Prologue

A thoughtful man once said that perhaps the greatest teaching a man can take to heart is to put God at the centre of his life and trust in His divine providence. This insight shows great wisdom and I have lived long enough to confirm its truth. To live a hundred years one sees much, learns much and experiences much. I cannot count the times I have witnessed our Lord change lives and circumstances when the faithful pray to Him. Many times I have seen this in my own life, but even more so in the lives of those so close and dear to me. Unfortunately there all too many unaware of the tremendous workings of God’s sovereignty available to them, and as a result find life at times a struggle, frustrating and lacking peace.

“Divine providence” are words unfamiliar to many and, to be fair, their meaning eludes my full understanding as well. But it is a learning vital to our well-being as it is always at work for our benefit. And so I will do my best to explain what I understand of this mighty power.

The providence of our Lord is how our almighty God orchestrates, coordinates, if you will, through natural processes and without interfering with man’s free will, all things on Earth to achieve His perfect purpose for the salvation of all mankind.

In the endless outworking of divine providence, God draws together millions of details and circumstances to achieve His will each day. It is the way He works and controls the daily course of human events, decisions and actions. And He does so out of love not only for me but for all His children in the entire world!

This is a miracle of the first order, far greater than a one-time cure we sometimes witness when one is instantly healed of cancer or one’s sight is restored. Yes, it is a marvelous, wonderful, occurrence of the Lord’s hands when He sees fit to intervene divinely to accomplish His will and purpose, but it is nothing compared to what is done in the seen and unseen world by our Lord and His angels.

You see my friends, life is like a big puzzle, and at the best of times we are fortunate to hold one or, at times, perhaps several, of the pieces. We scurry here and there in search of other pieces that might fit in and make us happier, richer and more satisfied, and thus complete the puzzle of our lives.

But most often the struggle is in vain.

If only we could have this, achieve that, possess her or him in our lives then all would be well and good. Yes, granted, at times a piece fits and some joy and satisfaction comes our way, but most often we go around in circles trying to fit a round piece into a square hole, a red colour where a blue is warranted, an interior piece to an outside edge. We try and try to make the pieces fit in our search for happiness only to find that what we thought would finally give us peace and joy yields only more heartache, frustration, emptiness and unrest.

The Lord, however, sees the whole puzzle at all times—even when it changes as the result of prayer or influence or a thousand and one other factors that continually affect the lives of His people. He is all knowing, all powerful and can bring good out of any situation; He can create possibilities when all seems bleak and lacking in hope.

Belief in God’s providence prepares us as we encounter new challenges or trials. It gives us peace of mind because we know God is at work with His helpers even when we are in the shadows and feel alone. We walk by faith and not by sight. We know and trust that God will bring us out of the darkness.

So the sooner we place our Lord in the center of our lives and trust Him with all our hearts, that is when we start to see the whole picture and not a tiny snapshot of what we think is best. We finally begin to complete the puzzle of our lives, to fit into the plan that God has for each of His children.

So important is this teaching that I believe it is the other reason the Lord allowed me to return to the land of the living after my brief trip to the other side. During those precious few minutes my protector Zachariah allowed me to see his guidance, protection and love, not only in my life but also in the workings of other guardian angels in the lives of those so very close and dear to me. When I returned it was my purpose to make others aware of our celestial protectors through the undying love story in the lives of my closest friends. The more we are reminded or made aware of our angels, the closer our relationship with them becomes, and soon they are our best friends and allies, our unseen link to our Creator.

But there was also another vision I absorbed in the single moment Zachariah allowed: God’s divine providence so clearly and wonderfully at work in the lives of my dear friends.

Imagine watching a movie sped up so you can see the plot develop almost instantly and, equally swift, the resolutions to the problems that arise. What would normally take two hours to understand took only minutes. I understood in very short order how each person dealt successfully or perhaps unsuccessfully with the issues in their lives.

In similar fashion, imagine having access to an omnipotent mind outside of time, one that can see and understand in a single thought the entire lifetime of not only you but of others close to you. Imagine the myriad pieces of the puzzles of everyone’s lives coming together in the blink of an eye and faster. Imagine, if you will, knowing everything now. How the angels prompted them to do this or that, how this person influenced some choices or their heart was softened by the Holy Spirit to be receptive to the Lord’s will or how the meeting and separation of my dear friends was but a detour for the Lord to work out even greater possibilities than the ones they imagined or wanted or prayed for.

But I get ahead of myself! Ha, ha… a carryover from my trip to the other side is this desire to share and reveal the story more quickly. But we must re-enter time and slow it down for us to really see and appreciate how the divine providence of the good Lord works.

This is what the Lord wants me to share with you. So come, leave the lofty thoughts to the theologians and philosophers. We are simple people, let us go back outside and sit under the sun and rest awhile on the old grey crates while I share more of the tenderhearted love story of the lives so close to my heart.

You will soon see, as I do, that it is best to put our sovereign Lord in charge of our lives and trust in Him. It is the only way you will ever see the pieces come together to complete the puzzle of your life.