| Encounters with Angels | |
Angels play a prominent role in the Christmas story. Angels appeared to Mary to foretell her miraculous pregnancy, and then appeared to shepherds near Bethlehem to proclaim the birth of Jesus. The tradition has been carried forth in such secular Christmas tales as The Bishop's Wife and, of course, It's A Wonderful Life. Many people claim that angels still make appearances on Earth, and not just around the holidays. There are scores of stories of what the experiencers believe are true encounters with angels. Here are just a few from around the Web.
The Hitchhiker
I don't normally pick up hitchhikers, but it was raining and the guy wore a uniform for
a familiar restaurant. I knew I'd sure appreciate a ride if it were me in his wet shoes.
So I drove him to the coffee shop he named. It was on my way home, so no big deal. But
five minutes after I dropped him off, I noticed an envelope on the floor on the
passenger's side of my car. It looked in perfect condition. If it belonged to the
hitchhiker, he must have been careful with it. No creases and no raindrops were on it. Of
course I planned to return it, but first I just had to peak inside. It wasn't sealed so
what's a guy to do? Curiosity killed the cat and all that. Five twenties - $100! Wow!
- As it turns out, that $100 left by the mysterious stranger proved to be quite fortuitous for the good Samaritan driver. Find out what happened here.
The Protector
Two high school boys used to tease me. Not the playful kind of teasing. They knew I was
terribly shy and they would slowly follow me in their car while I walked on the sidewalk.
They shouted to each other so I would overhear them as they recited all the dirty things
they would do to me if they could get me alone. I'm sure I did nothing to encourage them.
Although I had a decent figure, I wore baggy clothes to try to disguise it. But I did have
one habit which finally gave them an opportunity to get to me. I loved walking at night
under the stars, all alone, because I always felt close to God under the beautiful
heavens. One night they saw me. No other cars were around on that particular street of our
small town. They started yelling four letter words and making propositions. I blushed and
walked faster as I ignored them, trying to get home as fast as possible. I prayed to God
to help me, to keep me safe, just this one time, and I would never walk alone in the dark
again. They pulled their car up ahead of me, onto the sidewalk, and jumped out to block my
path.
- Suddenly, a stranger appears from nowhere and announces he's the young woman's protector. But he doesn't just scare the threatening boys away. Something very unusual happens. Find out here.
Angel to the Rescue
In 1963, I was a sophomore at Arizona State. It was at our Christmas break, I think. My
sorority sister's parents lived in Pasadena, Calif. and mine in Riverside, Calif. She had
her mom's car and we decided to go back for our break. We traded driving. It was late at
night, and I was driving in the rain through the desert. The road was about to go up to
the highway when I saw a sign that said, "Caution! Road under construction. Oily
pavement." The road was turning to gravel and then dirt and didn't look safe. To the
left, the road went up to the freeway, which is where I needed to be. I put my foot on the
brake, but I had no traction. I turned the steering wheel to get on the freeway. I'm a
Christian, so I prayed, "Lord, help me. I don't know what to do." Then I heard a
small voice say, "Take your hands off the wheel and brace yourself." So, I took
my hands off the wheel, put my left hand on the door hand-grasp and my right against the
back of the passenger's seat.
- What happened next could truly be considered miraculous, and made for some difficult explaining to the auto insurance agent. Find out what happened here.
Protector in the Barn
Ever since fifth grade, Katie Lowell and Michelle Sanders had ridden horses together in
the rural East Coast area where they both live. By the time Katie turned thirteen in 1980,
she was the proud owner of Blaze, a beautiful chestnut with white markings on his face.
One pleasant afternoon in late October, Katie and Michelle jumped off the school bus and
ran up the driveway to the pasture where their horses waited. The girls rode for awhile,
and eventually the shadows lengthened. "Have to help with dinner," Michelle
sighed, slipping off her horse and turning him out to the pasture. Michelle always had
kitchen chores to do. Katie opened her mouth to say good-bye to her friend, then stopped.
She felt odd. In fact, for no apparent reason, she was suddenly afraid. Katie led Blaze
into his stall and hurriedly brushed him down. Being inside the barn made her even more
nervous, as if she were being watched. But just before leaving, she realized that the
horses were short of hay. She'd need to go up into the loft and throw some down.
"Katie," a voice said over her left shoulder. "Katie, close the door. Do
not go up there. Go out, sit quietly, and wait for your father." The voice wasn't
loud, nor was it either male or female, "but it felt masculine," Katie says. It
was calm, firm, precise - and not at all frightening. But it commanded. Startled, Katie
turned in the direction of the voice. But no one was behind her. There was no one at all
in the barn.
- Or was there? The firm warning to Katie might have saved her life or kept her from serious harm - for something unexpected and horrifying was awaiting in the loft. Find out what here.
Texas Angels
In 1980, my friend and her husband decided to leave San Antonio
around 10 p.m. one night en route to Lake Tahoe in their brand new Cadillac for a
vacation. Since it was mid-July, 100 degrees plus and they had to cross a lot of country,
they wanted to drive at night. I told them to be careful, take a lot of bottled water, and
call me when they arrived in El Paso or White Sands to let me know they were okay. I did
not hear from her until they reached Tahoe and asked her why. She said as they reached the
Davis Mountains, the Caddy "took a dump" on the highway and they were, to say
the least, livid and scared to death, what with rattlesnakes and other
"critters" running rampant. They were on the side of a highway, at 3:15 a.m.,
her husband was in no way a mechanic and they were panic-stricken. They did not have a CB
radio or any other method of communication. She described the night as well-lit by the
full moon, deathly quiet, and "eerie," with the only sounds being those of
coyotes. Her husband said they would just have to walk to the next nearest town which, by
his estimation, would be about 20 to 25 miles. As they began to walk, she decided to turn
around and send the Cadillac the "bird of paradise" sign with her middle finger.
When she did, she saw two men standing over the Cadillac with the hood raised. She told
Cody to turn around and look, nearly "wetting" herself, as she put it. He did
and immediately began to run back to the car. He asked them what the hell they were doing
and where they came from.
- They never did find out where the two very odd-looking men came from... or where they went after they performed their good deed. Find out what happened here.
Guardian Angel at Work
I was alone just after Christmas in 1993. A neighbor girl had
been murdered, and her murderer was not yet found. I had suspicions about some of the
people who hung around the neighborhood, and there had been suspicious activity of the
neighbor kids during the afternoon that it happened, and I wondered if they knew something
about it before the body was found. The girl, Deanna, had been raped and strangled in a
vacant house several blocks from here. In retrospect, I think the guy who did it was
afraid that I knew something. He hung around next door to my house, and whenever the gang
of kids would see me coming, they would whisper and point. On the night just after
Christmas, I was alone because my son had flown to California to visit his father. I
always read the 91st Psalm for protection before going asleep when I'm frightened and
alone. I awoke some time after midnight, smelling smoke.
- This woman didn't know it until sometime later, but an
unexplained presence somehow took care of the cause of the smoke and perhaps saved the
woman's life. A wonderful Christmas present indeed. Find out what happened here.
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