Saved by an Angel (7 page)

I became frozen with fear and shock as I realized that my son had just launched himself in front of about five lanes’ worth of traffic. I screamed “No!” but was unable to move my feet—it felt as if everything just stood still. My son stopped halfway across the road and noticed that the cars were starting to take off. He looked at me, and I knew that this could be it: my son was about to be hit by a car at full force!

And then, I don’t know how, but somehow he ran back into my waiting arms. I pressed him to my body. I wasn’t going to let him go. We cried together as we both realized that he’d been given another chance to be here with us on this earth. I knew that by the grace of my guardian angel, he had “flown” across the intersection back to safety.

I looked across the street and found myself staring at the most beautiful church I’d ever seen. I didn’t know its name. I just knew it as the beautiful church next door to the town hall in Sydney. When I Googled it, I discovered that it was called St. Andrew’s Cathedral.

The biggest sign of all came as I was meditating on Christmas Day, 2010, and I was given the name Andrew. I asked,
Is there an angel Andrew?
and I heard the answer
yes.
I believe that St. Andrew or an angel called Andrew was looking after us that day, and his name came to me in meditation so that I would realize that he’d given me my son back. My husband and I are currently building a house, and I’m also convinced it’s a sign that the address is St. Andrew’s Way.

I believe in angels, and I believe there was one by my side that day in Sydney.

L
UCKY TO BE
A
LIVE
by Jinelle Markham

The morning of December 29, 2009, was crisp, sunny, and clear. Lying in bed, still in the state in between sleep and wakefulness, I could hear my guardian angel talking to me. I couldn’t make out what this voice was saying, however, and continued on with my day normally.

On my way to work late that morning, my younger sister called me and asked if I was okay, because she’d had a bad feeling about me. I said, “No, everything is fine,” and didn’t think anything of it. Little did I know her premonition was right.

As I exited the highway, my gas pedal stuck, which had never happened before. Nothing I tried would
un
stick it, and nothing was down there to block it either. So I slammed on my brakes right before I reached the train tracks. In a panic, I set my emergency brake, hoping that it would stop my car for a while. It didn’t.

My car leaped onto the tracks uncontrollably. The next thing I knew, I looked to my left and a train was not even two feet from my face. It was about to broadside me going 30 miles per hour. The second I saw it, everything went dark. I instantly blacked out, before I was even hit. I believe the angels didn’t want me to go through that traumatic experience, because it felt as if they pulled me from my body.

As I was waking up from my accident, still in my car, I felt as if I’d just come from—or was still in—heaven. My body felt magnificent and so at peace. Words are inadequate to describe how wonderful this feeling was. All I could see was white, and I could hear that same angel whom I’d awoken to earlier that morning again talking in my ear. I still couldn’t understanding a word of what was uttered, although it could have been something along the lines of “See, I told you not to go to work today!”—said in the most loving way, of course.

As I became more conscious, I realized there was a jacket over my body, because I think bystanders thought that I had died! But as I finally came to, I felt pain, lots of pain. The ambulance was there shortly afterward.

I was extremely fortunate that day. I walked away (barely) with a dislocated shoulder, a broken collarbone, and a concussion. The recovery was very long and arduous; but I am very, very lucky to be alive.

I am eternally grateful to the angels for saving my life that day. Because of them, I’m able to say that I have a lifetime of greatness ahead of me to fulfill. I love you, angels. Thank you!

A
SSISTANCE IN THE
O
CEAN
by Valerie Camozzi

I was planning a trip to Costa Rica with two friends. There were actually four of us—three adults and a nine-year-old. I went to a bookstore to look at the travel section prior to our departure. A book on Costa Rica fell from the top shelf onto the floor in front of me. When I picked it up, I found that it was opened to a page that gave advisory tips for swimmers in the ocean. It cautioned them about riptides.

I bought the book and brought it with me on our trip. After reading it, I was concerned about the nine-year-old swimming alone and made sure to tell everyone about possible riptides. I remembered reading specifically about what to do if caught in one, and shared this information.

Costa Rica was amazing, with diverse landscapes, tropical rain forests, sandy beaches, monkeys, frogs, and brightly colored birds. One day I went snorkeling with one of my friends. The water was incredible shades of aqua blue and perfectly clear, and the fish were abundant. We had been swimming for quite a while, and it was time to go back.

I saw my friend swim ahead until she was barely visible, and I began to panic when I realized I was swimming but not going anywhere. Thoughts of drowning entered my mind. I couldn’t see my friend anymore—she was out of my sight. I tried to swim to the shore, but I was expending all of my energy and not getting any closer to it. I yelled and waved to people on the beach, but they were too far away.

A clear image of the travel book, and the page with the riptide warning and the paragraph with the instructions on what to do if caught in one, suddenly popped into my mind. But I was too tired from fighting the current to process the information. The fear of drowning and the realization that this was really happening opened the door for panic to take over.

It was then that I heard a male voice telling me precisely what to do. The directions were clear and direct. I followed them, and I made my way to the shore. Each instruction was repeated until I followed it. Once on the beach, I fell to the sand and stayed there until I had the energy to walk the miles back down to the part of the beach where my friends were.

I’m certain it was an angel who caught my attention with the travel book that fell off the shelf. I paid attention but required more help, and this angel assisted me in the ocean, directing me to safety. I feel very grateful. I know my life was saved by an angel.

Chapter 2

V
ISIONS OF
A
NGELS

T
HE
G
IFT OF THE
A
NGEL
F
EATHER
by Kate O’Rielly

It was 1998, and I was in the emergency room with a diagnosis of pneumonia. All the drugs used to combat this illness were given to me, and I was sent home with strict instructions on the importance of bed rest and taking my many medications. When I left the hospital, I felt I should really be staying, but there were no available beds. It appeared that, because of my age and general health, I would recover quickly on a homebound regime.

That evening, after I tossed and turned, kept awake by the sound of the vaporizer, I finally fell into a very deep sleep. At 3:33
A.M.
exactly, I was woken up by some presence in my room. At first I thought one of the other members of my family was up moving about. When I turned over in bed, my heart began racing. There in my room were two very large bodies.

The two figures quickly made me understand without words that they were protecting me as I slept. I knew that they were angels. One of them was a male who stood about ten feet tall. But how could a ten-foot-tall figure fit in my room (which only had an eight-foot-high ceiling)? His robe was a very lovely blue gray, and he had a loving face that felt healing to me. The other angel was all white. Her energy was soft and nurturing. She reminded me of the angels I read about as a small child: half feathers and half human. I reached out to touch the angels and they were gone. I fell back into a restless sleep.

In the morning as I woke up, I became very excited about the “dream” I’d had. When my daughter and granddaughter came in to see how I was feeling, I told them about my visitation by the angels. My daughter was old enough to be skeptical, but my four-year-old granddaughter was awed and delighted by the story. After the excitement had passed, my daughter helped me out of bed to visit the restroom. At that moment, my granddaughter started screaming with excitement and glee. As I rose from the bed, a six-inch-long white feather came with me, stuck to my feverish leg!

The three of us didn’t know what to think. I was very confused because there are no feather products in our home due to allergies. My daughter was speechless, and my granddaughter was dancing with joy because the angel had left a gift. She said she knew the dream wasn’t really a dream, because angels visit people at night all the time. Of course it was an angel!

I carefully removed the precious feather from my leg and put it on my bedroom altar.

The next night, I felt that I was getting sicker, not better. I decided that if I didn’t feel better soon, I would call my doctor. At 3:33
A.M.
, I was once again woken up by the feeling of a presence in my room. I turned over … and there were the angels again! As I watched them standing across from me, the male angel asked if I was ready to go with them to heaven. In many ways, I was overjoyed to hear them speak, and to invite me to join them.

The angels said they were there to help me decide whether or not I would stay living in my body. I thought about the projects I was working on, and about the unfinished business in my life. None of those things seemed more important than going with the angels. The love and contentment that they emanated was so appealing, and I wanted more of it. All of a sudden, though, I thought of my seven young grandchildren. If I left with the angels at that moment, I wouldn’t even have a chance to say good-bye to them and receive a final kiss and hug. I told the angels that I wanted to stay on the Earth plane for now.