My angelic moment

My faith is something that is extremely important to me; without it, my life would be a lot harder than it is. Having faith helps me when I'm scared, nervous or unhappy about something. Praying and knowing God is there to listen to my problems helps me get through life easier.

Over the summer, I found out that I have Crohn's disease, and I had to have some very frightening tests. I was really scared and nervous; but, with the support of my friends and family, I felt a lot better about the whole situation.

The day before the test, my grandma gave me a small angel made of felt. She told me to bring this with me to watch over and protect me. I had faith in this angel, and I knew that since my grandma, a woman of great faith had given it to me, that I would be all right.

The surgery went fine, and I have been very healthy ever since. I knew that my prayers and the prayers of those who love me contributed to the fact that I was healthy.

Not long after, my grandma had to have a much more serious operation than mine. I was very sympathetic because I had just gone through something similar and knew how she was feeling.

Even though my grandma is a lot braver than I am, I thought I should give her that angel back, hoping it would give her the strength that it gave to me. Sure enough, her surgery went fine, and she is also healthy.

Now I look at that angel as a small sign of my faith in God. If you turn your problems over to God, He will take care of you. In fact, in the beginning of eighth grade, my teacher told us to bring in something of our own to put in a prayer bowl in which we offer our special intentions every morning. I put in my angel so she could help not only me, but also the other children in my class who have important prayers and intentions.

(11/11/04)