"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11
There once was a child who looked towards the sky with a heart bent towards eternity. Her soul's craving desired for the unseen. Childhood fantasies floated in dreams of hot air balloons and snowman dances among the twilight stars. Dreams of Peter Pan whisking her away to the unknown and ethereal beauty of childhood yearnings. If only she could fly away and escape to her skyward dreams. A child whose dear Noma came to her in a dream, a vision of mystery the night Noma passed on to eternity. She yearned for angels and sacredness, seeking something epic and sacred when she said goodbye to the aged woman whose presence was a beacon to her infancy and childhood memories.
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There once was an Australian child named Helen who lived a world of heartache and childhood fantasies. Fatherless at 7, desperate to escape the pain that pierced like a bottle of drunken stupor that tore her innocence and brought her reality of broken dreams. Whisked away from the familiar, a sojourner in a foreign land, she looked towards the sky with a heart bent towards eternity. Her soul's cravings desired for the unseen. Those childhood fantasies an escape by dreams of glory, and out of her soul's hunger, she conceived the nanny who would bring order to her chaotic cistern of empty hopes.
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There once was a young woman who never gave up her childish fantasies for skyward dreams and flying away on a cloud, dreaming of something precious and sacred that she could not put her finger on. She turned to God but never quite trusted the fullness of His gentle grace. She longed to flee from her past and turn to something unseen. At 22, she ran away from everything she knew, seeking wholeness and escape by reshaping her identity, yet she could not find that which was just beyond her grasp. She dreamed of freedom and eternal delights, sketching angels on her bedroom wall and searching for relief from the pain that was just beyond the surface of her sorrow.
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There once was a young woman named Helen, longing to escape her past and reshape her identity. She sought the stage and turned to spiritual vices to fill those empty places in her soul. Turning to worldly truth to chase the shadows of her dark memories. Out of her despair and her need to redeem the father she loved and lost, came a new name and the guardian angel she fabricated to bring hope and restoration to her troubled soul. From the ashes emerged the writer and the story that would change everything.
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There once was a young woman who waited in the delivery room, feeling alone and scared. She curled up on the slim hospital bed, her fears abated by the stillness of something sacred that quieted her troubled soul. In a vision, she felt a holy presence, like angels standing before her. A voice spoke quietly to her spirit, "Darcee, I am here. I know your family couldn't be with you so I came to tell you you are not alone." She wasn't ready to face her past or the Redeemer Who longed to heal her and fill her with ultimate peace. Instead, she witnessed the loving comfort of a grandfather she had never known in this lifetime but felt kindred to his love. The man in the picture who would have been about her age. He was there at the hospital bed and she felt overwhelmed with a unspoken tranquility. The next day, she delivered a beautiful baby girl, and she would never be the same. Nine months later, she had another vision. This time, she was called out by the One Who created her and called her to be His child. He told her it was time for her to follow Him, a call she could have tried to ignore but it penetrated through the armor and the facade, and with it a true healing peace washed over her. That moment, she came to realization of the full weight of redemption by the One Who was pierced to save her pierced soul, and she was finally free!
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"Winds in the east, theres a mist comin'in like somethin' is brewin' and 'bout to begin. Can't put me finger on what lies in store, but I feel what's to happen all happened before. A father, a mother, a daughter a son- the threads of their lives unraveling undone- somethin' is needed to twest'em as tight, like string you might use when you're flyin'a kite..." Prologue: Chim Cher-ee
The young woman, Helen, turned to the sky to find something true and sacred. Out of the mystery of her troubled past and uncertain identity, she brought something that touched the hearts of children and adults alike, a story of timeless proportions. Though she knew not the Redeemer that speaks to the heart and soul of her being, His purpose stood in glimpses of the sky for the heart that yearned for a Redeemer to descend from the heavens. Instead, she created the guardian angel, the nanny, and the mysterious being that one could not quite place her true identity-- the one who came from the sky to right wrongs and heal troubled hearts. The nanny came from the clouds, NOT to save the children, but the parents who were weighed down by the cares of life and the despair of emptiness. Out of the sky flew in Hope, and those she touched somehow found joy in simple childhood pleasures--a soul craving for a Redeemer who could dry tears and calm the chaos.
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Two lives destined in the parallel between distance in generations and geography, merged in the desires for a hunger that cannot be satisfied by worldly pursuits. Each taking different paths yet vessels for an eternal weight of glory that renewed the spirit and satisfied the soul. The mystery of God's working in such vastly different lives-- the unchanging Creator Who shall not be moved setting in their souls a desire for something greater, something that the heavens declared. A glimpse of angels, visions, and stories that all point to a Redeemer that would one day come from the sky with simple joy, childlike faith, and dried tears. A Redeemer who can work through small miracles--a vision of both a Noma who came to say goodbye and a grandfather in his youth who came to welcome new life, and a story of a nanny who came in the clouds to restore broken hearts. A Redeemer who worked out His eternal purpose in the heart of a young lady from Kansas that yearned for something greater and an Australian woman who never knew Him yet whose heart was set for eternity. These were a foretaste of something whole, something to come, something better, something worth waiting for...
"Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him..." Revelation 1:7A
This is the story of how God works His redemptive plans in the hearts and souls of his creation through visions, stories, and yearnings for someone to make right the pain that the world inflicts on the human soul. I always loved stories like Peter Pan, the Snowman, and Mary Poppins which evoked my desire to fly and find the freedom I so longed. My fascination with angels happened sometime after my first babysitter, Noma, passed away and came to me in a dream to tell me goodbye and let me know how much she loved me. A few years later, my parents gave me a picture of a guardian angel that I absolutely adored and found comfort having on the wall in my bedroom. In my 20's, I tried to escape my past by moving to Wisconsin. At that time, I turned to external pleasures for hope and relief from my pain; however, I could not find it in human relationships or other vices. In my pursuit for relief, I thought back to the picture my parents gave me and ended up staying up all night sketching a mural of a guardian angel on bedroom wall in hopes of finding peace in my chaotic soul. Nine months later, I was pregnant and ready to deliver my first child. I felt alone and scared, yet touched by a mysterious peace in a vision of my deceased grandfather, whose presence was with me the night before I delivered our daughter, Annika. The next nine months were very turbulent, but came to full circle the night Christ Himself came to me in a vision and told me it was time to follow Him. His words brought me the realization that all the other desires, dreams, vices, and visions were like vapor in comparison to the real peace, glory, and simple joy Christ would offer.
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"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." Revelation 21:4
For more about my story of redemption, you can also read these previous blog posts:
