A Prose Writing By Shawn McWilliams

Shadow of an Angel

I prayed a prayer for him; my soldier, it was the beginning of many. I was scared for him going to Baghdad he is my baby, my little boy. It’s hard for me to even describe him, he’s the definition of so many thousands already there. Thousands already gone; he’s my blood, my first born, my precious, my handsome little boy, my little troublemaker, my little guy, my spitting image, the Father of my Grandson, my gift from heaven, a gift from the Lord. And I remember the very moment of his birth, his first day of school, his gift of art, the beauty of his eyes and his desire to be different. This first night I cried out to the heavens before he left and the Almighty gave me a vision.

Looking down from high above on the large city of Baghdad at night I saw a small ball of orange light arch from one point to the next, and then another, and another, and another until the sky above was full of them flying to and fro. I realized that these orange flashes were angels doing the work of the Almighty, yielding to the cry of loved ones from Michigan and Ohio, Florida and Maine, California and Texas. The heartfelt cries of brothers and sister’s Mom’s and Dad’s to bring their loved ones home, let them live, let no harm come to them.

The revelation came to me that God is doing his best to answer the mournful cry of so many in a land where at times there appears to be no sign of God at all. My son comes home next week after a year serving a country founded In God we trust. At night I’ll look toward the heavens and seek a shadow of an angel and praise the Almighty for the gift and the life of my soldier; my son

Shawn McWilliams