Have you seen your Guardian Angel?

Have you seen your Guardian Angel?

A question that most people would not adhere to, but have you felt the presence of an angel when you know it had to be a supernatural force that can’t be explained?  

Call it a miracle since these come at the most needed times and without warning.  We all could relate at least once in our lives when we were the recipient of an occurrence that saved our life and after recounting the event realize it was supernatural.  Most times it was an angel who stepped in and saved any of us from disaster or a change in events when there was no way out of an encounter we would rather not have had to go through.

It is not without a number of events from adolescence to the recent events that need to be related, and a real reminder that Guardian Angels do exist and leave their calling cards by way of actual results that could have been different for myself and one of my grand-daughters.

As a teenager one winter day a group of friends and myself were in a snowball battle from the framing of two new houses.  To my luck, I was on the one house with no framed walls and was backing up preparing to throw a snowball at the other house when I backed into an opening that led to the basement.  I tripped on something, probably a large wooden plank that was the only material that extended from the basement to the top of the opening.  The opening was the standard dimension of 36” wide and to my luck fell into this falling with my head arriving first to the concrete floor below.  I remember as I fell that I was sliding on the 12” plank and hit my head which caused a large bump to swell on the back of my skull.  A friend walked me home and my mother used ice packs to help in the recovery.  Now, the part of angelic presence; what is the chance that falling through a 36” wide opening I would slide down the only thing that would break my fall, at least to not fall in free space and hit my head directly?  Remember nothing with God is by chance!

Several years later, as I recollect, a bunch of us were sled-riding on a steep neighborhood street that was closed to vehicular traffic because during the 1940’s most municipalities did not have snow removal we have now.  Going down the street at a fast speed a friend beside me said not to drag my feet and he sort of shoved the front of my sled, and as would be my luck a music teacher ignored the police notice of the street’s closure and I was headed straight for the rear of the car.  I hit the car’s tire with my chest taking all the force of my collision.  Had my head been raised even a fraction I would have hit my head on the bumper or the fender.  At that speed I probably would not be writing this.  Two men who were picking up cinders from the coal furnaces we all used then picked me up and placed me on a neighbor’s couch.  The police were called (as we didn’t have ambulance services like we have today) called my mother and transported us to the hospital.  After an x-ray the diagnosis was I had the wind knocked out of me.  Again, what kept my head from remaining in a safe position?

One cold winter morning I was on my way to a parking garage where I could park overnight.  The stairway I needed to go down to the parking level where I was parked had an opening to the outside and as I was ready to turn onto the next stairway a voice warned me there was ice on the steps.  Too late to do anything and my feet shot straight out in front of me and the next thing I knew I was at the bottom of 12 steps.  I never hit my head on the way down and don’t even remember hitting any steps.  Got up and went to my truck and left the garage.  Often times when people fall on ice especially falling as a trajectory down steps usually have some injuries.  Again not by chance.

Recently, on a Sunday morning I went outside of our apartment building to retrieve our newspaper.  We have a concrete walk that leads to the city sidewalk.  As I reached for the paper on the grassy area I lost all concept of everything and the next thing I was face down on the walkway.  I was on my stomach and said to myself, “I fell”.  Now what makes this supernatural is the walkway at least 4 to 5 feet away from the grassy areas and there were bricks on either side of the walkway planted in a way that corners of the bricks protrude in a dangerous position making points sticking out.  If I fell I should have hit the edge of the walkway and even if I ended on the walkway I would have had to roll across bricks and roll onto my stomach.  Such was not the case.  To land like I did something picked me up and I avoided the bricks and no rolling around.  I am certain an angel picked me up and laid me on the walkway.  The only injury was a scrape on my left knee.  There is no possible way I could have landed as I did.  It keeps my Guardian Angel busy.

A couple of months ago I received a call from one of my granddaughters who was calling from Oakland, Md.  The night before she was driving and had an emotional experience.  The State Police drove her to a hospital in Oakland.  The trip was about an hour away.  After the hospital cleared her for release, she had no way of getting back to her car.  I told her I have a nephew who lives in Md and I would get back to her to see if he could help her.  I called his sister who lives in Pittsburgh and unfortunately my nephew lives 5 hours away from Oakland.  After calling my granddaughter back with the news I told her I would keep trying.  I put the phone down, was at a point of not knowing what to do, I asked the Lord to do something as I was beyond myself.  About a half hour later or less I called her and she said a man came over and said do you need a ride?  I realized my prayer had been answered.  God sent him almost immediately and felt he was an angel.

I not only sense my own guardian angel in more ways and times that I can remember, God also sends angels when we ask.

Ralph B. Hathaway