Whats in your name Michael

Piper Pawnee 26

Have you ever thought to your-self what your name means? What it may mean to others? even what it suggest are important considerations influencing your future.

My Uncle Michael's name is from Old Hebrew " Mikha'el, meaning: "he who is like God".

Michael is one of the seven archangels, a leader of Heavens Armies, so he has the name as "Patron Saint of Soldiers".

All of us have Aunties and Uncles who helped us through life and they have a special place in our memories that linger on.

My uncle Michael was such a man for me, as my Mothers brother I lived at his house in Melbourne Australia, as a lad of 15 years of age.

I always felt he was an old sage! a Font of wisdom and good sense.

He was a quite man, a maintenance carpenter for the Victorian Railways housing estate, he would leave the house every morning at 0730 am, off to work on his push bike wearing a clean shirt and a bow tie and a bib and brace pair of overalls, with polished shoes, and a tool bag.
He never had a lot of time for gossip and one night when he came home I was bursting to tell him about our neighbour crashing his car into his refuse bin and denting his car! he stopped me and said, "Is what, has happened true? are you going to say anything good about out neighbour and will it be helpful to us".
My enthusiasm for gossip died that day.

He was a religious person attending the church, but not regularly. When I asked him about his faith he told me "not to be in such a hurry! you will find your own".

When he discovered that my reading was not at a level, he would like, he made a plan.
One evening he asked me to read the news paper to him, as he felt tired and as I did so, he asked me to explain what was meant by what I had read, It became a nightly event which I dreaded at first but grew to love as time went by.

So with his guidance and over the next year I leaned and understood the written word to a high level, and a new world opened up to me, It was amazing, I could just about understand most studies that I undertook, and I started reading books.

My Uncle Michael gave me the greatest gift that one family member can give to another.
He had given me the opportunity to explore life to the full .

This wee story is a small way of remembering and showing my respect for my Uncle Michael.
To all you blog readers out there, spare a thought for your Uncles and Aunties who gave you a helping hand along life's way, We are so lucky.

Agman.