October 7, 2010
Visable Angels
Have you ever seen an angel? I don’t mean a person that you thought was as beautiful as an angel, or someone who you thought was as kind, sweet and loving as an angel. I mean an actual angel.
Portland Firefly has.
Oh, they don’t look like angels with wings and all that. They look like you and me. How do I know that I saw angels? I just know.
I have seen them many times, but there are two occasions that I’ll tell you about. The first one was just after a dangerous December ice storm in Missouri and the second one was when we went ‘swift watching’ here in Portland this year.
I had just arrive at the Kansas City airport about 11:30 pm after a 4 day trip on a bitter, cold, windy December night. Kansas City had one of its worst ice storms ever and the doors of my car were frozen shut under the 1 to 2 inch layer of ice. The parking lot and streets were treacherous. Fortunately, the storm came in from the north, so the car door that was on the south side (away from the brutal blast of the storm) had probably only less than 1/2 inch of ice on it. That was the passenger door, so I had to struggle to get it open and then I had to climb over the center console on my mid-sized cougar while wearing my Flight Attendant uniform. And I always wore skirts with high heels, so it was not an easy task!
After getting into the car and getting it started, I then had to break the ice off of the encased trunk so I could get my crew kit inside the car. Next came the task of trying to clean the ice off of the windshield. When I tried to open the driver’s door from inside the car by pushing out, it finally opened with the loud cracking sound of ice breaking and then falling to the ground in big shards.
The car started and finally I was on my way home. The main highways were very clear and I tried to picture which roads would be the most traveled and therefore the safest way home for me after leaving the main highway. I did really well until I got to one particular intersection not far from home. This road went down a slight incline to a very busy intersection. Isn’t it funny how you never notice whether a street is hilly or not when the weather is good? Well, this was not a good choice, but it was too late to change my mind now. I slowly started down the incline to the intersection and my car promptly veered sharply to the right and did a complete 180! I was now at the mercy of the icy road wrapped inside my cougar cocoon praying that the car would stop before it ended in the middle of the waiting intersection. Well, it did stop, but now it was facing the wrong direction on an icy hill. I started to panic. I didn’t know what to do, so I started to open the door and look around to evaluate my situation. The road appeared to be deserted. It was after all midnight or later. I was getting a little bit scared and afraid that a rogue vehicle might come over the top of the hill too fast to stop and hit me and my car.
And that is when three angels approached my car. These three tall strong young men came from nowhere and asked if they could help me. Help me! Yes! Well, I don’t know how they did it, but they turned that heavy car around on that icy hill and got me safely headed to my next street. They then disappeared just as mysteriously as they had appeared in the first place.
I could see that the roads were going to be impassable for me and I was so shaken up (not to mention exhausted after a long trip) that I started looking for a place to park my car for the rest of the night. There was a nearby strip mall that I was able to drive to and park my car. I called my neighbor who had 4 wheel drive to come and pick me up and take me the rest of the way home.
This happened more than 15 years ago, but I have never forgotten those three angels who helped me out!
Now for the second time that I’ll relay to you.
It was this year and it was our annual family outing to see the Vaux Swifts here in Portland. We had just arrived and were scoping out our spot for the spectacular viewing when I saw them. They looked like an ordinary Portland couple standing there at the bottom of the hill next to the school. She had very short vibrant purple hair the same color that mine was just before I lost it due to Chemo. She was elegantly dressed and was pointing in my direction, showing him something. They were engrossed in their conversation. I would have never taken note of them if she had not had that same color of vibrant purple hair that I had before I lost all of mine due to chemo. And it was short as mine is now along with being purple, so how could I not notice her…..
They were unusual because they had no blanket, no jackets, no picnic basket, no lawn chairs ~ all of which most people bring to this event. Portland Firefly noticed that she didn’t even carry a purse as they easily walked up the steep hill. They then stood off to the side and behind our little group and were looking directly at me. Our eyes met across the crabgrass covered lawn and they both nodded to me. She looked directly at me and gave me a comforting smile that was also encouraging. She was calm, secure, confident and he was too. I felt a peace when I saw them together watching me. I had the feeling that her mission with me was finished and she was handing me off to him as my protector making sure that he knew exactly who I was.
You may draw your own conclusions about these two events as you wish. But Portland Firefly has her own perception of what happened and she prefers to think that there really is “someone watching over me.”
As I grow closer to the things of the next world, I can’t help to but to think that God is answering many of my prayers by tying up the loose ends of my life. He has given me many special gifts over this last year and I’ll mention them one day.
