Funny thing happened to me on the way to the Catch. I was reminded of a picture book my wife, Marti, made for our granddaughter, Jocelyn. It’s about a huggable stuffed leopard we gave her named Isaac, and an imaginary story about how he watches over her while she sleeps. It seemed a fitting way to end a lighter week of reflection in these most difficult times. Here is the story.

Deep in the Night,

When your eyes are closed

And God’s creatures are all in a state of repose

After Mommy and Daddy have kissed your sweet head

And read you some stories and put you in bed

Isaac will watch over you as you to sleep

(Isaac is brave)

Until fresh in the morning out of bed you will leap

That’s when Isaac knows it’s his turn to sleep

The Bible seems to indicate that there are angels watching over us, and I believe that. I believe we have been saved numerous times by the actions of angels when we never even knew we were in danger. Countless stories of supernatural events where strangers appeared in the lives of people and performed some task of protection or warning. There is an unseen world separated from us by nothing but a thin membrane where powers and forces far stronger than us vie for our very souls.

Joci’s Isaac is representative of that. It makes me wonder if angels ever sleep. They are supernatural but they are not God. They have limitations. There’s a story in the Book of Daniel when Daniel prays for help and it takes an angel three weeks to get to him because he was hindered by a major battle with evil forces along the way. If angels could be delayed, could they not need a little sleep now and then like Joci’s Isaac?

More than ever, we need angels by our side. Things are heating up in the world and we feel less and less in control of our lives. Of course we never really are in control of very much beyond who we are choosing to serve. “As for me and my house,” said Joshua, “we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15) Or as Bob Dylan put it, “It may be the devil, or it may be the Lord, but you have to serve somebody.”

And so we choose to serve the Lord and carry on, holding onto God’s many promises to watch over us. As for Isaac, he may sleep, once he sees we are safely out and about in our day, and the angels — they may snooze now and then a little, but one things for sure, God is watching us day and night, and God never sleeps.

Joci and Isaac.