They all started laughing.
“Go ahead fellows, laugh it up, no one saw me but the monkeys!”
“Hey Chado, to top off having a little fun that day with you, the Lord showed us a new fishing hole on that river. Spike and I had been fly fishing in the same area several times but that day; He put us right on top of a honey hole. We fed Cuddles so many trout he could hardly walk.”
“Yeah, I got to see you feed Cuddles, but I actually thought he was going to eat you instead of the fish.” Dad and Uncle Spike chuckle.
“So when we first got to the river, God sent the horses and those two little monkeys to give you a tour. I tell you Chado, you would never have seen the mammoths or known how to find your way through that mountain pass if He hadn’t. Well anyway, after the horses dropped you at the portal, they turned back, came here and after a bit more fishing, we all went back home… and of course Cu ddles followed us the whole way. You know, I feel really bad if I go fishing and don’t bring Cuddles with me.”
“Why’s that Dad?”
“I left him one time when we went to visit your Granny and he was sitting on his butt moaning, and would you believe when we got back he hadn’t moved an inch. He was still right where I left him, and yes he was still crying. So I’ve never left him since.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, “Dad I always knew you were an old softy.”
I see Uncle Spike turn and point at a knotted rope swing hanging from a big cypress tree at the edge of the river bank. “Hey Chado, you and Uriel want to have a little fun?”
I look over at Uriel, “Hey bud, we got time for a swim?”
He smiles, “Chado you sure love to swim.”
Dad pops off, “Yeah he does, and I told him that deep sea diving was going to get him killed, and it did.”
“But Dad, that was all meant to be, remember God numbers our days, and if it hadn’t been on the bottom of the Gulf, it would have been somewhere else.”
“I reckon so, but I did tell you.”
“I know, I know Pop.”
We all head over to the rope swing and as we step up to the edge of the tall bank overlooking the deep end of Dad’s swimming hole, I see a funny sight. It’s Cuddles, and he’s standing on all fours in about six feet of water with Moushie and Rex both lying across his back. They all three notice our presence, with Moushie and Rex bailing off the giant’s back, swimming for the shallow end where several horses are pawing and playing in the clear cool water.
As we strip down to our linen clothes, preparing to try out Dad’s rope swing I’m thinking; “Could this be where I would want to spend eternity? I love everything about this place, all of Dad’s animals, this beautiful river, the lake, mountains on both sides of this grand valley with rolling hills. Yes, this would be awesome, it’s even pretty close to Granny’s; but I wonder how far it is to the Valley of the Children? I would surely want to be close to my daughter.”
Suddenly with Uriel hearing my thoughts, he glides past me being the first off the swing, “It’s about a two day ride on horseback…”
I laugh as I see Uriel cut several flips and then hardly making a splash cutting through the surface of the water like an Olympic diver.
Uncle Spike laughed, “Can you match that Chado?”
“I don’t know Unc; I’ll give it a shot.”
I pull the rope as far back as I can, feeling the soft sand of the river bank with my toes, I lean forward and take off running as fast as I can go. Right before swinging away from the edge I’m thinking, “What in the world am I doing?” The knotted rope sends me up at least thirty feet in the air. Giving it my best shot, I tuck my body and try to flip as many times as possible. Midway through my fancy flips I lose track of how I was going to land, when suddenly I manage to do a perfect belly flop. Striking the surface of the water feels like I had landed on concrete. Embarrassed at my belly buster, I swim underwater for the next few seconds heading for the shallow end, and yes, everyone is still laughing as I surface.
I look at the guys and they all give me a round of applause and I bow as I walk through the small herd of horses standing in the shallows.
Dad, trying to protect his son’s last small remnant of ego, changed the subject as I walked up the bank. “Hey guys! Y’all want to see something really neat?”
“Sure Dad, what you got?”
“Come here Cuddles, come on buddy.” Dad slaps the side of his leg a couple times, “Come on Cuddles, come to Poppa. ”
Cuddles and both dogs were on the other side of the river when Dad started calling. Without any delay this big grizzly jumped off the bank reminding me of a Labrador retriever going to fetch a duck. This three thousand pound fur ball hits the water, sending a huge wave toward four horses that were still standing belly deep in the river. The horses being spooked from the wave, came running out of the water along with Cuddles and my two dogs. What a sight, “Dad that was pretty cool. Is that what you were talking about, Cuddles causing the horses to stampede out of the river?”
“No, watch this: Cuddles, go feed the horses, go on, you know what to do.”
I look at Uncle Spike, “You know, back on Earth it would be the other way around, the horses would be the food for a grizzly.”
I continue to watch as I see Cuddles mosey up the river bank toward a huge apple tree. I notice all the horses have now directed their attention to Cuddles and the entire herd starts moving in his direction.
I look over at Dad and he’s grinning from ear to ear. He points back at Cuddles, I turn to see the giant grizzly rare up on his back feet, placing his front paws against the tree and with great force he starts violently shaking the apple tree and he’s grunting with each shake. I see and hear the thump of hundreds of apples hitting the ground. My dad yells out; “That’s good Cuddles, they have enough, don’t want to give your buddies a tummy ache.”
Just like that Cuddles stops shaking the tree. He turns around, sits down leaning against the trunk, with three of the wild horses walking up each having an apple in their mouths dropping them one by one into Cuddles’ furry lap.
Still not believing what I had just witnessed with my own eyes, I ask Dad if he trained them to share and help each other out like that. “Chado, we haven’t been here very long; this is just how neat Heaven is. God has everything living with harmony and love up here.”
“I don’t even know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything, just listen, learn and enjoy.”
We all start getting dressed after our enjoyable swim when I hear Dad speaking with Uriel. “Hey friend, do you mind me asking how you got those scars?”
“Not at all Travis, they came from fighting demons and fallen angels.”
* * *
As Dad and Uriel continued their conversation I couldn’t help but notice that more of Uriel’s scars had faded and some had completely disappeared. I want to ask Uriel what’s going on, but I feel maybe now isn’t the time. I think I’ll wait until we’re back on our journey.
Uriel and I hang around Dad and Uncle Spike with all their critters enjoying so many stories of what they had seen and done while they’ve been in Heaven, and finally Uriel gives me a nudge letting me know it was time to move on.
“Chado, I want you and Uriel to take Max and Hollywood, they are two of the finest horses in Heaven. This journey y’all are on; might be why God has always made me feel that they were very special.”
“Uriel, you think we should take Dad up on his offer?”
“Saddle up, let’s go Bud.”
After we gear up, ready for our journey, I walk out to the river where Cuddles and the dogs are sitting. As I get closer, Cuddles stands up on his back feet and waddles over. I take this to mean he wants his belly scratched. So I oblige him with a nice long belly rub and when I stop he gently drops back down standing on all fours. And to my surprise he gives me a big slobbery lick right across my face. “Okay big guy, thanks for the sugar.” He grunts a couple times in some kind of bear language as I s
cratch him behind his ears. “Cuddles, I’ll be coming back and you and I will do a lot of fishing together.” I give him a little short rub across his giant forehead as I head back to the barn.
“Moushie, Rex, are y’all coming or staying?”
I notice Uriel had already mounted and he seems to be ready to ride.
“Okay boys, you better make your mind up quick because we are about to go see Summer.”
Almost back to the barn, I shout out to Dad, “Hey Pop, what’s the name of the horse I’m riding?”
“The one you’re riding is Hollywood and Uriel’s on Max.”
“Why did you name him Hollywood, Pop?”
Dad and Uncle Spike start laughing, “Because he thinks he’s prettier than all the other horses.”
As Uriel and I swing both horses around under the barn, Dad’s two spider monkeys bail out of the hay loft landing on the backs of our horses, and to my surprise Benny had Samson’s wine pouch with him.
I hear Dad and Uncle Spike both start laughing, “Hey Chado, I forgot to tell you, wherever Hollywood and Max go, so do Benny and Clyde.”
“Okay Pop, we don’t mind having passengers.”
We take off in a slow gallop. And just a few yards out I twist around in the saddle looking back and I see Dad and Spike waving goodbye. I also see Moushie and Rex dart out from behind the barn heading in our direction.
“We’ll be back when we get back, and thanks for the horses Dad! ”
Uriel looks over at me, “I guess Rex and Moushie are coming after all.”
“So Uriel, you say compared to Earth time it’s about a two day ride to the Valley of the Children?”
“Yes, give or take.”
25
Twelve Strongholds
“ H ey Chado, I’d like to show you something pretty special that’s not far out of our way, if you’re interested.”
“Sure, I’m interested, what is it?”
Uriel smiles, “Have patience, Little Soul, we’ll be there soon enough.”
We ride for what seems like several hours following the cobblestone road as it winds in and out of tall redwood trees growing alongside the lake. Over the sounds of the hooves striking the stone road and the squeaking of the leather saddles, I hear the roaring sound of a waterfall. Both horses slow down to a walk as we approach what looks like the edge of the world. The roaring sound of the water crashing on the rocks below is almost deafening.
I slide out of the saddle, quickly walking to the edge as I feel the cool spray from this magnificent waterfall. My curiosity grows as I edge closer and lean over to see the river below. This scene is breathtaking, and nothing compares to the ongoing beauty of Heaven.
As I look back at my traveling companions, I notice the cobblestone road splits just before the cliff, and before I could ask…
“Chado, if we go to the left, we cross a bridge that brings us to the other side of the river down below, and it leads us to the Valley of the Children. If we go right the trail leads up to Angel’s Mountain.”
“Angel’s Mountain, that sounds cool.”
“So are you still interested in a bit more adventure?”
“You know it bud. Let’s get to getting.”
After mounting back up, I see Moushie and Rex wanting to go left toward the bridge, now I’m wondering if I made the right choice.
I hear Uriel laugh, “Chado Cole, you’ve been turning left when you should have turned right all of your life. It has gotten you into trouble so many times making wrong decisions. As a matter of fact, I’ve received a lot of my scars defending and protecting you from your bad decisions.”
“I’m so sorry Uriel.”
“Hey it’s okay, Chado. The pain of my scars could never compare to the suffering and shed blood that Christ endured for the sins of all humanity! His great sacrifice and unmeasured love was shown when he gave His life on the cross at Calvary!”
“Uriel, I don’t even know what to say, all I know is that I am undeserving to even be here!”
“Little Soul, here’s the good news; as you know, Jesus Christ rose from the dead, set the captives free and now sits at the right hand of God!”
“Hallelujah my tall friend, hallelujah!”
“Chado, something else we can both be thankful for; we survived, and now we’re headed for Angel’s Mountain!”
“Uriel I’m still not confident of my decision, should we have continued on to the Valley of the Children?”
“No, that’s okay. It won’t take us long, and we’ll be seeing your daughter in no time. It’s just that the Almighty wants you to see this and now is as good a time as any.”
“You know Uriel, I’ve made some pretty big bloopers in my past.”
“Hey, don’t beat yourself up so bad. What I was referring to, when you were mortal and had an impulse or made a quick decision, you had a bad habit of not seeking God’s will and this caused you to stumble quite often.”
“I totally understand, Uriel. I made a lot of stupid mistakes. Yep, I turned left and should’ve gone right, many times. Hey, Uriel, about your scars, I didn’t want to say anything in front of Dad and Uncle Spike, but I have to ask; how is it that your scars are fading and some have disappeared completely? What’s going on with that? I know God heals but I can’t figure out why He doesn’t just completely heal all of them at once.”
“Chado, this adventure we’re on is different than anything I’ve ever seen God set in motion. I feel God urging me to ask you about each event when Lucifer made attempts to either take your life or deceive you into thinking God’s not real.”
“Now that’s a scary thought. I have doubted my faith a few times and wondered if God was truly real. I was foolish in those weak moments.”
“You’re weakness came from not reading God’s Word enough. Remember your faith is strengthened as you read and hear God’s Word daily. Don’t you know while on Earth it was a daily battle against the powers and principalities of hell?”
“I know now, that’s for sure and certain! Anyway, if you don’t mind finish explaining about your battle scars.”
“Well, I’ve noticed as you tell the stories of your past, the scars I received during those battles start to fade away. I’m guessing God wants to remind us of the ongoing battles fought in the spiritual realm protecting His children. But, I believe His main reason is He’s refreshing your memory, and all this is somehow tied to the dreams about the scrolls and this mission.”
“The mission, I can’t wait to find out what that’s all about. Uriel, if telling those stories will get you healed up, would you like me to tell you another? Maybe God will get rid of the rest of your scars right quick and snappy!”
Uriel chuckles, “Not right now, we’re almost to Angel’s Mountain.”
* * *
I feel Benny the spider monkey as he reaches around me trying to untie the wine pouch hanging on my saddle. “Hey little buddy, are you thirsty?” I take a small sip before handing it over to Benny, and as soon as he gets a mouth full he jumps still holding the pouch, landing on the back of Max. I can’t help but grin when I see Benny show his friendship by sharing our wine with his little buddy Clyde.
As I turn and look ahead over the horizon, two giant statues come into view. They are Angels and they have to be at least three hundred feet tall, one on each side of the road. They both are holding their swords straight up with the other hand holding giant shields. The tips of their wings touch in the center of the road, creating an archway over the entire entrance. The sight of these two statues tells me this has to be a very special place.
Uriel looks over at me, “Chado, it is a special place but there are eleven more just like this one, each facing one of the twelve gates of Heaven.”
“So the center of Heaven where God’s Throne is located would be behind all twelve?”
“Yes, the throne of God is seven hundred miles behind the Angel’s stronghold, directly in the center of Heaven.”
“Well, how far would it be to th
e nearest gate?”
“The gate this stronghold faces is seventy miles away. The other eleven are the same.”
As we slowly walk our horses underneath the archway, I feel a sense of humility and reverence. I want to ask Uriel a thousand questions, but I know it is not the right time… This is a time to be quiet and humble myself in the presence of God’s Warriors.
Uriel turns off the path onto a narrow trail leading up a steep incline. After riding a few hundred feet up, I notice the breath coming from both horses was creating vapor, telling me this thin cool mountain air isn’t any different than it is in the high altitudes on Earth. Uriel looks over at me smiling, “Chado, you’re catching on.”
Right before reaching the top, we both dismount. As I slide off Hollywood tossing the reigns over the saddle, both horses head over to a patch of grass between several boulders.
We walk just a few more yards to an overlook, “Chado, this is as far as I can take you. It’s not that it’s totally off limits, but it’s kind of the Warrior’s private place and we like our solitude. God wanted me to bring you here and give you a glimpse of one of the Strongholds where the Guardians dwell.”
“I understand, this is plenty close enough for me. Uriel, I’ve had a weird feeling ever since we rode underneath the statues that I don’t belong here.”
“Chado, God has only allowed a few outside of the Angels to come here. It’s very private; remember God’s ways are not our ways. But, He wanted you to see at least one of the twelve Angel Strongholds.”
“Do they know we’re up here?”
“Sure they do.” Uriel points at several locations surrounding the entire area, “Look closely, can you see the Sentinels standing guard?”
“Yes, I can. They blend right in to the mountain. Uriel, are they worried about being attacked here inside Heaven?”
Scars of My Guardian Angel Page 23
