Editor, The Herald:

In recent weeks as I looked forward to the arrival of the Christmas Season, like many of my fellow citizens, I enjoyed the anticipation of seeing the various floats in our Christmas Parade, the seasonal pageantry exhibited in the windows of our local stores, the Christmas music on the radio, and the many classic movies on television which remind us of the true meaning of Christmas. In each of these, the themes of serving and giving to others should be quite obvious to everyone.

Many of our local parade floats and television Christmas movies contain segments of the various activities of angels. For example, the movie “It's A Wonderful Life” centers on an important assignment for an angel to accomplish in order for him to receive his wings. A line in the movie, “every time a Christmas bell rings, an Angel receives his wings”, is a saying many of us fondly remembers each Christmas season.

Perhaps one would agree that the importance of Angels during Christmas time can be easily missed because of an emphasis on themes such as Santa, toys, delicious holiday treats, and others. So what is an angel ? The dictionary defines an angel in several ways including the following: (1) one of a class of spiritual beings; a celestial attendant of God. (2) a conventional representation of such a being, in human form, with wings. (3) an attendant or guardian spirit. (4) a person, especially a woman having such qualities attributed to an angel as mercy and kindliness.

When I stopped in a local restaurant last week, I overheard a customer make the statement that he didn't believe in angels because he had never seen one. Does the fact that this man had never seen an angel prove that angels do not exist? Or, is it that this man had never actually attempted to see angels using any one of the characteristics of an angel identified in the definition given in the dictionary?

The assertion by this man that he had never seen an angel caused me to admit that, perhaps, I too had never seen an angel because I had not been looking for them. His statement caused me to open my mind and eyes in an attempt to actually “see” an angel.

During a recent visit to a local nursing home, I was overwhelmed by the number of angels that had been in plain view in all of my many previous visits. No matter where I looked, someone was giving aid and kindliness to a senior citizen resident. These senior citizens, who are mothers, fathers, grandfathers, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, and much more to a younger generation, were being attended to by a loving caring group of attendants. Some of us may choose to refer to them as the nursing home staff, but in reality, they are angels in every true meaning of the term. The angels that I saw came in many shapes and sizes, but they all share an important beautiful characteristic. They have the attributes of kindliness, goodness, and an unqualified dedication to making the life of every senior citizen resident the best that it can be.

As we observe these angels, it appears that such work could be exhausting and cause them to wonder how they will always be able to complete their important work of caring and service. Perhaps Mother Theresa had the answer when she said “I know that God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much!”

For these angels, their wonderful work of caring for our senior citizens continues every hour and day of the year and I am confident that Christmas is not just a special season of the year. It is a way of life as they carry out their dedicated angelic duties. So, I am suggesting that each of us open our eyes and minds to actually see the many angels that are among us every day.

As for the man who said he had never seen an angel, I would like to see him again so that I could introduce him to the many angels at work right here in Farmville!

Lee Banton

Farmville