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Have you ever seen your Guardian Angel? If you said "no", I bet you have, but didn’t know it.
Here’s my Guardian Angel story.
It was in the early ‘90s and I was scheduled to fly into the Ontario, CA airport to visit Pam and Steuart Bell who lived in Chino Hills. My flight was for mid-afternoon on a Friday. Then the line of severe weather (from Maine to Florida) came through and delayed all east coast air travel five hours.
By the time we finally took off, the flight plan took us north into Canada, over Lake Ontario, then south along Lake Michigan to O’Hare Airport in Chicago. We flew between storm clouds being lit internally by lightening. Our plane was so small by comparison…imagine a walnut sailing between two aircraft carriers. We actually saw Niagara Falls all lit up. What a sight! So far, this is the good news.
Once we deplaned, all connecting flights were long gone. United Airlines was offering vouchers for restaurants (which were all closed) and for hotel accommodations (but would not help obtaining those accommodations). I heard others screaming into phones that such and such hotel had to give them a room; after all they were stranded! I decided to bed down at O’Hare. After changing my flight plans to land in Los Angelis instead of Ontario (Pam and I were going to a Whole Health Expo right there in LA), I grabbed a couple of blankets from the United podium and stretched out on the waiting room seats to spend the night.
I could not have been safer. There was no one around except the cleaning people and they weren’t there for long. And it was cold. I found out that Chicago O’Hare is kept at 45 degrees and the rest of the warmth is made up from running equipment, lights and warm bodies. At night none of that exists except lights.
I woke up at one point and a man in his 30s was sitting at the end of the row of seats where I was sleeping. He had on sneakers, blue jeans, a plaid shirt, suede jacket, had a briefcase on his lap and was working on a legal size yellow pad (all night). He never looked my way. He never said a word. He was there all night and I had a sense of being watched over and protected.
In the morning, around 6 a.m., O’Hare came alive. The coffee vendors were the first to arrive and soon the whole place smelled delicious. I got up, folded my blankets, and gathered my backpack and one piece of carry-on luggage. As I turned toward where the man had been sitting, the seat was empty. I never saw him get up and leave.
I knew then he was my Guardian Angel. I’m not talking “metaphor”; I mean the Real Deal. How do I know? There are some things you just know.
Oh, yeah. Just so you know what happened to my luggage. It traveled on to Ontario Airport and arrived in Chino Hills 8 hours after I landed at LAX. At least it arrived! ☺
This past Sunday my sons, Paul and Andy, came over to help clean out my garage. Andy could not believe how much junk we loaded into his truck to be hauled away. The garage looks so nice I frequently look in just to marvel! ☺ It felt good to see all that “stuff” go.
Then, as frequently happens, the Universe steps in and gives me confirmation of what just happened. I received the following today by email from Neale Donald Walsch (author of Conversations With God):
On this day of your life, Beverly, I believe God wants you to know...
....that earthly possessions are not what you came here to gather.
Do not worry about your earthly possessions. Place your attention on your heavenly goal--the evolution of your soul--and you will find peace even while on earth.
You will not have to think but a second to know exactly why you received this message today.
I didn’t have to think about why I received the message. I knew. I have a storage closet and three bookcases that have to be sorted through next. The last time I started divesting myself of “stuff” my kids thought I had some terminal illness and wasn’t telling them. That’s how much of a pack rat I am. In that instance I kept getting the message that I had to get ready to travel light. I wasn’t sure if light meant “weight” or “spiritual awakening.” As it turned out, it meant both.
Can you hear me now?
I am posting this on both my on-line journals because it points out how we should all be listening to those warnings (whispers) from the Universe when things aren’t quite right. Ignore them at your own peril, as you will see from the following.
I have been following the blog (Shut Up and Pedal!) of a family of four who are pedaling from Walla Walla, WA to Bar Harbor, ME. The dad and daughter are on one tandem, recumbent bike, and mom and son are on the other. Their post for today, Friday, July 18, 2008, It’s Funny How Things Happen is an excellent example of synchronicity and listening to the whispers.
To summarize: the daughter got her heel caught in the rear wheel causing the bike to skid and created a major blowout of the tire. There just happened to be someone who was able to supply another tire to get them the one more mile to their destination. The only bike shop within 50 miles did, after all, have the right sized tire. On the way to get the new tire, a noise on the mother’s bike caught their attention and they decided to have it checked out while they were at it. In the process of checking it out, a cracked rim was discovered. Had that not been found, the rim would surely have failed and the result could have resulted in serious injury or death. They were able to have a new rim shipped to their next destination town.
The good news: the daughter and father were not injured in their incident; the blown tire was replaced; the cracked rim was discovered in time; they were able to get a new rim.
I highly recommend reading this particular on-line journal. The pictures and story are wonderful.
By the way, for all of you who think I’m nuts, what they are doing makes my plan to ride the Erie Canal pathway pale by comparison. ☺☺
In the early 1980s I hit another of Life’s Potholes. To say things were tough is a gross understatement. I needed to replace my car and I didn’t have any money.
One day while sitting on the edge of my bed in utter despair—out of options—out of nowhere and everywhere all at once I heard a voice say: God didn’t bring you this far to abandon you now. I said, “Huh?” And the voice from nowhere and everywhere repeated the phrase.
I was stunned and elated. I knew right then and there everything would be OK.
The next day I went to a car dealer in East Hartford, CT to see a car they had advertised and hoping I could talk them into selling it to me even though I didn’t have a dime! It had just been sold. But, they had a nice little car that just came in I might like. There she was—a yellow 1980 Pinto. She had four brand new Michelin tires, only 8,000 miles on her, and a little over a year old. I was shocked by the YELLOW color, but agreed to sit in the drivers seat. It felt like she wrapped her arms around me and gave me a hug. I knew I had found my car. I don't remember how I came up with the down-payment, but I was able to afford the financing. I named her Buttercup and in her dowager years she became The Lady Buttercup. The kids in the neighborhood would call her Butterball just to tease me.
I had to totally give up in order to let go of the problem and let the Universe do its work. I never have to worry, ever again. I know everything will be OK because God would not have brought me this far to abandon me now under any circumstances!
Take heart and know it is true for everyone.
When I was in college I hung out with a group that I thought were pretty Bohemian. Looking back we were all pretenders. We never liked being shackled by the laws of any authority. After graduation, we were all going to hop in a car and head west, working our way across the country, to see what we could see. The rest of the world and all it’s expectations be damned!
None of us ever did it. The universe had other ideas and one by one we were nudged, pushed, thrust, sent careening, or in my case, catapulted in another direction.
Speaking only for myself, in retrospect, thank God!
The Universe, in all It’s Wisdom, knew where I would wind up—living in squalor, drugged up, and ultimately dead at an early age. This was the height of the Beat Culture. Poets and writers like Snyder, Kerouac, Ferlinghetti, Creeley, Whalen and Burroughs emerged. As did Jones, Kaufman, Waldman. Beatles, Dylan and Baez were late comers, but all influenced by the Beats. I would have found that crowd—fallen in with them.
It is only now, at age 72, that the Universe has brought that culture-era back for my enjoyment through the CT Beat Poetry Festival that has been happening in the central Connecticut area from June 1st through June 8th at various venues. I have been going to some of the events, not because I know anything about these poets, but to support poet friends who are either moderating or reading. In the process I have started researching the poets to see just who they were and what is so special about what they wrote.
In reading their biographies I get that same old thrill thinking of being part of that Bohemian lifestyle. Being free. Having no man-made (or God-made for that matter) rules or laws to live by. Truth was god, but that truth was extruded from a mind made “crystal clear” by LSD and other drugs and put into words. Their Truths became poems, haikus, novels and screen-plays. This generation was more than Beat. They were Mad. They were Drugged. In reading their works I can understand a little bit of what they were trying to impart, but it’s the lifestyle that still excites me. I will forever be a voyeur into the culture that is called Beat. I will think about, dream about, go through all the what-ifs and savor my romanticized version of what was.
It all boils down to Freedom. The theme that has resonated throughout my entire life has been Freedom. I need to be Free. I’m happiest when I am on the move with no encumbrances.
Back to God in It’s infinite Wisdom. I had, and still have, more important things to do.
Yesterday I posted—“We Are Never Alone.”
This morning I turned on the radio (WJMJ in Bloomfield, CT) and they were playing the hymn “Be Not Afraid.” When I heard
Be not afraid.
I go before you always;
Come follow me,
and I will give you rest.
And thenIf you stand before the pow'r of hell and death is at your side, know that I am with you through it all.
it was as if the Universe wanted to confirm what I posted previously.
If you’re interested, you can go to the website and there you will find the words. You can also get a musical rendition without vocals so be prepared to sing along.
I listen to WJMJ (88.9 FM) because it’s the only radio station around that plays the kind of music I like (real old oldies, classical and occasional hymns). I don’t mind the 30-second sermons every 20 minutes or so; it’s the music I’m after.
God knows what radio station I listen to, which made it so easy for Him to get His message to me. ☺
I think it is important to know we are never alone. We always have angels, guides and guardians all around us to respond when needed. In the true story I am about to tell you, I did not consciously call for help, but it was there. I take great comfort in knowing I am always being looked out for—especially in those moments when I am most vulnerable.
The Fire Next Door
A widow and her teenage son lived next door to us. Next to her was a cemetery, and behind us, a trailer park.
One night, possibly February or March of 1982 (not at all sure of the date), I awoke to a lot of commotion and my daughter screaming, "Next door is on fire!" I ran to the front living room just as the fire department was pulling up.
Everyone got out safely—except the cat. It could have been a whole lot worse. Apparently the son and one of his buddies were asleep downstairs and a quartz heater was in use — too close to the sofa. The house was a total loss. They lost everything and my heart went out to them.
I went back to bed and felt strongly that I needed to do a cleansing of the entire area— my house, the burned out house, the trailer park and the cemetery. Negative energy hung over the neighborhood like a smothering cloak.
I called on Spirit to create a column of Pure White Light descending from Above, penetrating the Earth to its core. Once this column of pure, God Light was in place, I asked that the Light be intensified to the degree it could be tolerated and accepted, purifying all negativity. I held that image for a few moments, released it, and fell asleep.
I became aware of a knocking on my bedroom window. I did not open my physical eyes, but I could “see” a dark, hooded figure outside my bedroom window. From somewhere within me the words were spoken: “Go away, you are not welcome here. Only God dwells within.”
Again the knocking, further away this time and the figure had receded. Once again the words came forth from within me: “Go away, you are not welcome here. Only God dwells within.”
The knocking came a third time, very faint now. The figure was barely visible. Again the words: “Go away, you are not welcome here. Only God dwells within.” Now I was fully awake, fully conscious. While all this was happening, I was in a twilight sleep. I never felt frightened.
I sent a telepathic message to whatever had been outside my window: “If you didn't like the first cleansing, you are absolutely going to hate a second one.” I proceeded to call down the column of Pure, White, God Light and asked for another cleansing. There were no further disturbances that night or ever again.
I mulled over what had just transpired and wondered where those words had come from. Certainly not from my conscious self. I believe those words came through me from some protective source. Angels? Guardian Angel? My God Self? I don’t know and it really doesn’t matter. What does matter is that the protection was there then, and I know it will be there again should I need it.
