Tobit 9:5. "So Raphael made the journey and stayed overnight with Gabael. He gave him the receipt, and Gabael brought out the money bags with their seals intact and gave them to him." The Archangel Raphael is accompanying Tobias, the son of Tobit, on a journey to retrieve Tobit's money from Gabael, who was holding it in trust for Tobit. Tobias does not realize he is being accompanied by an angel, he believes Raphael to be a man named Azarias who he asked to accompany him on his journey. Tobias never gets to pick up the money, however; led by Raphael, he instead goes on a great adventure which includes finding a cure for his father, and meeting and marrying his wife. His new father-in-law is so enamored of him that Tobias cannot get away from the wedding feast long enough to complete his father's request, so he asks Raphael to go get the money and bring it (and Gabael) to the wedding feast.

I love the book of Tobit so much, mainly, I must admit, because I totally identify with Tobias's mother, who stands outside every day looking for her son, sick with worry and waiting for him to come home (See A Mother's Troubled Heart). I also love how Raphael is undercover and doesn't reveal who he really is until the end. Looking back, I'm sure Tobias can see God's hand in everything that happened to him. I think we can all do the same when we come to the end of one of life's great adventures!

This story is a good reminder of the fact that we each have a guardian angel. God does not leave us to struggle through this journey of life by ourselves! He gives us each a spiritual guide, an angel whose only job is to look after our well-being and guide us on our way! And no matter what we set out to do, no matter what plans we make for ourselves and our lives, if God has something better in store for us, our guardian angels will guide us to it (as long as we let them). They will even help us complete the tasks we set for ourselves if other people are relying on us completing them! How amazing is that?! We are so incredibly blessed by our loving God!