In the Shadow of Angels

By Charles Maldon Sr.

In his book In the Shadow of Angels,, Charles Maldon reflects upon that season of his life when he was without the peace of God. He presents the contribution of several extraordinary saints whom he addresses as angels who are largely responsible for his journey and victory into the perfect peace of God. He reveals the uniqueness of each angel and relates the love and care provided by each when he needed someone to encourage and stand by him on his march toward his purpose and calling in God.

These individuals displayed strength and character that became an incentive for him to strive to be the best person that God ordained him to be. Without them being there, his life in the Deep South would almost definitely have taken a different direction. By the mercy of God, he encountered each of them at a time when he was in desperate need of love and encouragement to keep from fainting. Each of them left him with a lifetime memory and a victory of healing and peace and thankfulness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Mar 30, 2010
• ISBN: 9781440197918

Charles Maldon Sr.

Charles Maldon Sr. is the pastor and proud servant leader of Sylvan Vista Baptist Church in Fairmount Heights, Maryland. His passion is to preach and teach the gospel and counsel the discouraged. He has published two other books, God, the Players and Victims and Someone has Misplaced my Identity.

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Copyright © 2010 by Charles Maldon Sr.

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ISBN: 978-1-4401-9790-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4401-9792-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4401-9791-8 (ebook)

iUniverse rev. date: 02/23/2010

Contents

Introduction

The Wheelchair Saint

The Vernon High School Saint

The Welfare Department Saint

The Junior College Saints

My College Sweetheart Saint

The Carpool Saint

The Mother-in-Law Saint

The Godmother/Godfather Saints

Past Reflections

The Preparation

A Period of Trial

The Calling Came

On the Fast Track

Because They Dared to Care

Author’s photograph done by B.J. Parks

of Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

This book is dedicated to all those angels discussed that helped me to reach my purpose and destiny in Christ

–—my mother Rosa Lee Maldon, Lottie Dykes, Eric P. Gilbert, Mr. and Mrs. Ringer, Elizabeth Sweeny, Dr. Raymond Demings, my wife Anita Maldon, Richard Harjess, my mother-in-law Mary Burns, and Mr.and Mrs. Johnnie Waddell.

Introduction

Good evening, this is the evening edition of the CBS News with Katie Couric. Those are the words that began the CBS news each evening. Immediately after the opening greeting, Ms. Couric began to share the various headline stories. Almost all of them have something to do with a lack of peace in our present world. Each evening, I usually sit and listen to the stories of wars and violence that invade our society. A lack of peace can originate from within us as individuals or unsettled conflict between us as societies. In either case, life without peace and hope is turbulent and frustrating.

Several years ago, I overheard a conversation between two individuals and recorded their words in my memory. One of the men stated, There will never be any level of peace in our lives because as soon as you come over one hurdle there will be another to get past. The other individual chimed in, You are right, the only rest that we will receive is when we are sleeping in our graves. Their conversation struck me to be a very hopeless and dismal outlook on life.

And Joseph answered Pharoah, saying, it is not in me: God shall give Pharoah an answer of peace (Gen. 41:16).

Throughout life, men and women have struggled to find a lasting season of peace. Most of us have known someone who has constantly sought a place of serenity and purpose in life. Over the years, I have personally sat and talked with individuals who have longed to reach that plateau they can call rest. With all the daily worries and concerns we easily forget that it is God’s good will to give us a lasting peace. The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace (Ps. 29:11).

From birth we are engaged in spiritual warfare with Satan, whose sole purpose is to discourage and to cause distress. He will do everything within his power to wreak havoc in our lives. For the children of God, he does not want them to enjoy any measurable amount of peace. Keeping us from our ordained purpose with God is his most important mission. When we are operating outside of our purpose we are not at peace, and life is a constant struggle and challenge. God alone can help us to obtain our peace (I Co. 14:33).

The word of God tells us that to know peace is to know God and his perfect will for our lives. Our minds are torn and subjected to distractions when we do not understand our predestinated purpose in God through Christ Jesus. The Bible states that we will enjoy peace when our minds stay on Jesus. Learning to keep our minds on Jesus will give us a lasting peace that passes all human understanding (Phil. 4:7).

God knows that we are just foolish enough to wander around looking for peace in all the wrong places. At times, we even look for shortcuts to obtain a place in life where we can rest from the struggles that we encounter. Seeing our miserable condition, God will dispatch his angels to serve as ministers to us in our seasons of confusion and wariness. At other times, he will even send special saints to bring us into our purpose so that we can experience the joy of his peacefulness.

God is still miraculously performing this same mission in our lives today. Whether we realize it or not, people positioned in our lives are not a coincidence. They are designated saints placed there to assist us in reaching our ordained purposes. They are instrumental to us in obtaining and fulfilling our dreams and goals.

If God did not place certain saints around us, many of us would be kept from our calling. We would never reach our full potential and would wander around fruitlessly as the Israelites did in Egypt. God’s love for us is so great that he will not allow us to die in our wildernesses. Thus, he will designate certain special saints to stir up the gifts that he has divinely ordained within us. Such saints serve as a refuge to us in ways we never imagine.

Perhaps of all the servants of God, the apostle Paul witnessed the hand of God at work in his life by providing him with people that helped him to move forward in the ministry. At times, he would have been killed if it were not for others serving as ministering spirits. When others dare to care enough to unselfishly give of themselves to help, God is glorified. He receives their services and is not likely to forget their works.

Having grown up in the Deep South, I witnessed a period of history where racial tension was the norm. I saw the hate and racial divisions that occurred because of spiritual ignorance. My own life was affected as well. Nevertheless, God positioned several white and black saints to bless me. My own mother’s life and ministry became my source of encouragement. She helped me to love with the love of God. Although not very popular during that period of history, there were white saints that risked their own reputations and jobs to bless a poor black boy.

Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God (Matt. 5:9). There are times in each person’s life when God ushers in the things and people necessary to help them fulfill their dreams and God’s designated purpose for them. These are the peacemakers. Angels are messengers of peace from God.

The Bible speaks expressively about the holy and the unholy angels on very different assignments. Just as the holy angels are sent forth on behalf of God, the unholy ones are representatives sent forth from Satan (Dan. 10:13). God’s angels are sent forth as spiritual messengers to introduce or declare the heirs of salvation. Gabriel is mentioned as the angel that God dispatched to announce the virgin birth of his son, Jesus Christ (Lk. 1:11; 19:33). The word of God tells us to be careful in entertaining strangers, unaware that they might just be the disguised angels.

While growing up in northwest Florida, I was exposed to many unexplainable experiences. Years later, I learned that God sends angels to minister to us, protect and secure our families, and even to give direction. All of us have heard of the expression, "Angels are watching over me." Yet, we move about our daily lives without really giving much attention to the fact that God loves us so that he gives us selected angels as ministers.

Their assignments have nothing to do with our decisions or judgment but are under the divine appointment and anointing of the Lord. God summons them and they are dispatched as representatives to perform his miracles. We will never really be able to understand everything about God’s divine calling in our own lives, and even less the details and specifics concerning his angelic beings.

Through centuries, man has observed supernatural occurrences and acts carried out through the vessels of men and women. Yet, they have not been able to understand nor dispute the supernatural presence involved. Books have been written and biblical commentaries have attempted to provide explanations. I am not sure if any person will ever totally be able to honestly state that he or she understands how God uses angels and ministers to us through them. Nevertheless, all of us are thankful that angels are watching over us. With danger all around, we would be very foolish to not be receptive and thankful to God for his ministering angels operating in our lives.

In my own life, I have been blessed to have known some terrific people that blessed me as disguised angels. Whether these individuals were God’s angels, I cannot say. However, I am convinced that they were people summoned, dispatched, and spiritually empowered to provide me with strength, courage, and wisdom. When I was at various points of discouragement, they ministered to me. Along with my mother, a few key people were pillars of strength and protection for me and others as I grew up on that small farm in northwest Florida. While I may never be able to state that they were angels, I can safely say that they were God’s appointed saints that ministered to me with the spirits of angels.

Their unselfish love and support helped me to leave a life of self-doubt and strive to reach my purpose and dreams. They caused me to look beyond my limitations and dream of the impossibilities of an awesome and loving God. Their love and caring hearts helped to propel me into my own destiny and experience God’s perfect peace.

For this, I am humbled and extremely grateful for their presence and the ministry of God that they provided to me on my journey. Unselfishly, they watched over me as angels. From my birth to my adulthood, my birth mother watched over me as my spiritual hero and mentor. I have never known a more peaceful and unselfish saint of God than my mother, Rosa Lee Maldon. Other saints came after her to become a part of God’s plan for my life. Unselfishly, each contributed to help me to reach my destined purpose.

It is my prayer that all who read this book will experience hope and peace. When we have hope and encouragement from those who stand by us through life’s problems, we are enabled to obtain everything that God has ordained for us. Someone named Holley Gerth wrote the following words: Hope is more than just a word; it is a state of being. It is a firm belief that even if you don’t know how, even if you don’t know when, God will come through and better days are ahead. Life sends rain, hope dances in the puddles, until the sun comes out again.

Each of us should strive to reach out and bless others to experience hope and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. When we are willing to sacrifice ourselves for others, they will find peace in God, through God, and with God.

One

The Wheelchair Saint

The sun peeked through the curtains of my mother’s room as she stirred from sleep. She leaped out of bed and dressed for her work. She immediately sighed and thought, I must hurry or I am going to be late for work. She was a very conscientious employee and hated to be tardy for anything. Quickly, she dressed and grabbed her uniform for work. But then she remembered that she had not checked to see if she had everything that she needed. Within the last month, she had been able to obtain a very good job at the canning factory in Quincy, Florida. In addition, she worked as a cook for a very fine café. Her mother had spent many hours teaching her how to cook. It seemed that half of the town was bragging about what a great cook she had become. Local residents from all around would come to taste and sample the food prepared by this nineteen-year-old young woman. Many of her customers would ask her how she became such a dynamic cook. She would only say, I had to learn at an early age to in order to help take care of my baby sister. In both of her employment positions, she enjoyed praise and several commendations from her managers.

The fall of the year came and my mother had grown accustomed to not having her younger sister in her life because she had relocated to the bright city life that she longed for. She continued to reside with relatives in the area. Life was going terrific for her. And for once in her life, this young woman was full of splendor and excitement. There was not a more responsible person her age in the area where she was living. Her maturity level was seen by most to be equivalent to that of a thirty-year-old woman. A short time after cooking in the restaurant, Rosa Lee met a young man from Cunningham, Alabama. His name was Alphonso Maldon.

After consuming a scrumptious meal on the day he stopped by the restaurant, this man knew that he admired her beauty and loved the way she cooked. My mother had never dated before. Here she was about to enter an area of life that she had never bothered with previously. Her responsibilities kept her too busy to think much about a husband. My father had been coming to the diner to have meals regularly. Eventually he had gotten the nerve to ask her for a date. In the beginning she had replied, I am too busy and don’t have the time for dating. But Alphonso was a very persistent young man and would state, Come on now, no one can be busy all the time. My mother had no intention of changing her mind. She continued to refuse the invitations. However, my father was just as persistent to go on a date with her.

Finally, after turning him down several times she consented. Okay, I will go out with you but I am a very respectable woman, and I will not be sleeping with you or any other man before I am married. My father told her that he had only good intentions. To this my mother said, In that case I will go out once but must be back in before ten. I am a working woman and am not tardy for work. There was something about my mother that really attracted my father.

The two dated for a while, and soon they became engaged and got married. That year of 1939 marked another major transition in the life of this mysterious and wonderful woman. She knew that her life was changing and would never return to those tobacco fields, canning factories, or living with her relatives. Another chapter was closing in her life, and she accepted it graciously. She had never been a person who complained about things anyway. This recent transition would not make or break this small-framed woman with dark skin and Indian facial features. She had already learned to accept transitions and disappointments in life.

A New Life Together

That summer they started their new life together and went to reside in Port St. Joe, Florida. During the early months of her marriage she continued to work. My father was a very skilled man. He obtained employment with the St. Joe Paper Company. Soon he had managed to purchase a truck for them. He had even begun to teach his wife how to drive. Getting into the swing of married life was not a real problem for my mother. The couple enjoyed the first year of their marriage tremendously. Having never dated but the one man, you might have expected her to experience adjustment issues. However, this was not the case at all. As a matter of fact, she adjusted very well to being a married woman.

Perhaps much of this quick adjustment was the result of her spiritual upbringing. Having grown up in her parents’ and grandparents’ home, my mother reaped the benefit of their relationships. She had excellent spiritual role models to teach her those things that helped one to build and sustain a good marriage. She had observed the closeness and kindness displayed and shared by both of them. Her grandparents and parents were lovable people. In fact, Rosa Lee never heard her grandparents or parents engaged in a marital argument. Over dinner one night as a young teenager, she asked her grandmother, How can you stay married to the same person all these years and still get along so well together? Mama’s grandmother replied, I learned early in life that loving someone is the beginning of a marriage, but having God in the marriage will determine the success and preservation of a close relationship. Spending her childhood and teenage years with her grandmother helped Rosa Lee to develop a healthy outlook about married life. Each day she found herself adjusting more to her marriage. Employment at the canning factory filled her days and kept her busy.

A short time after being married she became pregnant. This was a slice of life that Rosa Lee knew little about. Sure, she had been around relatives who had given birth before, but she had no family experience with pregnancy. This was a dilemma that she would learn to adjust to just as she had done throughout her life. As the days passed by, she became more used to the condition of being pregnant. The couple was elated that they were having their first child. Mama did not stop working during her pregnancy. In fact, she worked until her delivery date was near. Soon the delivery date arrived and she had to summon a midwife to deliver her first child. Alphonso and Rosa Lee had great expectations for their firstborn. The couple looked at each other and jointly exclaimed, God has shown us favor in sending this child to us.

However, neither of them knew that their happiness would be short-lived. A brief time after being born the child passed, leaving them very sad. In spite of the tragedy, they got control of their lives by accepting this fate as the will of God. They comforted themselves in knowing that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

This marked a summer of sadness for Mama. It eventually passed. The pain that tugged at her heart eventually departed, and her healing came. She realized that it was indeed a great blessing that she had been raised and trained in a Christian home. The source of her strength to endure her hardships in life was from God. His love had always been the source of her strength.

During the time of her travail and loss, she had met and befriended another couple of ladies who were experiencing trouble in their own lives. One of the women was young and going through a divorce. My mother sat down and told her, Do not let this man cause you to let your children down, they need you to be strong for them. For now, you must be a pillar of strength for them. This woman’s heart was broken. As usual, my mother was no stranger to helping the downtrodden and hurt. Over her young life she had gone through her own share of hurt and pain. But she had also been a pillar of encouragement to others going through their own battles. As she left that day, the lady thanked Mama, and stated, Will you help me with raising the kids, because I don’t know how to. As usual, Mama consented. I will do all that I can to help you. All her life, she found herself ministering to someone in the middle of an ordeal. Listening to others with problems was not a novelty to her.

There was also another lady that she had assisted through hard times. This person was her sister-in-law. Times were very difficult for my father’s brother. Unable to find steady employment, they had to rely upon Mama and Daddy to help support them. Somehow, they managed to provide support and assistance for both couples. Although things were very difficult and trying, the four of them managed through those stressful times. They were there for each other during the good and bad times. Family love bonded them together. Before long, my father’s brother did obtain employment and relocated to Panama City, Florida.

In the winter of 1942, Rosa Lee discovered that she was once again with child. Having lost her first baby, she became a little afraid. But nothing could stop her level of excitement about expecting again. The days passed, and she delivered a very healthy ten-pound girl. In spite of hoping for a son, my father was elated that they had a healthy child. They named the baby girl Ruthie Lee. The birth of the baby united them closer together. Their struggles during those first few years had taught them to depend upon each other. Together the three of them made a very happy family. This child was indeed a blessing and Rosa Lee reasoned in her mind, I will not complain.

A short time later, a second child was born but did not live very long. Once again, Mama was challenged to endure another bitter disappointment. The year passed by. Memories of losing two children stayed with her for a long time. She occupied her mind with thankful thoughts that she had a healthy child in spite of her setbacks. Then, once again, the Lord blessed them with another healthy child. They named her Annie Ruth. No one could imagine that before long my father would be leaving and going into the military. This meant that Mama would have two children to manage alone. Not wanting to leave my mother and two sisters alone, my father relocated his family to Panama City, Florida, to reside with his brother, Caesar.

This was Mama’s first experience staying with anyone since becoming married. Alphonso’s brother and wife had depended upon them while they were located in Port St. Joe. Now the tide had turned, and Rosa Lee would be staying in their home. Being very independent, my mother did not want to stay with anyone while her husband was away in the military. Nevertheless, my father had insisted and said, Lee, I do not want you all staying this far away from family. To avoid an argument, Mama consented and agreed to reside with his brother. Her final words on the matter were, Okay, if it will keep the peace, I will go. She agreed to maintain harmony in their marriage. Even though she knew that it would be uncomfortable for her, she did all she could to fit in as family.

As time passed, she began to feel uncomfortable about being there. But being the spirited person that she was, she made up her mind to endure her assignment. Each Sunday, she would get up early and make sure that she and her two children went to church. Nothing had changed over the years; Mama remained faithful to God. She was determined that if God never left her, she would endure the trials and adversities of life. She contented herself with going to work and raising her two daughters.

The days went by quickly, but before long, a family problem that she encountered with her brother-in-law and sister-in-law caused her to relocate. A few months later she went to stay a brief period with her own relatives. Not long thereafter, her husband returned home from the military to learn that she had moved away from his brother. Disappointed with this arrangement, he went to get Mama and inquired, What in the world led you to leave my brother’s house? My mother had no problem stating, How could you fail to tell me about money that you were sending to your brother? I feel betrayed because you failed to discuss it with me, but your sister-in-law knew all about the money. She relentlessly pursued the problem. "How could you make that