The Rainbow Angel

Written By Jeanine Brownrigg Hanneman, illustrated by Lisa Dickinson.

Lucy was 8 years old.  She lived with her mother and father in a pretty little cottage on the edge of a wood.  Lucy loved the cottage, it had a red roof, big windows that let in lots of light, and she had a sweet little bedroom painted blue, her favourite colour.  Lucy spent a lot of time outdoors in the garden. 

To her it was a magical land of fairies and angels; she was always talking to them.  Her mother listened to her chatting away as she played in the garden, she always asked Lucy about her friends, but Lucy was reluctant to say too much because she wasn’t sure her mother believed in fairies and angels.

One day, Lucy was feeling very unhappy, her best friend Emma was ill, she had promised to come and play with her that afternoon, but her mother had telephone to say she was unwell.  Lucy didn’t like it when her friend was ill, Emma seemed to spend a lot of time in bed, she had a problem with her legs, sometimes they ached a lot and she had to sit down when she came over to play with Lucy.  She also spent a lot of time in hospital; Lucy didn’t really understand what the matter was. She just felt as though something wasn’t quite right. Lucy went to the bottom of her garden to her favourite place under the apple tree.  It was here that she always came when she felt unhappy or upset. 

Today the sun was shining, and the flowers in the garden were bright and colourful.  Lucy’s mother loved her garden, she spent hours and hours in it, planting flowers, pulling up weeds and making it look pretty.  Lucy particularly loved the daisies with their bright yellow centres and white petals.  She was looking at the daisies when she thought she saw a tiny little speck move across the flower. 

Lucy looked again and saw a very tiny weeny little figure, with very brightly coloured wings.  Lucy gasped “Oh, aren’t you pretty!” 

The little figure jumped when she heard Lucy and turned around.

“Heavens above” she said in a very tiny weeny voice, “Who are you?” 

“I’m Lucy”, Lucy replied politely, her mother was always very insistent she displayed good manners when someone spoke to her. 

“You can see me?” asked the tiny weeny figure in surprise.

“Of course I can” said Lucy, “I see lots of little people like you, but never have I seen one with such beautiful coloured wings.  Who are you?” “I’m a Rainbow Angel”said the tiny weeny little figure.

“Oh” said Lucy, “you are so beautiful, but you are so tiny, I almost missed seeing you.” 

“I know, that’s my problem, I am so tiny and in order to get bigger I have to help someone and no-one can ever see me so no-one ever asks me to help them.” 

“Well, I can see you” said Lucy “and I think I can help you grow if you like”. “Oh yes please that would be wonderful!  Do you need some help?” asked the tiny weeny angel.  “No, not exactly” said Lucy, “my best friend Emma is sick and can’t come and play with me, would you come with me and see her and maybe help her get well?”

“Yes, of course, I’d love to help her, can we go now?” said the tiny weeny angel.

“I think so,” said Lucy, “I’ll have to ask my Mummy first.  Come and sit in hand and I will hold you and we can go and ask Mummy together.” 

“Can your Mummy see me?”  asked the tiny weeny angel. 

“I don’t know really” said Lucy.  “She asks me about my friends I talk to in the garden but she has never said she sees any of them.”

Lucy gently held out her hand and the tiny weeny angel stepped in and sat down.  Lucy covered her hand and walked carefully back to the house.  Her mother was in the kitchen, a wonderful smell of freshly baked cookies coming from inside.

“Hello darling,” said her mother, “what have you been doing in the garden, talking to your friends again?”

“Well actually ……” Lucy began, then felt a little flutter inside her closed hand and decided against opening her hand to show her mother what was sitting in her hand.  “I was thinking about Emma and wondered if I could go and see her.”

“I think that would be a lovely idea” said her mother, “we can go together and take her some cookies I’ve just baked.  I’ll just get my bag.”

“Oh thank you, Mummy” said Lucy “that will be fun”.

Her mother placed some cookies in a box and they walked round the corner to where Emma lived.  Her mother rang the bell and Emma’s mother opened the door.  “Hello Sally, hello Lucy, what a lovely surprise.” 

“Hello Jane” answered Lucy’s mother, “I hope you don’t mind us calling, Lucy wanted to come and see Emma and I’ve just made some cookies, we thought she would like some.”

“Oh, that’s very kind of you, do come in.”  Jane led the way into the house and through into the garden, where Emma was sitting on a chair with her legs covered in a blanket.  “Emma, look who’s come to see you?” “Oh hello Lucy, what fun how lovely to see you. I was just thinking about you and how I wished I could go over and play with you and here you are!”  Jane and Sally left the girls whilst they went back into the kitchen to put the kettle on for tea and place the cookies on a plate. 

Lucy quickly went over to Emma and held out her hand.  “Look, Emma I’ve got something to show you.  She’s a tiny weeny rainbow angel, and she says she’d like to help you.” 

Emma looked down at Lucy’s hand and saw the beautiful little angel standing there.  “Oh, aren’t you pretty” said Emma, “how can you help me?” 

The tiny weeny rainbow angel looked up at Emma and saw into her eyes the pain and sadness she was feeling because her legs hurt and she couldn’t run and play like other children.  “What is your heart’s desire?” she asked Emma. 

Emma closed her eyes and wished with all her heart and mind that she could run and play again, as she used to before she became ill. 

“I can see inside your heart” said the little rainbow angel.  “It is filled with love for all those who care for you, your mother and father, your brothers and sisters and your friends, also for the animals, the birds, and all God’s creatures, and yet you do not have much love to give yourself.” 

Emma opened her eyes and looked down at the little angel, “Because I am ill, I can’t run and play with my friends and that makes me feel lonely and sad, Lucy is my best friend and I want to play with her and I am afraid that she will not want me to be her friend anymore.” “Dearest Emma” said the little angel. 

“The love you feel for your family and friends is the love that you must give to yourself as well.  The more your heart is open to receive the love and blessings from God and the angels, the more love you have to give to others, but it is necessary to give it to yourself first, for how can you give love if you do not allow others to give to you?” Emma looked at the little angel as she went on “Would you like me to help you?”

“Yes, please, little, angel please help me, what do I have to do?”  The little angel smiled at Emma, “There is nothing you need to do, except let go of all your thoughts about being lonely and sad and open your heart to receive love, for love is who you are.  Look into my eyes, Emma.”

As Emma looked into the eyes of the little angel, she felt her hand on her heart and a rush of wonderful good feelings flowed into her, like all the things she loved, running and playing, chocolate ice-cream and brownies, dancing and swimming, she felt her heart open wide and love poured into her and then through her and out again, and then back again, like a wave of energy flowing and moving like the wind. 

“Wow” said Emma, “that was awesome, what happened?”

“I just helped you reconnect with Who-You-Really-Are, Emma, you are a wonderful child of the Universe and God and the angels want you to live your life with joy and blessings as is your birthright.  Every time you think a sad or unhappy thought, it takes you away from your-self, all you need do to come back is to think happy thoughts that make you smile and laugh again, and you will reconnect with the love that flows in you and through you like a never ending ocean.  If ever you get stuck, ask me to help you, I will always be with you.” “Oh thank you, little angel, thank you so much” said Emma, “and thank you Lucy, for bringing me this little angel, where did you find her?”

Lucy looked at her friend with tears in her eyes, for Emma without realising it had thrown off her blanket and was running and jumping around the garden like she used to.  “I found her at the bottom of my garden, she was so tiny she fitted into my hand.” 

Lucy looked down at her hand, but the little tiny angel had gone, “Oh no,” she cried, “she’s gone!” 

Lucy looked up and saw to her astonishment a huge angel with rainbow wings standing over her and Emma, she smiled at them both and enfolded them in her beautiful wings. 

“Thank you Lucy and thank you Emma, for letting me help you, I will always be with you.”  The rainbow angel looked into their eyes and then vanished.

“What’s all the noise, why Emma, what’s happened to you?  Are you all right?”  Jane rushed out and looked at her daughter and her friend jumping up and down and laughing till their sides ached, “It’s a miracle, come Sally, look what’s happened”.  Sally came out and hugged her friend.  When they had recovered, they sat on the lawn and had tea and cookies in the sunshine, watched by a beautiful Rainbow Angel.