Angel Story?

I love to hear the personal stories of other people. When I meet someone new , I like to ask a lot of questions once I'm feeling more comfortable in our acquaintance. I try to be careful because I don't want to cross a line so the person will not think I'm being nosy or have an ulterior motive.

Whenever I go to a bookstore, I am often drawn to the biographies of other people. I sometimes go directly to the photos that are usually included. As they say, a photo can be worth a thousand words. I can sit right on the floor with coffee carefully placed on the shelf next to me, and get lost for a couple of hours in someone else's journey.

I seem to be in a phase where I'm telling some of my own personal stories. When we share our experiences with others I believe it adds a whole new dimension to our personal connection with other people. It reminds us we are not alone in the world. 

I was moving from the Midwest part of the country back to the East Coast. I was driving as I had to bring my car with me obviously. Just as I was leaving Missouri, a blizzard started on the East Coast. We have not had a storm like this since, and it is known around here as the Blizzard of '96 I believe. I had to stop in Ohio, and ended up spending 3 nights there as it simply wasn't safe to drive.

When I learned the interstate was cleared and safe for driving, I reluctantly continued on the rest of my journey. I probably could have waited another day, but I just wanted to get home. As I started out in Ohio, I heard this awful noise coming from my car, but I had no idea what it was. I had done many long distance drives before, but this alarmed me in a way as I didn't want to be stranded. Because of the sort of noise it was, I was concerned it could be serious.

I drove over to the side of the highway to look at the car. A couple of times I attempted to start out again, but the same noise was still there. Finally I simply said, "Jesus help me."
I went over to the side of the highway again, and suddenly looking up, I noticed a blue van parked in front me. I didn't see this van previously anywhere, and I hadn't even seen it pull over.

Of course my natural instinct was to be very careful....as I had no idea what this was about yet. I actually attempted to pull out and drive two more times, and every time I did, this van would pull out with me. When I went back to the side of the highway, this van did as well.

Finally with both my car and this van parked again, someone got out of the van and started walking toward my car. Two men followed behind, both smoking cigarettes. I thought this detail was humorous, if in fact this was a supernatural situation unfolding. They were all dressed in blue mechanics uniforms. The man who left the van first politely leaned over and asked if he could help me, as I pulled my window down just a little so we could speak. The other two men stayed behind him but didn't say anything to me. It seemed they were waiting to take orders, and that's it. The man who spoke to me seemed to have some sort of authority which I thought was interesting.

I told him my problem and he immediately suspected there was ice in my brakes, and told me not to worry. I felt a little silly, but I had never encountered such a noise before, so I really didn't know. He said that just in case it was something else, he would lead me to the nearest service station if I would follow him. He also told me the name of the station and exactly where we were going. He made a point of telling me that we were not going off any main roads, and that I would very easily be able to get back on the main highway.

I started out following them, and it was just as he had said. When I got to my destination I looked for them to say goodbye or wave but I did not see this van anywhere.

I'll never know for sure if these men were indeed angels, but I will always wonder. I'm not one to really even look for interaction with angels, but I have never been able to get past an inner knowing if you will that, in this case, they might have been.

Whether they were or not, the swiftness in which a prayer for help was answered is a beautiful testimony alone.

"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." [Hebrews 13:2]