their lives lost and apart from God?”

  “That’s right, and you witnessed the man’s last chance. He will live the rest of his life on Earth with the company of demons and eventually face the judgment of God.

  One other thing Chado, everything that happened those few days had a positive effect on everyone involved. The lady judge, Marvin, Mr. Fred, several of the guys working on the line and you’ll love this, Mr. Jerry, the owner’s son; well he still uses that story as he teaches Bible school. Even to this day he sometimes brings it up and teaches about seeing the power of God used through a dog named Buck.”

  I burst out laughing, “That is so cool; Mr. Jerry teaching Sunday school, who would have thought back in those days. You know, I always liked Jerry. You could just tell he had a good heart.”

  * * *

  I pat the side of my leg and Moushie comes running up to me, barely brushing my fingertips as he catches back up with Rex, who’s leading the way down the cobblestone path.

  As I glanced over at Uriel, I noticed the deep scar on the left side of his face looked like it had faded and wasn’t as visible as before. It must be the shadows of the tall red oak trees we were walking under that masked his injuries.

  I see both dogs ears perk up as if they seem to be hearing something coming from up ahead. They both suddenly take off in a fast run.

  “Uriel, what do you think, did they hear something in the distance?”

  Uriel stops and holds his hand up. “Listen Chado, can you hear that?”

  I turn my ear in the direction up ahead. I hear a breeze blowing through the giant Sequoia trees and I look up to admire their beauty. “Yes that’s nice, what a sound.”

  “No, I’m not talking about the wind, just listen.”

  I turn my head again and in between the gentle gusts of wind, I suddenly hear the sounds of a cello accompanied by a mandolin and guitars.

  “Uriel, what the heck? That sounds like a piece of home!”

  “Yes, we are almost to our first location. ”

  I start walking a bit faster, “Hey bud, you haven’t told me who we were visiting first. Who is it Uriel?”

  “Slow down Chado, that’s a surprise. I can tell you this much, it’s not the Valley of the Children where your daughter lives.”

  As we continue up the trail, my mind is racing. Who all plays instruments in my family? Heck, there were several on my mom’s side of the family. Well I did have a lot of friends that played also. Shoot it could be anyone!

  “Chado, give it a rest, we’ll be there shortly and you’ll find out.”

  “Okay, okay, I’ll chill out.”

  We start up a gradual incline through the mighty redwoods, and the sounds of gospel bluegrass echoing through the timber were becoming clearer.

  I suddenly see Rex and Moushie dart over the top of the hill and the looks on their faces was telling me to hurry up. They both wheel around and vanish back over the hill.

  I look over at Uriel and we both start grinning, the overwhelming joy was filling my heart to the point of bursting as we made it to the top of the crest.

  23

  Guitars & Mandolins

  Iburst out laughing, when to my surprise, instead of the giant mansion I was expecting, I saw an ole time frame house that looked exactly like my granny’s old home. The only difference, it was a larger version.

  She even has a stream that resembles Black Creek, but this is way beyond our old home place. The giant trees in the background with her home nestled near a bend in the creek surrounded with fruit trees and flowers of many colors. Yes, this was way beyond everything I can remember about our childhood stomping ground.

  “Uriel, this is definitely my granny’s home place, but I thought everyone got a mansion!”

  “Chado she didn’t want a mansion, she chose this home. She actually didn’t have to ask God, He knew exactly what was in her heart and, there it is.”

  My granny’s old home place had a big porch all the way around, with a wide breezeway through the center on the inside. Back in those days, there was no such thing as air conditioning, so they built the houses with a wide breezeway through the center and totally open on each end. It was sort of like an extra wide hallway, and it worked really well. All the rooms were located on each side of the breezeway allowing the fresh air in.

  Something else I remember, granny’s house had a steep metal roof with a fireplace on each end and a pipe that stuck out of the kitchen wall that was connected to a wood burning stove. I can’t believe I am looking at the mirror image of her earthly home.

  I notice several people walking around outside and from the sound of music they must be celebrating something. From our distance it’s hard to make out who the musicians are on the porch, but I can’t wait to find out.

  As we make our way across the small meadow in front of the home place, I see Moushie and Rex wagging their tails as they walk and mingle with the folks sitting in chairs out in the front yard. I still can’t make out who they are, when suddenly two of the people petting my dogs stand and start pointing in our direction. The music stops and then I hear several people from the small crowd start shouting, “They’re here, everyone they’re here!”

  I look over at Uriel, “Well I guess they knew we were coming.”

  Uriel smiles as he pats me on the shoulder, “Take off Chado, I’ll be there in a bit.”

  I take off in a fast trot toward the house and see several people walking toward me that I don’t recognize. As I get closer, the first familiar face is my cousin Bob. He had lost his life five years ago down in Texas when he was robbed and murdered. Right behind him is his son who drowned a year before in the Gulf of Mexico in a Jet Ski accident. After a few yards, I can make out one of my favorite uncles. I should have recognized the sound of his mandolin and know it was my Uncle Buddy. Right beside him sat Uncle Patrick. Everyone back home called him Dobber.

  Bob and his son ran up grabbing me and shaking me, each taking turns giving me hugs with both of my uncles doing the same .

  Bob grabbed me with both hands, one on each shoulder, “Chado Cole, you are going to love it here. I arrived a little over five earth years ago and right now, in this season, it’s as exciting as when I first set foot inside the gate!”

  As I gaze at my cousins and uncles, “Guys I can’t believe we are all standing together here in Heaven, this is so amazing!”

  “Chado they told us you were coming, so we put together a little welcome home jam session. Oh, did you happen to bring your guitar?”

  We all burst out laughing, “Uncle Buddy I sure didn’t but I did bring a friend.” We all turn around as Uriel walks up. “Everyone, I want y’all to meet my Guardian Angel, Uriel.”

  They all introduce themselves as we head for the house. Bob taps me on the back and whispers, “Chado, you mind me asking, why do you need a Guardian Angel here in Heaven?”

  “I know, it is an odd situation. Why don’t you wait and I’ll tell the whole group, I’m sure you won’t be the only one that’s curious.”

  “Sure, no problem, just don’t forget. I would really like to know because I’ve been here five earth years and haven’t ever heard of such.”

  “You got it Cuz.”

  As I make my way through all the warm welcomes from cousins, uncles and aunts from long ago, I am in search of the old lady that cooked the best sweet potato and coconut pies in American history, my Granny Tressie.

  I
carefully walk past the musicians’ chairs on the porch with several instruments leaning against them. As I head through the open doors down the breezeway, I begin to smell my granny’s cooking.

  Suddenly she jumps out from behind a bedroom door with her hands in the air, growling like a bear and then bursts out in a contagious laugh. She runs straight up to me and wraps her arms around me, then reaches up and gives me a big kiss on each cheek. She then turns, grabs my hand, leads me into the kitchen, pulls out a chair and shoves two freshly cooked pies in front of me and says, “They are all yours, eat up child.” I stare at the tops of both pies as I think back in time.

  “Granny I never told you this, but after you were gone, each time I would have pie at just about any gathering, I would tell the story of you.”

  “Child, what story would that be?”

  “Well Granny, do you remember how poor we were when I was a kid? At Christmas you would tell me, ‘Child, I don’t have enough money to get you anything, but I can bake you some pies.’ To the day I died, I would always tell people that out of all the gifts I ever received, the only ones I could remember were your pies. That meant more to me than if you had given me silver or gold. Now that we are in Heaven sitting here together, I can let you know face to face how much that meant to me. Granny, thank you so much for all our wonderful childhood memories and especially the best pies ever made.”