Saved by an Angel

by Virtue Doreen

  Well, the blood and adrenaline rushing through my body did not keep me awake for long. Within 30 minutes, I felt very tired again. I tried opening the windows and playing the radio loud. But my eyes still wanted to close themselves into a deep sleep while my car hurtled along at 60 miles an hour.

  Before I knew it, another “thud” pounded my car. This time, cars were passing by me, and there was a slight curve in the road ahead. With my eyes wide open once again and my heart pounding heavily, I looked in my mirrors to see what had hit me. Nothing. The “thud” came from the left front fender, above my front tire. This time I was wide-awake, praying, and thanking God and my guardian protector.

  I knew I was not alone. I couldn’t see anything, but I’m still sure to this day that a guardian angel was sitting on the hood of my car, guiding me home safely. In all my life, I have never again heard a “thud” on my car or any car I was a passenger in. Since then, I have never needed to rest my eyes while driving.

  THANK YOU, GREAT-GRANDMA!

  by Tracey Staples

  When my great-grandmother passed away, I was devastated. She was my best friend, and I always felt a special connection with her. She always knew the right thing to say to make me feel better about everything when no one else could.

  I couldn’t believe she was gone. I think I really worried my mother because I refused to believe it. I would always have these very “real” dreams about spending time with Great-Grandma. Now I know that I actually was spending time with her in my dream state.

  But one day I finally realized that she was dead. I was listening to the Barry Manilow song “Can’t Smile Without You,” and the words just struck me. I wept for days, just as I did right after she passed. The pain and grief were unbearable. On top of my grief, I was deeply panicked and depressed about finding a place to move to. I couldn’t bear the thought that she was no longer there to make it better!

  A couple of days later, I was at the theater watching a movie. In the middle of the film, I suddenly felt this draft of cold air. When I breathed in, I could smell my great-grandmother. It was a very surreal experience. I was freaked out, but at the same time felt this overwhelming feeling of joy. I looked around the theater to see if there was a source of the draft of cold air, and there wasn’t any.

  There was no way I could explain the scent, because my great-grandmother always smelled of whatever powder she wore, with Bengay blended in. It was a unique smell! After the incident, I did not encounter it again. I’m someone who always notices details about people—the way they smell, all of their physical features, and how I feel when I’m around them. So my memory of Great-Grandma’s smell is very keen, and I’m certain that it was the same one that I sensed in the theater.

  All the way home, I was shocked as well as joyful. It was almost like time stood still afterward, and I had this euphoric feeling. I was so pleased that Great-Grandma had let me know she was there.

  On Tuesday of that week, my mother called me and said that for some reason she was late for work (which is very unusual for her). Then as she walked out of the apartment building, she ran into the landlord. Now, she hadn’t run into her in the whole year she had been living there.

  My mother told the landlord that I needed my own place to live, and the woman said that they had one new vacancy. My mother told me, “Now, Tracey, if this isn’t a sign you should move into this building, then I don’t know what is!” I called the landlord, and I was able to move into the apartment right away. She even allowed me to pay the deposit in installments. Thank you for your help, Great-Grandma!

  HE KEPT HIS PROMISE

  by Peggy L. Lorenz

  My husband, Joe, passed away after an eight-month bout with kidney cancer. We had a lot of time to talk about what my future would be like without him, what to do with our children, our business, and many of the little things that we wanted to settle before he passed on.

  One of the things that we discussed at great length was our life after the one here on Earth. We were both Christians and believed that our eternity would be spent together with the Lord. But I had a request for my husband. For my own peace of mind, I asked that if there was any way he could let me know that he was okay when he passed over, to please do so, so that I wouldn’t worry about him. We were so connected in life that I knew that if he could do this for me, he would. I just had no idea how quickly it would happen.

  Joe passed away at 3:35 P.M. on May 14, 1997, surrounded by family and friends. Everyone got to say their final good-byes, and he went very peacefully—he just quit breathing. I had a close friend who stayed with me that night because I really wasn’t in any state of mind to be alone, nor did I want to be!

  As would be expected, I had a very difficult time falling asleep when everyone finally convinced me that I needed to rest. I was lying on my husband’s side of the bed, where Joe breathed his last breath just 12 hours previously. I wasn’t asleep, but in that in-between state, where you’re still aware of what’s going on around you.

  I was lying on my side with my hands under my cheek. I felt Joe touch my arm, and I smelled his particular scent. It was a very brief experience, but nonetheless real. I bolted upright in bed and began to cry copiously. It was what I had wanted so badly, but it came so quickly after his death that I was startled and a bit frightened.

  At first I thought I was really “losing it.” But then I realized that Joe was just fulfilling his promise to me. It’s something I will cherish until the day I pass on to be with him.

  NO OTHER EXPLANATION

  by Lisa Gayle Davis Flores

  In 1983, I was hitchhiking from Oregon to Washington to go to my grandpa’s funeral. I was standing on the shoulder of the freeway when an El Camino car came onto the shoulder at 55 miles per hour. It struck me in the lower back.

  I flew through the air and hit the ground. I really thought I was dead, but then I felt somebody put hands on my shoulders and pick me up. But when I looked to see who had helped me, no one was there. I was also one month pregnant at the time. I believe that this was my guardian angel, saving my unborn child. I will never forget it.

  ETERNALLY BLOOMING

  by Barb Hacking

  I recently attended a “celebration of life” for Kim, a friend who had passed away after a long illness, leaving behind two young children and a loving husband. One of the speakers at this celebration was her sister, who spoke of how a tulip would now always remind her of Kim. When Kim found out that she probably wouldn’t be alive in the spring, she planted lots of tulip bulbs. What a cheerful reminder each spring of her love for her family!

  When I returned home that night, I went into my seven-year-old daughter’s bedroom to read her a story. Before I started, Rachel leaned over and told me I smelled like tulips. Wow! Children really are so in tune to what is going on around them. She had not been to the celebration, and she had no idea about the legacy of tulips that Kim had left behind.

  AN ANGEL’S KISS

  by Maya Tonisson

  My romantic partner passed away on June 18, 1999, at the age of 26. He had suffered a hemorrhage in his brain, and after an operation and one week in a coma in intensive care, he let himself go. I was 25, and beside myself, having never experienced losing a partner—or for that matter, anyone in my life who was so young. He was pronounced dead at about 5 or 6 A.M., and I stayed with a friend that night, not wanting to be alone.

  The following evening, however, I chose to stay home by myself, and after I got into bed, I reached a state of “twilight sleep.” I was half-awake, half-asleep, when I felt my partner lie beside me, and he kissed me very softly. After a few moments, I jolted awake, sitting up and opening my eyes, and he was gone. I never saw him, but I still believe to this day that what I felt was real.

  Chapter 13

  ANGEL LIGHTS

  THE CHOICE

  by Christine Sinon

  When I was pregnant with my first child, I lived on a small island in Micronesia—Pohnpei.

  I�
�d gotten up to use the outhouse in the middle of the night. Nobody else in the house was awake. I left the door ajar because it always got stuck, and I didn’t want to wake everybody up when I came back. As I returned to the house, I felt a silence around me, as if I were separated from the house.

  The front door had been closed and locked—at least I couldn’t open it—but nobody was awake inside. I tapped lightly, thinking that whoever closed the door would still be awake and let me in, but nobody stirred and nobody heard me. It was as if we were separated by some invisible barrier. I walked around to the back door, looked in our bedroom window, and tried to wake my husband.

  Once in the backyard, I felt a multitude of spiritual presences around and above me, not threatening in any way, but perhaps curious. I saw many points of light that looked like stars, but they were very close to me in the night air, probably about six feet off the ground (I am 5'3''), and I felt as if the spirits were just slightly above my head. Although I didn’t see anything concrete, I somehow knew that they were spirits of dead relatives of my husband.

  I felt that they were asking if I wanted one of them to be reincarnated as the soul of the baby I was carrying. At the time, I did not believe in reincarnation. I tried to shrug these feelings off and attempted to get back in the house. I knocked louder and even called out, but the people in the house didn’t hear me. I felt that if I didn’t make some kind of choice, I would be stuck outside all night. I was starting to feel scared.

  Finally, I said aloud, “I don’t want any of you. I don’t even know any of you. You’re being too pushy. I’ll take someone who’s sitting up there in a corner somewhere who gave up on ever having another chance at life on Earth a long time ago!”

  And in that instant, the night sounds returned. I walked to the front door, and it was ajar, just as I had left it. And the next morning, nobody admitted to having gotten up, closed, locked, and then opened the door.

  LIGHTS OF PURITY AND JOY

  by Jonathan Robinson

  Several years ago, some friends and I went to the Anza-Borrego Desert, about 100 miles east of San Diego. Our plan was to spend several days hiking and meditating. After a day of hiking, we found a very remote spot and started to set up camp for the night.

  My spiritual teacher had told me that angelic beings sometimes visited this area, and that they could sometimes be attracted by the playing of music. He had given my friend and me wooden flutes, even though neither of us knew how to play them. He told us to find a place that felt comfortable and learn how to play a simple song together.

  We became very engrossed in trying to play our flutes. After about an hour, the air seemed to start vibrating around us. My friend and I looked up and saw five balls of light surrounding us. The lights were different colors and sizes, ranging from a couple feet to perhaps seven feet in diameter. At first I thought I was hallucinating, but then I saw my friend pointing to the same balls of light I was seeing. We were in awe.

  The balls of light started to make childlike noises, as if they were playing with us by bouncing around our heads. They seemed to emanate a vibration of purity, innocence, and just plain fun.

  WHITE LIGHTS AND THE MIRACULOUS RECOVERY

  by Donna Deruvo

  My seven-year-old son, Joseph, was very ill. I was naturally very concerned about his recovery, and worried that he would have long-term damage from his illness if his medication did not work. I prayed every day, asking God to send as many angels as possible to heal and protect him. I prayed that the Archangel Raphael would surround Joseph in his green light of healing. I prayed morning, noon, and night, trying not to doubt, especially when I looked at Joseph’s limp body sleeping in my bed.

  One afternoon, Joey asked me to lie down with him, complaining of feeling worse than ever. He cried in pain, and I cried in fear. Again, I began to pray, stronger than ever before. As I closed my eyes, I began to see little white lights in the darkness. I assumed that there was something in my eyes, or that I was seeing things. I opened my eyes to focus and kept seeing these lights. I can’t really describe this, but it was beautiful all around the room. I kept looking, not understanding what I was seeing. But as suddenly as they appeared, they disappeared.

  The next day, Joey woke up feeling much better. He had a quick recovery, with no lasting symptoms. I thank the angels and God.

  ILLUMINATION

  by Lisa Crofts

  On December 8, 1994, at 7:50 P.M., I was on my way to visit a friend whom I had not seen in years. I was 23 years old. Just a week before, I had bought a beautiful bumper sticker that I hadn’t yet put on my car. It read: “CAUTION: NEVER DRIVE FASTER THAN YOUR ANGELS CAN FLY!” Those words stood out in my mind so much that I was only going 5 miles over the 50-mile-per-hour speed limit.

  Just as I approached the crest of a hill, a dark vehicle passed me going the opposite way. When I looked back in front of me, I saw a huge cloud of dirt. I then saw something I will never forget in my entire life: a car was coming straight at me! I thought, Oh my God, I’m going to die!

  At the moment just before impact, the other car became illuminated in a glorious white light, and I had a moment of clarity. I knew I would not die, but that the person in the other car would, and that I was going to be in a great deal of pain. The other car exploded on impact. I was hit hard, and fortunately I was wearing my seat belt and had an air bag.

  With flaming debris flying everywhere, I crawled out of my car’s passenger side. I saw people trapped in the other car. I had to help them! I took only a few steps when my legs gave out. I found out later that I had a broken ankle.

  I watched helplessly as other passersby tried in vain to save the young driver’s life, but he burned to death there on the side of the road. He was only 24. It was learned later that he had been passing many cars, and when he tried to pass the last one, a race started because the dark vehicle got that “You can’t pass me” attitude. That’s where I came in, and my life changed forever.

  It took me a while to understand the vision of the white light until I talked with the woman who had sold me the bumper sticker. She said that the white light was my angel helping me get through the trauma. What an amazing thought for me to contemplate. Not that I don’t believe in angels, but nothing like that had ever happened to me! I know now that my vision helped me more than I can ever understand, and I will be forever grateful for my angels’ help.

  ESCORTED BY ANGELS

  by Elaine M. Elkins

  My husband and I were flying to Reno, Nevada, for some fun. I am so terrified to fly that I always take a pill to calm me in the air. On the Reno flight, though, I had forgotten to bring a pill with me. The flight was becoming progressively bumpier. I could feel the plane dropping altitude and then climbing. The pilot apologized for the turbulence and said he was trying different altitudes, yet nothing was working. The flight crew was ordered to sit down and buckle up.

  I told my husband that I was terrified, and I didn’t think we were going to make it. He was the picture of calmness. I thought for sure that the plane was going to go down. I had never experienced anything like it, and I was so mad for forgetting to take my pill. He gave me a book to read to take my mind off the flight, but I wondered how anyone could read at such a time. He said, “You really need to read this book; it will help,” and he handed me a copy of Angel Therapy.

  I read that Raphael will come with you when you travel and help you arrive at your destination safely. So I silently told the archangel, I am terrified, scared silly. Please be here to help this plane land safely. Still, I didn’t feel anything but fear. Then I read that you can call a thousand angels, and they will be there. So I silently prayed, I am really scared; I want to return home to my children. My daughter needs me. I need a thousand angels here. I need to know you are here.

  I was staring out the window, and all of a sudden I saw little bright dots on it. At first, I thought it was that light you see in your peripheral vision. So I stared. As I continued to look, I could see de
finite patterns of light coming up into a starburst and trailing down like fireworks, only to fall to the bottom of the window and then form another starburst.

  I also saw the little dancing lights form a circle and spin. For the longest time, I watched these patterns on the windows. My husband asked what I was doing. I smiled and replied, “I’m watching the angels.” I then felt that we were going to be okay. I watched the angels play for the rest of the flight and realized that the plane was going to make it. It did, thanks to Raphael and his band of angels.

  We had a wonderful time in Reno with our friends. On the flight home, I kept staring at the window. It was a wonderful flight—no turbulence at all. I realized that the reason I didn’t see the lights was because I felt safe and knew we would be home soon. The angels were there, and they were wonderful.

  STEAM-ROOM ANGELS

  by Stephanie Gunning

  I had recently learned a new way to pray, and because I am an endless experimenter, I wanted to test how effective it was. It’s not that I am a spiritual skeptic; it’s just that I got excited. I had been told there are four important steps to prayer:

  1. Find a sanctuary.

  2. Breathe into the prayer.

  3. Admit your vulnerability.

  4. Ask for what you want or need as if your prayer has already been answered.