Tabla de contenidos para Angels en Angels

As we journey through life, we all experience moments when we feel helpless, heartbroken or hopeless…when we feel all alone in the world. That’s why Woman’s World has put together this special collection of the most uplifting and faith-filled stories from our beloved weekly “My Guardian Angel” column. Within these pages, you will find 72 beautiful testimonies from real women about the angels who have brought them deep comfort, protection, guidance and miraculous healing. Stories that will touch and inspire you—and leave you with the joyous knowledge that no matter what you’re going through, you’re never alone. So sit back and lose yourself in the light and love. Let each story take root in your heart and become a beacon of peace and hope that’s sure to shine brighter than…

“The angels let me know that my sister will always be with me!” Over the years, my sister, A’Lane, and I have always been close and shared many good times, including some wonderful and adventuresome road trips. When A’Lane became critically ill, we made a pact that there would be no tears. We would only talk about our happy times. We talked about everything, from overdone cookies we’d baked as kids and harmless pranks we’d played, to the various mishaps we’d survived on our trips. Sometimes, we laughed until we cried, deciding that happy tears were an exception to our rule. After A’Lane passed, sadness filled my heart. I didn’t know how I would go on without her. I prayed that she was happy in Heaven and finally free of…

Our sweet golden retriever, Casey Lee, was more than just a pet. He was a gift from my Marine Corps husband to keep me company while he was deployed. Casey’s cuddles got me through some very lonely days. When my husband left the military, we moved a lot for his civilian career. Casey was my anchor, making every new place feel like home. Over the years, we added another puppy and a human baby—our son, Jeff. Casey welcomed and loved them both unconditionally. When Casey was 14, he was diagnosed with cancer. The days after were full of lasts—last time to vacuum up his fur, last time to wash his bowl, last time to pick up the tennis balls he loved to chase. When we lost him, my heart ached.…

My mom was my best friend. We talked every day on the phone, sometimes more than once. She was always active, full of joy and spirit, and I loved to hear her magnificent laugh. When she contracted a rare bacterial infection, she fought hard to beat it. She endured multiple hospital stays with the unknown illness, until she finally received a diagnosis and treatment after spending three weeks in the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. But sadly, her health just kept deteriorating. Unable to keep any food down, she lost 40 pounds in four months. She finally went on hospice care, and we brought her home. I knew that she would be passing away soon, and I pleaded with God to let me spend as much time with her as…

“As I read her words again, I knew she was cheering me on from Heaven” Stacie and I became friends when she was hired as the hygienist at the dental practice where I worked as a dental assistant. Stacie was my biggest cheerleader when I decided to go to college to become a registered nurse. In a way, she was my first patient. Like many dental professionals, Stacie suffered with chronic back problems. Many days during our lunch break, I would massage the kinks out of her back. One day, Stacie surprised me with a gift card to a local coffee shop and a lovely handwritten note expressing her gratitude for my “magic fingers.” You’re going to make a wonderful nurse. I have faith in you. You will make a…

Many years ago, my husband and I saw the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s on our anniversary, and we decided that “Moon River” — sung beautifully in the film by Audrey Hepburn—would be “our song.” As time passed, whenever we heard “Moon River,” made even more famous by Andy Williams, played at a wedding or anywhere else, Andrew would say, “They’re playing our tune.” And he’d pull me into his arms to dance. Still, though the song had been a hit way back when, it wasn’t played much anymore. But then, after my beloved Andrew passed away, it seemed as if “Moon River” was playing everywhere! After the funeral, we were at the golf club where Andrew had requested we scatter his ashes when, returning to the car, my son David…

When my doctor referred me to a neurologist for the painful grape-sized lump on the back of my neck, I was very nervous. Please, don’t let it be cancer! I panicked. With two young daughters, I needed to stay healthy. So as the specialist ordered more tests, I prayed to be healed, adding: If at all possible, please don’t make me have to undergo surgery. Soon after, I was waiting for a table in a restaurant with my family. My husband had gone to the restroom when an elderly man approached me. “Where have you been?” he asked. “I was looking for you.” My eyes darted around the restaurant, perplexed. Was he confusing me with someone else? But, no, he seemed to mean me. Normally, I’m cautious with strangers. Yet…

“Dad saved my life all the way from Heaven!” My dad always wore Old Spice aftershave, and I came to love that fresh, clean fragrance. Sadly, at age 67, my father suffered a massive stroke that left him paralyzed on his left side. He never fully recovered, and I was completely devastated when I lost him. Not long ago, I was awakened from a sound sleep by a burning sensation in my nose, and the familiar spicy aroma of Old Spice swept over me. It was so strong that I struggled to catch my breath. Usually a whiff of that familiar scent triggers warm memories that make me smile, but this time it sparked a vivid emotional memory of Dad’s stroke. As I sat up in bed, I noticed the…

“Goose bumps danced along my skin as I recalled fluttering wings” When I was awakened by labor pains three weeks prior to my due date, I tried not to panic. My first two children were born after their due dates, so I thought it was probably a false alarm. I tried to go back to sleep, but as my contractions grew stronger and closer together, I woke up my husband and then my mom and babysitter. “I know it’s early, but I think it’s time!” I panted. Before heading to the hospital, I looked in on my sleeping children and prayed for their angels to watch over them while I was away. I didn’t pray for myself, though. After all, I’d been through childbirth twice before. By the time we…

The world can be a scary place with accidents that threaten life and limb happening in unpredictable ways at unpredictable times. Given this, how can we go about our days without being held in the grip of fear? By cultivating faith that there’s a force of good that calls us by name and keeps us safe from the dangers we fear most. Our hope is that these awe-inspiring stories of invisible helping hands, whispered warnings and divine interventions will help you fearlessly navigate the uncharted roads of life with peace and joy!…

Ever since I can remember, I’ve been a tomboy. Though I wasn’t as athletically gifted as my brothers were, I loved being outdoors. So I was thrilled when my family took a road trip to California when I was 12. And when we made a roadside stop somewhere out west, I clambered out of the car, eager to stretch my legs and explore. Breathless with wonder, we admired the soaring cliffs and boulders piled high. The flawless blue sky framing mountain peaks looked nothing like the cornfields of Illinois! To me, it was like a magical invitation to explore—and climb! Eagerly, I scurried up the rock pile as high and as quickly as I could. I can still recall the joy of standing there, way above the ground. I’d accomplished…

While vacationing in London, my husband and I decided to take the Tube out of the city to spend the day doing some sightseeing. We had a delightful afternoon. But on our way back, we became very confused about how to get to the right station to catch the Tube back to our hotel. While looking around the very busy and crowded area, we grew quite anxious, as there were numerous large signs posted with high-crime and robbery warnings. We were hesitant to ask a passing stranger for help, yet didn’t want to just blindly enter any station. As we stood on a street corner wondering what to do, we were suddenly approached by a beautiful, young blond woman. Her skin was so clear, it seemed as if you could…

“The next thing I knew, the truck was a safe distance behind me!” One day, when my daughter was 14, I had to take her for a post-surgery checkup in Charlottesville. My 10-year-old son decided to come along for the ride. Thankfully, my daughter got a clean bill of health, but the tests had taken several hours, and we were exhausted. With a two-hour drive ahead of us, I decided we should grab some lunch before hitting the road, hoping some food would refresh me. Afterward, as we climbed back into the car, I prayed for God to surround us with his angels. By the time we hit the highway, both kids had fallen asleep. The radio had been helping me stay awake, but I turned down the volume so…

When I received the devastating call that my mother had fallen and struck her head, I jumped in the car. Mom and I were always very close. As I drove the 120 miles to the hospital, I prayed, God and all Your angels, please don’t take Mom. Please let her be all right! And knowing she’d be just as devastated to lose me, I added another prayer: Please protect me as I drive today… I safely arrived at the hospital, and was relieved to learn that Mom would be okay.. “Thank You, God. Thank you, angels!” I whispered aloud. Several hours later when I left the hospital, I was exhausted and drained. It was also dark now, and the road was winding as I navigated my way back. About halfway…

One tender word, small gesture of kindness or simple act of love is all it takes to plant the seed of hope in someone’s heart…and the following true stories show that we’re surrounded by so many gardeners of joy! They may appear as a helpful stranger, someone who feels a divine nudge to offer comfort or support or a quiet hero who shows up right when he or she is needed most. So keep an eye out for these special “Earth angels” because anyone can become one—even you!…

My husband and I were so excited when we were finally able to take our dream vacation to Paris. We had a wonderful time and saw all the major sites: the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the Louvre Museum. But even after touring practically every inch of the city on our own, somehow we managed to get lost in the subway on our last day there. In fact, we were on a train headed to the airport to fly home when we suddenly realized that we were going in the wrong direction. In a panic, we hopped off the train at the next stop. But back on the platform, we had no idea which train to take to get to the airport. We pored over the subway system map but…

My husband, Dean, and I were enjoying a road trip across the Mojave Desert, when I suddenly saw a black puff of smoke roll out from behind our motor home. Pulling over, we rushed to the back of our 40-foot-long RV and were horrified to find the smoke was actually pouring out from the hood of our Isuzu Trooper, which was hitched to the back. Dean grabbed the fire extinguisher, but he couldn’t get the fire under control. Dear God, I prayed. Please help us! In the very next instant, a faded yellow pickup with dented, rusty fenders pulled up and two men jumped out. “Shut off the propane in the coach!” one called to Dean. Then they asked me how to unhitch the SUV. Normally, it would be a…

“Water was rushing into my car and I felt it sinking, then the next thing I knew, I was being carried to safety” One morning while on my way to work, another driver suddenly slammed into the back of my car, causing me to lose control of the vehicle. I was terrified as my car shot across two lanes of oncoming traffic, ending up in a deep canal beside the expressway. As water began rushing into my car, I knew I had to get out—but I was horrified by the probability of alligators and snakes, prevalent in every Florida stream and river. Paralyzed by fear, I felt my car sinking and looked around, hoping the police had been called, but not seeing anyone anywhere nearby. Suddenly, a dump truck drove…

Years ago, before cellphones were commonplace, my husband and I traveled to a large Midwestern city to help our daughter move. We filled the small trailer we had hooked to the back of our truck with her belongings, locked her old keys inside her empty house and prepared to head to the new place, when we discovered we had also locked the car keys inside our truck! There we were, in a strange city, late on a Saturday afternoon, when most businesses were closed. And we had no way of reaching our daughter, who was waiting at her new house for all of her things. The house she was moving out of faced the parking lot of a small church. As we stood and talked about what to do, I…

When I was a little girl, there were few things I loved more than watching my mother get dressed for special occasions. She’d slide on her lipstick, then dab perfume on her wrists and neck. Finally, she’d reach into the little white box and pull out her “pearls of joy,” a triple strand of freshwater pearls. “Mommy,” I asked one day. “What is so special about those pearls? You always smile when you put them on.” She replied, “My mother gave them to me when I left home to meet your father and start our new life together in California.” Then, her eyes bright with memory, she described every detail of the three-day journey: the blazing heat, her excitement, the uncertainty and adventure of what lay ahead. All the while,…

“Not only were the shoes brand-new, they were exactly my size!” Ever since I was little, I have believed that angels are with me. Still, I never expected anything like what happened on the first day of my new job… This new job required me to dress professionally. So I ironed my skirt, fixed my hair and slipped into a pretty pair of new pumps. But it wasn’t long before I started wincing. After years of flats, the half-mile walk to the bus stop in high heels felt like torture. And that evening, as I hobbled off the bus, I faced the half-mile trek uphill with tears in my eyes. I didn’t know what to do. If I took off my shoes, the rock-strewn pavement would cut my bare feet.…

All my life, I have believed in the presence of angels. In fact, “Faith” is my name—literally! And a couple of years ago, everywhere I turned, it seemed there were mentions of angels. I’d switch on the radio, and a song about angels would be playing. My friend gifted me with a book about angels. The pastor of my church even gave a sermon about them! There were so many angel references in such a short time that I found myself wondering, Could this be a message? Truth be told, I could really have used an angel on my side. With the faltering economy, I was about to lose the company I’d worked so hard to build. And with my husband and I separating, my heart was breaking. Suddenly, everything…

“I opened my hand to see a crisp $50 bill…the exact amount of money I had wished for!” Many years ago, my husband was in an accident that left him permanently disabled. While he was in the hospital for three months, our savings quickly dwindled as we waited for his disability compensation to kick in. We had kids to feed. Bills were piling up. With nowhere else to turn, I had to apply for government assistance. As I entered the department of social services, I wondered if my car would get me back home because the fuel tank needle was almost on empty, and all I had in my purse was some loose change. I remember wishfully thinking that $50 would go a long way in helping buy gas and…

After experiencing pain and weakness in my legs, I was diagnosed with scoliosis. Thankfully, after six months of physical therapy, there was definite improvement. At my condo, I have to walk quite a distance to the dumpster to throw out my trash. Since my leg issues started, my son or a friend would dispose of my trash for me. But since I was feeling stronger, I decided to start taking out the trash myself again. On my first trip, I made it to the dumpster with no problem. But on the way back to my apartment, I suddenly became overcome with the fear that I might fall. The walk seemed so long. I should add that there is nothing along the way to hold on to if my leg were…

My husband and I owned a ceramics gift shop for 35 years, and one of my favorite pieces—and the biggest seller—was a large glass figurine of a white-tailed deer. I consider the white-tailed deer one of God’s loveliest creatures, and I am always thrilled to catch sight of one in a field or at the edge of the woods. When my husband passed away, I was left alone to manage the ceramics shop. I did my best to keep the business going, but eventually, I had to admit that I couldn’t handle it all by myself. Sadly, I had to put our shop up for sale. After it sold, I missed going to the shop each day—it had been so much a part of our lives together. One Sunday morning…

“My beloved friend’s gift healed my heart!” The first time I attended my friend Naomi’s writers’ group, I was nervous. I was new to writing, while Naomi was experienced. Naomi was funny and welcoming, though. And while I never felt I was in the same league as her, Naomi appreciated my opinion. The two of us would sit at her house, discussing writing, but soon we were sharing our personal stories too. As our friendship grew, I learned Naomi was struggling with Parkinson’s disease. She didn’t let it slow her down at first, but as the illness advanced, she required nursing care. Even then, Naomi’s kindness never left, and she dealt with her condition with grace until the end. In lieu of memorial contributions, Naomi had made a special request:…

When I was 8 years old, I needed eye surgery. While the other kids in the hospital had family with them, I grew up in foster care. My foster mother just dropped me off and told me I would need to stay there for a few days. When I woke up from surgery, everything was totally dark. Thick bandages covered my eyes and gauze was wrapped around my head. My hands were also wrapped ped to prevent me from pulling the bandages from my eyes. I was terrified, in pain and all alone. So I did what any child would do: I screamed for someone to please help me. “Be quiet!” a nurse yelled, running into my room. “And don’t you cry because you will mess up the bandages!” When…

My two cousins, Lynda and Donna, and I grew up as close as sisters. Even though, once grown, we lived several miles apart, we still kept up with one another by phone and visiting as often as we could. Then one day, Donna confided that doctors had found something suspicious during a routine exam. No, I thought. This can’t be happening… Sensing my fear, Donna promised me, “I’ll be okay.” But she wasn’t okay. In fact, Donna had been diagnosed with a pancreatic infection so severe, doctors were unable to treat it. She hadn’t told me—wouldn’t tell me—any of that, though. So when Lynda called to say Donna had lost her fight, I was devastated beyond belief. Why didn’t she tell me? I wept. Night after night, I lay in…

My daughter, Hannah, was born with Down syndrome. Over the years, she has faced many health obstacles, including open-heart surgery when she was only 7 weeks old. At the age of 9, she had major hip surgery, and the procedure was terribly painful. As doctors wheeled Hannah into the operating room, I prayed, “Please, God, watch over my little girl!” Blessedly, the surgery was a success. When I went to see my sweet daughter in the recovery room, she was smiling, and pointed to her hip and said: “Water.” Then she moved her hands like the wings of a bird. Because Hannah had difficulty with her expressive language, I didn’t understand what she was trying to tell me. I offered her a glass of water, but she refused. Hannah had…

“The angel let my husband know I needed help” My husband and I had recently traveled to South Dakota, where I received an alumni award from Black Hills State University. I’d been looking forward to the trip for weeks. But during the entire weekend, I felt extreme lethargy and thirst. At the time, I passed it off as excitement. Unfortunately, after returning home, I felt even worse, and my husband took me to the hospital. A blood test showed my glucose level was sky-high. “You have type 2 diabetes,” the emergency room doctor said. I was shocked. After a couple of days in the hospital, my condition stabilized and I was discharged. But once home, I began to feel dizzy and sat down on the sofa. Suddenly, a lady with…

Shortly after my adult son was diagnosed with celiac disease, he became ill with what he thought was the flu. But his extreme pain and high fever made me suspect that he had something much more serious than a virus, and I became very worried. Staying by his side, I gave him liquids in an effort to bring down the fever. We discussed the possibility of going to the emergency room but decided against it unless he was still sick the next day. He just didn’t feel up to waiting for several hours to see a doctor who’d most likely prescribe what he was already receiving—rest and liquids. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was suffering from a complication of his celiac disease and was seriously ill. After…

Many years ago, when I had an unexpected seizure, I was terrified. With no history of epilepsy or other neurological disorders, my doctor suspected the seizure had been triggered by a prescription drug I’d been taking. So he took me off the medication, and we assumed everything would be fine. But one day at the salon where I work as a stylist, I was dyeing a client’s hair when, suddenly, I had another seizure—and fell backward onto the tile floor, still holding a bottle of haircolor in my hand! For a few moments, there was total blackness. But as I began to slowly come out of the seizure, I could hear the muffled voices of those around me. And in that moment, I realized someone was holding my hand. Opening…

When my doctor told me I needed an operation for two deteriorated discs in my back, it was all I could do to hold back the tears. A few years earlier, I’d had surgery for a similar problem, and I remembered the long and painful recovery. To make matters worse, I lived eight hours away from the hospital where I’d be having the procedure, which meant I would have to be away from my husband and two small children for an entire month! Upon admission to the hospital, I was immediately scheduled for a series of tests, the first of which I remembered as being quite painful. I dreaded it terribly and couldn’t stop crying. In an effort to calm myself, I walked down the hall to a small lounge.…

One hot summer weekend, when I was a young girl, our family took a drive to visit my grandparents in Alabama. We arrived late that Saturday, tumbling happily from Dad’s old Rambler into our grandmother’s arms. The next morning after church, we were enjoying a game of flag football on the lawn with our cousins when, suddenly, a strong wind picked up, almost knocking us over. “We have to get home,” Dad said, alarmed. “A tornado’s coming!” Looking back, it’s clear this was the wrong decision: When a tornado’s coming, you should seek shelter, not get into the car. Still, I know Dad was trying to keep us safe. As we drove, my younger sisters fell asleep. But I was wide-awake, watching every cloud. And when we were about a…

“I was suddenly yanked backward, like the way a mother would pull her child back to safety!” Some years ago, I was living in a walk-up apartment building in the East Village of New York City. One afternoon, I headed out to do some shopping. After coming down four flights of stairs, I entered the vestibule. For the tenants’ safety, the main door to the building was locked. No one else was in the vestibule with me. Yet as I went to open the main door and step out onto the street, I was suddenly yanked backward by my jacket collar, the way a mother would pull her child back to safety. In that moment, a surly man appeared outside. He was ranting and glaring at me through the glass…

It was a beautiful day, and I was driving home from the farmers market with my two daughters—6-year-old Sydney and 3-year-old Samantha—in the backseat. Suddenly, as I was passing through an intersection, I saw a green car speeding toward us. “Oh my God!” I gasped, desperately swerving out of its way. But it was too late. We were struck—hard—on the passenger side. Screaming with terror, I helplessly gripped the wheel as my car flipped, slamming upside down onto its roof, then flipped to the driver’s side, where we skidded down the road until we finally came to a stop. “Sammie! Sydney! Are you okay?” I blurted. In the position I was in, I was unable to see the girls. I could hear Sydney crying. But I didn’t hear a peep…

When I was growing up, our family spent many summer afternoons at Lake Michigan. Though most people don’t realize it, the Great Lakes, with their crashing waves and strong currents, can be as exciting—and as dangerous—as the ocean. One August afternoon when I was 12, it was rather breezy. But that didn’t deter my older brother and me from braving the water. Though I wasn’t a particularly strong swimmer, close to the shore and with him nearby, I felt safe. We were delighted to discover a sandbar a couple hundred feet out, and we were having a ball splashing around in the waist-deep water. Suddenly, the wind picked up, as did the waves—and a strong undertow pulled us right off the edge of the sandbar. In deep water, our feet…

“No human could run away or walk away that quickly, especially on the icy roadway!” One snowy day in 2009, I headed out with my newborn baby to drop off my 4-year-old son at preschool, a decision I quickly regretted. The roads were more treacherous than I’d realized, and my car got stuck in an icy rut. My instinct was to call my husband, but he was at work on the other side of the city. And with road conditions as bad as they were, I knew any help would take a while to arrive. Before I went into panic mode about being stranded with two young children, I took a deep breath and prayed, “God, please help us! Send an angel to get us out of this mess!” I…

years ago, after spending the evening shopping, I left a New Jersey mall around 9 pm on a cold night. The weather was not only frigid, it was also pouring rain. I got behind the steering wheel thinking how glad I would be to get home. I drove just a couple of blocks, then turned onto the highway entrance ramp—and that’s when my car stopped dead. With traffic coming up behind me, I was a sitting duck. When I couldn’t start the car, I frantically put it in park, turned the flashers on and ran across the highway to a convenience store. Shaking, I called for roadside assistance. My heart sank when the customer service representative told me that I should expect a tow truck in about an hour. By…

“I couldn’t speak past the lump in my throat, but no more words were needed… I knew I’d delivered a special message” When my husband and I decided to have breakfast at Cracker Barrel one day, I noticed a woman, sitting alone, and… What a great haircut! I thought. Her brown hair was cut in a pixie style, and though I tried not to stare, I couldn’t stop myself! Maybe I could get that cut, I thought. The waitress brought our food, but I resolved that before we left, I’d ask the woman for her hairdresser’s name and number. Now, anyone who knows me could tell you how unusual that was…but that hair had me riveted! After our meal, I looked around. Oh, no! I realized. The woman in the…

During an annual exam a few yeas ago, my doctor found a small lump in my groin. She was able to remove it right then and there, and as she sent it off for biopsy, I told myself: Try not to worry. This is probably nothing. Unfortunately, though, the lump was cancer, and it had metastasized. I’d need another surgery to remove cancerous cells from the surrounding tissue. On the day of the procedure, as I drove to the hospital with my husband, my heart pounded. Once there, I changed into a gown and robe and was placed on a stretcher in a huge room to wait… and wait…and wait. It felt like forever until a surgeon even came in to speak with me. “Please rest,” he said gently. “It’s…

Like most college kids, I was eager to travel the world. So when, at age 20, I had the opportunity to take a trip from my native Canada through the U.S. and Mexico, I was very excited. My mom, though, was reluctant to let me go. “Don’t worry,” I said, reminding her of the cross I wore on a silver chain around my neck. “God will watch over me.” Now, after six weeks on the road, I was almost home. It was just after midnight on a snowy night when my bus pulled into the Kingston, Ontario, station. Shivering, I slipped my backpack over my shoulder. Taking a taxi was out of the question: I’d spent my last dollar on the bus from the airport. Still, I was determined not…

“I felt compelled to take a different route home…and I couldn’t believe what I found!” Several years ago, I relocated from New Jersey to Florida to be near my son and his family. I enjoyed being with my grandchildren and the sunshine, but I missed my daughter terribly! Linda and I had always been exceptionally close. Though we still talked on the phone every day, it wasn’t the same as being able to give her a hug or relax at my kitchen table together, chatting over coffee. So we were both thrilled when Linda found a job in Florida. But with only one week between her old job ending and the new one starting, she wondered how she’d ever find a place to live. “I’ll help,” I promised. But the…

For many years, I worked as a bus driver for a company that paid a good salary with benefits. But when the economy took a turn for the worse, I found myself unemployed. I wasted no time in sending out résumés, and every day, I’d check my mailbox and email. But…nothing. Eventually, with my unemployment benefits running out, I took a 14-hour per week job driving a school bus. I was thankful for the income, but the pay was minimal and I didn’t get benefits. How am I going to make ends meet? What will I do if I can’t? I lay awake worrying at night. Then one day while grocery shopping, I decided to treat myself to a Woman’s World magazine. As soon as I returned home, I turned…

When I was growing up, whenever I’d hit a rough spot, I knew just where to go. My grandmother’s house was my sanctuary. Day or night, she’d greet me with wide-open arms and a smile glowing like sunshine. Settling me at the kitchen table, she’d serve me a bowl of vanilla ice cream and listen as I poured out my heart. “I know it’s hard,” she’d soothe, her warm eyes glistening with wisdom. “But no matter how big this may seem, it’s nothing compared to a rainbow.” Though I didn’t really understand what she meant, just being with her—and hearing those words—always made me feel better. Years later, after my grandmother was gone, I found myself in a dark place. Depressed, feeling abandoned by Grandma—and by God—my health cycled downward,…

Back in the early ’90s, my mother and I faced a sad task. The house our family had lived in since 1939 was in great disrepair, and we had neither the skills nor the money to fix it. My daughter was 5 years old at the time, and we wanted her to have a nice home to grow up in. With this in mind, we called a real estate agent, who was a trusted friend. After looking over the house, he said we would never get a decent price through a traditional sale and suggested that we consider auctioning it instead. But we were told the house would have to sell as an “absolute auction,” which meant bidding started at $1. Needless to say, we were worried about getting enough…

When I was a little girl, my father did woodworking as a hobby. To earn a little extra money, he’d often sell pieces he made. But there was one piece I wished that he’d never sold: a beautiful baby cradle he crafted when I was 13. “Someday when I have a baby, I want you to make one for me,” I told him. But tragically, just four years later, an auto accident took my beloved father from me. In the years that followed, there wasn’t a day when I didn’t miss Daddy. Especially when my husband and I welcomed our first two children. How I longed for that cradle, as I tucked each of them into bed. Then in 2011—after being told we would never have another child—we were blessed…

It was the middle of summer, and my garden was in full bloom, but the beauty of it was invisible to me. I sat on the garden bench, my eyes blurred with tears, my heart heavier than it had ever been in my life. You see, just days earlier, I had lost my beautiful son, Donnie, in a motorcycle accident. There is never a good time to say goodbye to someone we love, and it never seems right or fair for a parent to outlive her child. Donnie had been just 37, and the light of so many people’s lives—including the three beautiful children he’d left behind. Oh, Donnie, I wept. How will we go on without you? So as I sat in the garden, I sent up a prayer…

My grandfather and I were always very close. Some of my fondest childhood memories include going to fairs and blueberry picking with him. And every year, when the Ice Capades came to town, he’d surprise me with front-row seats. Sadly, he passed away when I was 18. Prior to getting this devastating news, I was asleep in my bed, and I was suddenly awakened by an unexplained presence of love sweeping over me. I sat straight up in bed, knowing that it was my grandfather telling me goodbye. Seconds later, the phone rang, and I heard my mother talking to a nurse at the hospital, letting us know that he had indeed passed away. After my grandfather went to Heaven, my mother told me stories from her childhood, when he…

Growing up, I couldn’t have asked for a more protective or loving brother. And when my daughter, Lisa, was born, her Uncle Frank shared his love with my little girl too. So when he was taken from us—too young, too early—we were shattered. Every day, I prayed for a sign that Frank was okay and still with us. And the signs did come: little things, like a sound, a dream or a sense of his presence, that made me think he was still hanging around. Then something happened that left no doubt at all… My granddaughter, Samantha, was 5 when, while visiting her other grandparents, Charlotte and Jim, they were involved in a car accident and were hit almost head-on. Thankfully, no one was killed, but Samantha was badly injured.…

My dad and I were always very close. He was a loving, doting father. He was also a proud World War II veteran who selflessly devoted his time to help other veterans and their families. A history buff, my father collected Abraham Lincoln memorabilia all his life. You could ask him any question about Lincoln, and he would provide the answer without hesitation. He could name dates and places and even the tiniest of details about Lincoln’s life. When Dad passed away, I was heartbroken. I couldn’t imagine my life without him in it. I often asked the angels to send me a sign that he was okay and still with me, and whenever I did, I would always find a Lincoln-head penny. Instantly, my heart would lift, knowing it…

“A feeling of peace washed over me as though I’d just been hugged by my mom” My mother and I had many things in common, including a love of animals. Mom especially adored birds. She would sit for hours by the window in the family room, watching her feathered friends flit from tree to tree, splash around in the birdbath and nibble on the seeds she left out for them. Mother’s favorite winged creatures were cardinals. Because cardinals are shy and skittish, their rare visits meant a lot to her. Her face would light up at the sound of their high-pitched “cheeping” that announced their arrival. She loved the beautiful red birds so much that my sister and I always knew what gifts Mom would like most. Cardinal pictures, pillows,…

I’d always been very healthy, so I was shocked and terrified when I began having chest pains and had to be rushed to the hospital! After running several tests, doctors told me I had four blockages and would need immediate open-heart surgery. I’m a devoted fan of Woman’s World and especially love the “My Guardian Angel” column. I have been inspired by the many stories from readers who have called upon the angels for help in difficult situations. So while waiting for surgery, I said a prayer, asking the angels to help me get through the operation and have a full recovery. Almost immediately, a man wearing a white suit came into my room and introduced himself as my anesthesiologist. His last name was long and very difficult to pronounce,…

My mom and I have always believed in angels. So when I received a call from Mom’s neighbor, saying she’d fallen in her house, I sent up a prayer to the angels to please let Mom be okay. When I got to Mom’s house, there was a package on the porch. Hastily, I carried the box inside. Just then, paramedics arrived. At the hospital, X-rays showed that my mother had broken her arm in two places and would need surgery. When I frantically explained that Mom could not survive an operation because of her fragile heart and lungs, the doctor put her in a traction brace, hoping the bones would fuse together. But he felt certain that she’d have to wear the brace for life. “Don’t lose hope, Mom,” I…

The summer before my senior year of high school, my father passed away. I was devastated by this loss and became deeply depressed. Then that fall, I was in a terrible car accident and suffered a crushed pelvis, broken ribs and internal bleeding. The pain was constant and unbearable, and my body felt as broken as my heart that was still aching over the loss of my dad. I just didn’t want to live anymore. I wanted to give up altogether. One night, a nurse called my mom to say they were very concerned about me because I still wasn’t eating or drinking. Mom called me in tears, begging me to be strong and fight. I was in so much pain and so sad over Dad, I honestly felt like…

“‘Don’t worry,’ he said as he winked at me. ‘Everything will be okay.’” After four major illnesses in eight years, my husband, Glenn, had finally made it through the year with no health issues—until severe pain landed him in the hospital on Christmas Eve. With two small children and a third on the way, I’d been so excited about Christmas. Now, I had no interest or energy for midnight Mass. But 8-year-old Julie and 4-year-old Greg begged to go. We arrived late, and the only parking spot was six blocks away on a deserted, dead-end street. Ten minutes into the service, both children were fast asleep. Suddenly, all I could think about was, How are we going to get back to the car? If I tried to carry one sleeping…

When I became pregnant with my second child, I was thrilled and excited. I felt wonderful throughout my pregnancy and had an easy delivery. My husband and I were full of joy to have such a beautifully perfect daughter. However, about an hour after her birth, I felt a guiding presence by my side that urged me to ask to have a blood test done on my new bundle of joy. I buzzed for the nurse and made my request. She looked at me very oddly and asked why I would want her blood tested. I actually had no idea, but something made me blurt out, “I believe she’s jaundiced!” The nurse replied, “Newborns don’t get jaundice until they are a day or two old!” I again felt a presence…

“If I hadn’t been told to stop, I probably would have been killed!” When my children were very young, I took a job working nights at a home-improvement store so I could be with my daughters during the day. One evening, I was driving home from work close to midnight. It was a weeknight, and there was very light traffic on the roads. I had to go through four traffic lights. I sailed through the first two without having to stop, and as I approached the third light, which was located at a very busy intersection, I noticed it was also green. Luck is on my side, I thought. But suddenly, I felt a benevolent presence that gave me goose bumps, and I heard a voice say, “Come to a…

Something was wrong, I just knew it. From the moment I’d arrived at work, I’d felt a kind of urgency, as if something dreadful had happened. At first, I thought it was just my grief. Two weeks earlier, I’d lost the man who had given my life meaning—my father. But, no, this felt different. Bewildered, I tried to focus on work. I have to calm down, I told myself. But that only made me think of Dad even more. He was the one who’d always gotten me through things like this. In fact, just the day before, missing him, I’d tried to conjure the memory of his smile when instantly, I was enveloped by the strong scent of roses. Dad knew I loved roses. I’d watch him tend them in…

Throughout my life, I have received numerous blessings from the angels, but recently, an angel intervened at a critical moment and literally saved my life. It was my turn to clean the rain gutters on our house. This required climbing up a 15-foot nursery ladder. Since I was home alone, I thought about waiting until someone else was there, but I had done this chore many times and felt confident that I would be okay. “My fall stopped in midair as I was slowly pushed upward!” I slowly and carefully climbed up, step by step. All was going well. But just as I reached the 14th step, my foot slipped and I felt myself lurch backward. My heart pounding, I reached out but just couldn’t grab hold of the ladder…

My grandmother always told me, “Angels watch out for us.” And I have no doubt that she was right. Then two nights later, the doorbell rang. A couple stood on my doorstep asking, “Could we see the motorcycle you’re selling?” It started on a Tuesday evening, when a man called asking about a motorcycle we had for sale. “We don’t have a motorcycle!” I told him. “You must have dialed the wrong number.” How odd! I thought. There must be a newspaper ad misprinted with my address in it, I reasoned. Then that Saturday, I dreamed I was watching a motorcycle speeding up a mountain road…and suddenly plunging over the side. I awoke with a start. What’s with all the motorcycles? I scoffed. We don’t even own one! That very…

“‘Dear Lord, what are we going to do?’ I prayed. Just then, there was a knock at the door” The day after a horrific storm blew through our neighborhood, we woke to find a huge 90-foot-tall pine hovering precariously over our driveway! But with no electricity, phones or internet, and the cell towers all but taken over by FEMA, it was nearly impossible to call for help. And when we did eventually reach a tree service, we were told it would be five to six weeks before anyone could come out to help us! By some miracle, the giant tree had caught in the branches of our old oak, but we could see that if it wasn’t cleared soon, its weight would overwhelm the smaller tree, sending both crashing into…

Last year, after a car accident, I lost not only my car but also my job when my injuries made it impossible for me to work. I couldn’t do much except shuttle between physical therapy and the doctor’s office. Though I was grateful to be alive, each day was a struggle, and I plunged into depression. Then I learned that the man who’d hit my car had no insurance. There’d be no money to cover medical bills or replace my car! What am I going to do? I wept. Feeling like God had completely abandoned me, I found myself driving to the doctor in my borrowed truck, praying: Please help me! A moment later, I glanced at the clock and realized I had to take my medication. Knowing I should…

Divorce? That word wasn’t even in my vocabulary. When I’d taken my vow “Till death do us part,” I truly believed I was making a commitment for life. But after 30 years, the foundation of my marriage had slipped away, and all the patching up we’d tried to do still couldn’t hold it together. I retreated to the woods to ponder the fact that, heartbreaking as it was, my marriage was over. Normally, whenever I was going through a challenge, I would have called my friend Joy for moral support. But this, I knew, was something I had to do on my own. I paced the rooms of the cabin, staring at the magnificent oaks that stretched into the forest. I had asked for many signs throughout my life, and…

“From out of the blue, a tall man appeared and stepped in front of me, acting as a shield between the two men and me” It was still dark out when I left my New York City home to catch a bus to work. As I hurried along the tree-lined streets of my neighborhood, my thoughts were filled with love for my husband and our newborn baby, who were still sleeping when I’d left that morning. Upon reaching the well-lit bus stop, everything was quiet as usual. But then my heart began racing with panic as a car drove slowly past, coming to an abrupt stop at the corner. In shock, I watched as two men got out of the vehicle and began walking toward me. I looked all around,…

When I was 8 years old, while visiting my aunt, I went outside with my cousin to play, and took my 4-year-old brother, David, along. We had been warned to steer clear of an abandoned reservoir located behind her property. But being kids, that’s exactly where we headed—and to my horror, David fell in! Heart pounding, I pulled off my shoes and jumped in, cutting my foot as I did. I managed to grab hold of him, but I quickly grew weak and felt myself sinking. My cousin wore heavy leg braces due to polio, so I knew he could never walk fast enough to get assistance. I cried out: “God, please send someone to help us!” Just then I heard a voice call down. “Get your brother to grab…

One day, climbing out of the car at church, I noticed that my beloved heart bracelet was missing. I knew I hadn’t taken it off—in fact, I almost always wear it. But after my husband and I searched the car and surrounding area, I said, “It’s probably at home.” Back home, though, after a thorough search of the house and path to the car, it was nowhere to be found. I knew I had to face facts: My bracelet was gone. Then I had an idea. We each have a guardian angel… I thought. So I whispered, “Guardian angel, please help us find my bracelet…” The next Sunday, we pulled into the church parking lot like always. But as I stepped from the car, I noticed something glimmering in the…

From the moment my daughter, Danielle, could sit in a high chair, we started taking her to our local Italian restaurant. There, she seemed to charm everyone as she squeaked out her first words and learned to find her mouth with wiggly strands of spaghetti. One waitress, Frances, took a special liking to Danielle. “What a little angel!” she’d always say as Danielle grew. And one day, Frances surprised us with a gift for our little angel: a tiny sparkling gold angel pendant. As I placed the angel pendant on the gold chain that Danielle already wore with her little cross, both my daughter and Frances beamed. Then one afternoon, Danielle came indoors after walking in my parents’ garden. “Oh no!” my mother gasped, noticing immediately. Danielle’s necklace was gone!…

“Suddenly, I felt a firm yet gentle push on my back—but when I turned, no one was there!” My dad was in the Navy, so we moved a lot. At just 6 years old, I had already lived in a whole new country: Italy! I had to become accustomed to new faces, new foods and a whole new language. When we came back to America, I started a new school and needed to make new friends and learn new ways of doing things. It was tough. Needless to say, my head was often as jumbled as our house was as my parents unpacked and tried to make our new place truly a home. For a little girl, it was overwhelming, and in the confusion, I’d already misplaced several homework assignments.…

One night as I was getting ready for bed, as always, I placed my rings on the ring holder that sits on a shelf in a closet by our bathroom. The next morning, I found two of my rings lying beside the ring holder, but my beautiful diamond from my husband of 41 years and the diamond ring guard from my grandmother had vanished. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I scoured the closet, but the ring and ring guard weren’t there. Frantic, I started searching the house, even looking in places that I knew they would never be. I checked my purse, taking everything out of it at least five times. I was devastated that I had lost something that was so precious to me. Every day, I searched my…

Recently, I was feeling eager to travel and began looking into international destinations. As I did, I decided to get my passport from my purse, where I usually keep it, but it wasn’t there! I searched my countertops, cabinets and my bedside nightstand. The following day, I rummaged through the filing cabinet, car consoles, my jewelry box and a few other places. Still, no sign of my passport. I even began housecleaning, hoping to come across it. A few weeks later, my house was tidier, but the passport was still missing. I knew it was time for an intervention, so I turned to the angels. On a Saturday morning, I asked the angels to guide me to my passport and let me know when I was close to finding it.…