Angels descending, bring from above, echoes of mercy, whispers of love…Fanny Crosby

Angels descending, bring from above, echoes of mercy, whispers of love…Fanny Crosby

There is a place in Bluff Park called Tip Top Grill.  It used to be a gas station and now it’s a little diner overlooking Shades Valley on Shades Crest Road.  Aside from great diner food, it’s also one of the best places to watch a sunset in the city.

On most evenings at sunset, a rather large crowd gathers with cameras and iPhones ready to snap pictures of the sunset and the changing colors in the sky.  I stopped one evening on my way home and stood at the railing waiting for the sun to go down.  I wasn’t really paying much attention to my surroundings – I was maybe one of three people there at the time but within 15 minutes when I turned around, there were about 25 people gathered for the sunset.  I even ran into two friends who saw the crowd and decided to stop and watch!

A few weeks later, I stopped to wait for the sunset on a rather quiet evening.  A family with small children stopped too but not many more people.  The colors of this sunset were gorgeous and there were just a few faint clouds in the sky.  I was so focused on the sunset that I didn’t notice the clouds for a bit.  Then I pulled the camera back a bit and there it was…a cloud shaped like an angel floating up toward the heavens.  I looked at the family next to me to see if they saw it too.  They were a little preoccupied with their kids so I didn’t say anything.  I waited to hear someone remark and it didn’t happen.

Were they seeing what I was seeing?  I don’t know.  If they did, they never remarked.  I was mesmerized by the angel I was watching and the fact that “she” was steadily rising up in the sky.  I remembered a poem I had recently run across by Fanny Crosby.  I always ask myself if this was just a coincidence but deep inside, I know it wasn’t.  When these things happen to me I know they are there to bring me comfort for whatever reason and whatever is to come.  And that makes me happy…

Angels descending, bring from above, echoes of mercy, whispers of love…Fanny Crosby

The sunset that lead to the angel cloud at Tip Top Grill in Bluff Park.