I Asked
for an Angel
God answered an artist's simple request — and she has the photograph.
A prayer, a photograph,
a message.
Porcelain artist
One day, while china-painting and praying, Marianne asked:
“You made me an artist… I need a new idea
of an angel to paint.”
I had been praying for the healing of a close relative throughout 1994. In November, an angel contacted me for the first time. She directed a thought to my mind: she was knitting a sweater for her wings! I laughed, as I wasn't thinking on my own and had no idea what was going on. Now I know that God has a sense of humor and that this was His way of getting my attention.
“You made me an artist. I’ve been painting angels on Christmas cards and other greeting cards. I need a new idea of an angel to paint.”
For three years I shared my experience, no matter how silly it sounded, about the angel knitting a sweater for her wings. (After all, God wants us to laugh)! I continued to read the Bible and attended weekly prayer meetings. I am a porcelain artist and one day while china painting and praying to God, I said, “You made me an artist. I’ve been painting angels appearing on Christmas cards and other greeting cards. I need a new idea of an angel to paint.”
A few weeks later, on August 16, 1998, after leaving church fellowship with my four-year-old grandaughter and her dad, angels in cloud form appeared in the bright blue sky. We were the only ones leaving the church at the time. I drove home to get my camera to go back and photograph the angels, only to discover they had followed us home! The angels settled above the home where I attended prayer meetings. I took the photo from my driveway.
“Mama, I took this photo of angels; they are real angels!” She stared at the photo and said, “They are!”
In October of 1998, I went to Florida, to meet my sister and her young children who flew in from Georgia. We visited our dear 82-year-old mother who has two debilitating illnesses: Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Mother would look at her two granddaughters, age two and four, and cry. She didn't converse at all, which broke our hearts, as she had been so outgoing and beautiful before she became ill. I put the photo of the angels in a brass frame on Mother's dresser. The last time my cousin and I visited Mother in the nursing home, I showed her the photo of the angels. I said, "Mama, I took this photo of angels; they are real angels!" She stared at the photo and said, "They are!" Those were the only words she spoke during the two weeks I was there. I left Florida with peace of mind, knowing God's angels would watch over my mother.
“I then understood, it is like a paintbrush making a finishing touch on the angel’s wing, and God’s message makes perfect sense!”
Over the next five years I showed the photo and told the story at various gatherings. People would often ask about the long narrow cloud beside the angel, but I didn't know what it was. Then one day a man in Maine was researching mysterious phenomena when he came across my website. He sent me an email saying it must be a paintbrush. I then understood, it is like a paintbrush making a finishing touch on the angel's wing, and God's message makes perfect sense!
Watch "I Asked For An Angel"
A preview cut, shared for private review before release.
The hidden paintbrush
Detail: the slender shaft below, the soft bristle-tip above — resting against the wing.
Beside the lower angel rises a long, narrow cloud — dense and rope-like like a slender wooden handle, then soft and splayed at its tip like bristles. You can even read a smear of paint at the end. The bristled tip rests against the angel's wing, as though caught in a final, finishing stroke.
Marianne had asked for a new idea of an angel to paint. What she received was a photograph — and within it, the brush: a suggestion to paint. And she has painted the angels' very recognizable form many times since.
I asked for an angel. He heard my prayer and angels in cloud form were sent to me to photograph and paint. I was chosen to glorify God with this gift He gave me. Thank you, Father. You are an awesome God!
Marianne Ball