How does Robert Morgan use imagery in Gap Creek: A Novel?

In Chapter Nine, when Julie is decorating the Christmas tree, she suddenly feels the presence of angels in the room, another echoing of the religious themes from earlier in the novel: "The air was filled with black angels falling in the dark, thick as snowflakes...but the lighted candles pointed upward" (Page 213). This imagery, which appears before the flood, ominously foreshadows the emotional darkness the couple will soon face. The fact that the candles point upward, arguably toward heaven, again suggests that peace can be found through the Lord.