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I was maybe 17 years old. I was standing on the side of Walden Avenue in rush hour traffic next to my mom’s car which had a very flat tire. I was supposed to pick her up from work within the hour.
A friend and I had gone shopping at the Walden Galleria mall which at the time was the bougie mall in the area. It was fancy and bigger than our usual mall and I had been excited to drive there after school to go shopping.
On my way out of the parking lot, as I attempted to enter the highway to go home and fetch my mom, I hit a curb. Hard. And now I was on the side of a very busy road with a flat tire and a knot of anxiety growing in my belly.
Curiously, I remember what I was wearing, which is a strange quirk I have. I can remember outfits for years but ask me what I ate for breakfast, and I will come up empty.
As I stood there, in my Kelly green and hot pink striped t-shirt from the Gap, I was clueless as to my next move. I did know that my mom was going to be mad at me, and that fact alone seemed to make everything worse.
And just like that, a man in a flannel shirt came walking over the hill to change the tire. It was like Michael Landon from “Highway to Heaven”. The guy just appeared. I don’t even recall seeing his vehicle. He changed the tire and pointed out to me that the hub cap was broken.
I don’t even know what I said. I am sure I said something. The things I remember most are the feeling of relief when he showed up and the shock when my mother didn’t freak out when she heard what had happened.
I recall I had to pay for the hub cap. Did you know it costs more to get one than four new ones? It’s true, or at least it was back then.
I was listening to a podcast the other day and the host of the pod was telling a story about a time a stranger paid for her groceries. She had been down on her luck and was having a hard time. When she got to the register the cashier let her know that her order was covered by the previous customer. That customer left before she even had a chance to thank her or even catch a good look at her. She was in tears with relief, and it changed her life.
The other woman on the podcast said, “Oh, she must’ve been an Earth angel.”
Huh?
I had never heard of such a thing, but it immediately reminded me of my first flat tire experience. (If you want to read about my second flat tire experience, read: https://www.henscrossing.com/post/life-is-a-highway)
And then I started thinking of other times that magical, lovely people came in and did something truly remarkable.
If you have been reading my stories long enough, you may recall the story about Father Raphael visiting my mom’s hospital room in Florida. Long story short, my best friend had just moments before sent a text with a prayer about Archangel Raphael who is all about healing. Coincidence that moments later a priest named Raphael walks in the room? The next layer of magic occurred when Father Raphael shared that he was from St. John Vianney’s church local to Orlando where we were. This was also the name of the Buffalo based parish that my very saintly grandfather had been a long-time member of. He died just 7 months previous to this experience.
Father Raphael definitely left me with my mouth hanging open. (For the full story, read here: https://www.henscrossing.com/post/if-you-make-sure-you-re-connected-the-writing-s-on-the-wall)
Earth angel? Sure! If that is what he was, he was definitely sent by my grandfather to let us know my mom was not alone in her struggle.
I can think of at least five more examples of these sorts of moments in my life. One was not so lovely and straight forward. Because it is always my intention to be 100% genuine with my readers, I will share it with you here.
Back when I was still drinking alcohol, I found myself in a precarious position while on a girl’s weekend excursion. I had wandered off from my friends because I needed to go to bed and I got lost. While I was wandering, I fell down. This nice older couple pulled up in a van, put me inside and seemed to know where my condo was when I clearly could not find it. They took me to the condo and helped me onto the porch.
Again, I only remember the relief and feeling of safety when they picked me up.
Ok, yes, not wise to get in a van with strangers in an altered state or ever really. Maybe it was the vodka speaking, but in that moment, I felt so sure these people were safer than staying on the side of the road.
Earth angels? I sure hope so. I was most definitely protected in that moment.
I know there are some people who do what I do who seem to have all the answers about these sorts of things. A quick Google search on this topic reveals there are many books written on the subject. I haven’t read any of them; I only write from my own experience.
Have you had an "Earth Angel" experience? I would love to hear it if so!
This topic brings me back to why I started this blog in the first place: to share about these sorts of experiences that we all have to make them more normal to talk about! The more we share our magical experiences, the more we can start to accept that there is more to this life than just a bunch of angry divided people on a planet.
Tell me your stories! I want to learn and be wowed!
Love, Christy
xoxo
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