Touched By an Angel



This is a personal and true story that covers about 45 years of my life. I am a person  with a strong faith in Christ. I have from the time when I was very young and my mother can recount a story when I was six and she found me witnessing to a friend whose family were atheists. Even in my darkest moments of my life I have never questioned my faith. It is deeply personal and I don't feel a need to justify my faith to others. I have known people who have ridiculed my faith. That doesn't bother me. My faith is about my relationship to the God of my understanding. My own salvation is a full time preoccupation and I do not judge where others stand in the sight of God or whether they stand at all because they do not believe. It's not my business. It matters nothing to me whether those who have the same faith as I, believe that I am sinning by being a transsexual. I do not believe I am comitting a sin for being who I am. Similiarly, those who would criticize me for my faith in God matter nothing to me. I am who I am and I am comfortable with that. I'm not bothered either way and don't judge them negatively in their criticism of me.

 

It is important for readers of this article to know that I was named Michael firstly after the Archangel Michael and also because of my Geat Grandfather Michael who died when I was about 4 years old.

 

When I was about 8 or 9 years old, I awoke to the presence of a towering angel beside my bed. This angel wore white clothing and had huge black wings. The angel touched me on the forehead with his right wing three times. Being a young child, I was terrified by the angel's presence. I had no way of making sense of the angel's visitation or what being touched three times  I knew he was an angelic being, but I was too young to know what all of this meant, much less that this angel was one of a number of kinds of angels. Did you know that there are many different types of angels arranged in a heirachy? Within this heirarchy there are several classifications of angels grouped into spheres or "choirs". Most of us will recognize that there are Archangels, Cherubim and Seraphim.

 

There are nine types of angels arranged in the following order. Members of the first choir of angels in order are Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones. Seraphim are the closest to God and there are only four of them who are identified. Their purpose is to praise God and protect God's throne. Cherubim are God's intercessors and they also protect the throne of God. Thrones are responsible for dispensing God's judgement and are the intercessors for angels of other orders.

 

In the second choir of angels, there are Dominions who administer over  the duties of all angels and grant power to government leaders as well as other people in positions of authority. Virtues are angels who control the elements, govern over nature and perform miracles. They give us courage, strength and valor. Powers control the boundaries of heaven and earth. They are warrior angels and preside over birth and death. They engage in spiritual warfare with demons.

 

The third choir of angels include Principalities whose responsibility is being in charge of the world's cities, towns and and nations. They take charge of religions and politics. (I note specifically "religions" as the three great monotheistic religions- Christianity, Judaism and Islam all recognize the existence of angels.) Archangels are the chief angels. They are the guardians of all people and all things of the physical world. They are God's messengers to people in critical times. Finally, there are Angels who carry our prayers to God and bring us God's answers to our prayers as well as providing nurturing, healing and counseling us.

 

There are also the fallen angels, or demons. I will speak no further of them. I do not invite them or allow access to my spiritual life, though I do believe that they indeed exist.

For most of my life, I had never seen or head of an angel with black wings, nor had anyone with whom I had ever shared this story. I wondered what it meant for the angel to touch me three times. I wondered if it meant that I would die before the time I was 30 years old. Having lived through a series of car accidents (not my fault) that I had no right to walk away from, I knew that this was not the meaning of the angel's visit, but I was no closer to understanding my experience. By all rights, I should have been killed five times over. So this mystery went on for about the next 30 years, until I was 38.

(This is the picture I saw when I was 38)

That year I went to the local book fair that is held 8 or 9 times a year and has literally thousands of books on all imaginable topics. Not looking for anything in particular, I came across a book on angels in the Religion section. There in that book was a picture of an angel with black wings, but it had no information on this angel. It was then that I knew my visitation was real, even if I was no closer to understanding why I had been visited by this angel.



It would be another 16 years before I learned why this angel came to me at a very young age. My answer came about 10 days ago and I have only shared this revelation with four of the people I am most close to.

Once again I began to think about the angel I had been visited by and I decided to do another of many searches to learn what this meant. I began to search the internet and while beginning to find pictures of angels with black wings, I also came across what I have come to know to be my answer.

In order to understand this better, I have to share that I was the victim and I am a survivor of physical, emotional and sexual abuse. This went on for about 3 and a half years before it was ended. The way I was able to overcome the legacy of this trauma was to come to the recognition that it is no longer happening to me and if I allow it to affect my life now, I would continue to give the power to perpetrators of the abuse and allow them to revictimize me even after all these years. I refuse to allow this to happen any more.

I learned that the angel who came to me, and who I read about was the Arcangel Michael. The reason that he was revealed to me having black wings was described because in this manifestation, he is a warrior angel and an angel of protection, He came to me to let me know that I would be kept safe from the things I would have to live through to carry out God's plan for my life. The reason for being touched on the forehead three times? I was being blessed and protected in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I am so thankful for that protection and blessing.

I have always believed that whatever talent I have as a therapist is not of me and is a gift from my God as I understand him. I am only the vehicle of healing that I am able to use in helping others. That is the only reason that I am still here is to fulfill my purpose. I hope that I will always live up to that mission.