After a moment of Michael's silence, I huffed and thought about the connection between the last twelve days. Every day since the first of August I've had to wrangle with a business over one thing or another. And not a single incident was related. By day seven, I just knew if I heard, "Thank you for holding, your call is very important to us" one more time, I was just going to launch my cell phone clear across the street during rush-hour traffic.

Well, none of the antagonizing situations seemed to have a correlation at first...that is until a distant memory began creeping back to the fore of my mind.

My eyes lit up like light bulbs. "No," I gasped.

"Yes," Michael smirked and broke his silence. I shot him a glare so heated it could have melted the North Pole.

"You wouldn't."

"I did."

Yes, there have been moments when I've wanted to choke an archangel, and this morning was one of those moments.

Back in April, there were two opportunities that crossed my path that seemed interesting at first. But after looking deeper into them, I didn't think they were worth my time and energy to pursue.

"You really should go ahead and follow up on that, Chantel," Michael urged as I flipped through paperwork. But I was tired, overburdened and not in the mood to sit on the phone with a bunch of folks trying to sell me on an idea.

"No, I really don't need to do that, Mike. I've got enough on my plate." That was a few months ago.

Well, the last twelve days of utter chaos had me so turned around I couldn't even find the aforementioned plate, and deep down inside I knew the archangel had everything to do with it. He is, after all, my current mentoring angel (who is tag teaming with Sandalphon) and the angel that governs the environment in which one lives and works.

"Mike," I tried keeping my voice calm and even this morning, "I can't pursue either venture. That was April. The deadline for one of them was May, and this is now August."

"Oh?" He flitted those long, golden lashes at me. "Did you even read your mail from yesterday?"

Growling, I got up and pranced by him to go fetch the mail, and there on the stairs was an envelope from the company I was pretty much ignoring all this time. I ripped open the envelope and read the letter.

The company was offering a 30-day extension for me to get back to them. Heat wafted up from my pajama collar and I threw my hands up in surrender.

"Fine! I'll fill it out and send it back! Are you happy now?"

"Don't forget the other one."

"That one's probably expired, too."

"No, no expiration on it. You'll be happy you did this."

I only snarled in response.

So, we have two things working here...

Firstly, we've the issue of surrender. If you are stuck in a whirlwind like so many others are right now, stop and ask yourself if there's something you've been ignoring the past few months that really needs your attention. For me, it was just mailing off two documents that I thought were insignificant and a waste of time. (Michael apparently knows otherwise.) For you, it could be that conversation with a relative or friend that you keep dodging, or that medical exam you keep canceling, or that vacation you keep pushing back. When we are not in the act of surrender and instead in the act of resistance, we can expect resistance from Heaven. After all, when we push the Cosmos, the Cosmos pushes back.

Secondly, we've insight into Michael's way of handling a situation as a mentoring angel. As I've said in many lectures and in my book Azrael Loves Chocolate, when Gabriel says jump, ask "how high?" He is militant and will stay on you like bees on honey until you finally cave in and do what he requires you to do.

Raphael, on the other hand, is much gentler and will only suggest to you things that need to be done. He won't badger you, but when you're having bad days and can't figure out why, he'll appear and in the most compassionate way remind you of what you should be doing. After so many hitches and glitches, you'll look up and see him quietly sitting beside you, and that's when it'll dawn on you to follow his guidance.

Michael, won't badger you much at all, either. He and I talked about the venture maybe two or three times and when I put my foot down, he threw his hands up in surrender and said, "Hey, all right. Have it your way."

He then left the room and went right into the mode of shaking up my life--like a snow globe--to the point that I don't even have a choice other than to do it his way.

When I surrendered to him today, he actually laughed. I wasn't smiling, though.

I grabbed the paperwork and showed it to him. "I will mail it on Monday!"

"No. Tuesday. You have something to take care of Monday."

"I do? Now what?"

"You'll see."

And the angel was gone.


Oh, how I wish I were one of those starry-eyed psychics that could smile and wear glitter and wave my hands about like I'm possessed by the fairy-god-mother. I wish I could flutter around a room on the tips of my toes with a wand and tap each client on the head and in the voice of Glenda tell each person how wondrous and beautiful and magnificent the angels are.

Don't get me wrong. They are wondrous...and beautiful...and magnificent. I could never imagine my life without them.