Where Angels Tread--Real Stories of Miracles and Angelic Intervention
Proposal
by
Leslie Rule
Chelsea Banton's mother did not think her daughter would make it to fifteen.
Born five weeks premature, she had been chronically ill her entire life. Now, the 14year-old was in Charlotte, North Carolina's, Presbyterian Hospital with a case of
pneumonia so severe that doctors offered no hope. The heartbroken family made the
decision to take her off life support.
An hour later a nurse noticed a startling image on the security monitor and called
others to look. A tall, glowing figure with what appeared to be wings stood just outside
the door to the girl's room.
"It's an angel!" cried Chelsea's mother. She got out her camera and snapped a
picture.
As an awed group of hospital staff gathered to gawk at the monitor, Chelsea
began to recover. Within an hour of the angel sighting, she had improved significantly.
She celebrated her fifteenth birthday on Christmas day, 2008, at home with her
family.
Chelsea's angel story is no fairy tale.
It was reported by Charlotte, North Carolina's, WBTV, complete with the photo for
proof. But if a 2007 Gallup Poll is any indication, people don't need much convincing.
In fact, 75 percent of Americans believe in angels!
As I cast my net for real life cases of miracles and angels, I soon learned why so
many believe. Nearly everyone I have asked has some firsthand knowledge of an angel
encounter or a miraculous rescue.
My own literary agent, Sheree Bykofsky, told me of her sadness thirty years ago
as she walked through Manhattan. A shabbily dressed man sat on the sidewalk with
his back against a brick wall as he played a guitar. "Lose your smile and you lose
everything," he told her. The words jolted her as she realized they were true. She
smiled at him and began to feel better. The homeless "man's" message stayed with her
through the years, largely because of the music she had heard. The distinctive sound
of guitar strumming was unmistakable. "But there were no strings on the guitar,"
Sheree said. She decided he was an angel.
It is a widely held belief that angels can appear as the traditionally depicted
celestial beings with wings and halos, as ordinary humans, or as animals.
In some cases, what appear to be humans or animals are actually angels in
disguise. At other times, angels are simply acting through humans or animals.
In many instances, the angels are not seen but felt. A Portland, Oregon, Chef told
me of a harrowing moment when, as a teenager, he was climbing a cliff with friends. His
pals had made it to the top but he found himself clinging precariously to a ledge. A fall
would be deadly and he was washed with terror as he realized he was losing his grip.
Suddenly he felt himself lifted to safety.
It may very well be angels working behind the scenes when any miracle occurs.
Certainly, there is some kind of divine intervention. Miracles can be big or small.
While writing for Women's World magazine some twenty years ago, I was
assigned the story of a family whose trailer was snatched up by a tornado. The young
couple had been sleeping beside their newborn daughter when they heard what
sounded like a freight train bearing down on them. The father told me of how he held
his baby tight as the trailer was lifted into the air. The child was ripped from his arms
and the next thing he knew, he woke up amidst the ruins. It was eerily silent as his
eyes adjusted to the dark and he began to make out the shapes of the smashed
refrigerator, television, and the debris of the splintered trailer. He found his wife
unharmed but there was no sign of the baby.
The frantic father ran to a relative's nearby home and asked them to bring their car
and shine the headlights on the scene so they could look for the child. They had little
hope, but as they searched, a thin wail pierced the night. They aimed the beams
toward the sound. There was the baby, nestled in a bush. She had survived with just a
scratch.
Of the forty-five stories I wrote for that magazine, this was the rare one that was
"killed."
The reason?
The editor told me that there had been too many recent news stories of babies
surviving falls from the sky.
The angels must have been very busy!
A baby surviving against all odds definitely rates as a big miracle, while an
unexpected reunion with an old friend is a small miracle. A reader and I were recently
emailing about life's amazing little things. She told me of the time she had felt so very
lonely for a friend she had known years before while living in another state. Her efforts
to find her had failed and her husband suggested a drive might cheer her up. They
ended up at an obscure bookstore.
Guess who walked in? The long lost friend.
Some may call it a coincidence but to the reunited friends, it felt like a miracle.
Where Angels Tread will follow the formula of my ghost books with tightly
written stories of amazing, yet very real cases.
Photographs, along with a sprinkling of sidebar articles, will add visual
appeal. Sidebars will include "Angels in the News."
(I created "Ghosts in the News" sidebars for my ghost books and searched
archives for actual new stories. I recapped the accounts, cited the newspapers,
the dates of publication, and credited the reporters.)
Where Angels Tread will feature stories that make the heart sing. The tone
will be joyful with the emphasis on happy endings.
If it is necessary to mention death, the assumption will be that we will one
day be reunited with our loved ones. In fact, some stories will mention relatives
from The Other Side who return to help, such as the case of Susan Walker who
told me of the time she was very sick and woke in the night see a petite, red
haired woman watching over her. "She was wearing a green shirtwaist dress
and I saw a light around her," Susan confided. When she later described the
woman to her mother, she learned that the visiting spirit was her greatgrandmother who died when Susan was small.
Whether they are helpful spirits or heavenly angels, loving beings from The
Other Side are often sensed around those who are extremely ill. Darlene Glover
told me of how frightened she was when her toddler, Stacey, was admitted to the
hospital with pneumonia. The worried mother slept beside Stacey all night and
woke in the morning to see the girl sitting up and smiling with her eyes full of
wonder. "Mommy did you see the angels last night?" Stacey asked excitedly.
"No." replied Darlene. Did you?"
"I heard their wings flapping!" said Stacey.
Today Stacey is a 32-year-old veterinarian technician and she still
remembers that night. "The sound of the flapping wings woke me up," she told
me. "It sounded as if they were circling above me." Though she was too weak to
look up and see them, Stacey knew that angels were with her and was
overwhelmed with a feeling of peace. She does not doubt that the angels healed
her.
The Market
Inspirational books are currently among top sellers. The Secret by Rhonda
Byrne, which teaches the power of positive thought, has sold millions since it
debuted in 2006. Americans are eager to believe and devour books that
reinforce their faith in happy endings. As mentioned earlier, surveys show that
most of us do believe.
With so many believers, it is no wonder that angels are big business. Angel
products became popular in the early 1990s and the trend is still strong.
Publishers have capitalized on our fascination with celestial beings and produced
so many books on the topic that powerhouse Amazon.com has an entire book
category devoted just to angels.
While most of Amazon's blockbuster angel books are instructional, such as
their currently top ranked angel book, Angels 101--an Introduction to Connecting,
Working and Healing with Angels (by Doreen Virtue, Hay House 2006), a few are
collections of true stories of angel encounters such as those by journalist Joan
Wester Anderson. Between 1993 and 2008, she authored a series of seven
bestselling books of real angel stories, including In the Arms of Angels--True
Stories of Heavenly Guardians (2004 Loyola Press) In addition, Joan Wester
Anderson has published two books on miracles. (Miracles and angels go hand in
hand and more than a couple of authors have noted this and combined the two.)
Over 20 books on either angels or miracles are currently selling in the top
five percent of all books available on Amazon.com with a half dozen of those
falling into the top two percent. For example, Into the Light--Real Life Stories
about Angelic Visits, Visions of the Afterlife and other Pre-death Experiences (by
John Lerma, New Page Books 2007) is ranked in the top one percent.
The fact that angel and miracle books continue to sell well is promising-especially for a book that fills a special niche with verifiable cases and
photographs.
While many of the books on the topic are well written, the stories too often
sound like fiction. As a reader, I find myself wondering if the authors simply
made up the stories or embellished the facts. I want to believe, but how can I
when real names are not used? Are the witnesses ashamed to share? Why
won't they stand behind their words?
And why aren't photographs provided? I want to see pictures of the people
who experienced such amazing things.
It was this same lack of evidence that left me unconvinced and a little empty
when I was a reader of ghost stories.
Where Angels Tread will not only be entertaining and visually appealing, the
provided proof will reinforce readers' faith in the magic of divine intervention and
leave them with a smile.
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At last count, my four ghost books have sold a combined total of about
140,000 copies. With my already solid base of readers of paranormal books,
Where Angels Tread will get a head start on sales and capture readers of
Christmas books as well as fans of spiritual/Inspirational books.
Promotion
Since the publication of Coast to Coast Ghosts in 2001, I've been interviewed
over 500 times on the radio. I suspect that the same hosts who invite me on their
shows to talk about hauntings will be just as excited about miracles.
December will be an excellent time to push Where Angels Tread, particularly
because I will include a chapter on Christmas Miracles. The fact that shoppers are
actively looking for gifts in December should give sales an extra boost.
In addition to radio interviews, I've appeared on television a few times and been
featured in a number of newspaper articles. I've also been invited several times to write
articles on the paranormal--including the November, 2005 feature on ghosts I penned
for Readers's Digest.
My existing media contacts should certainly help with the promotion of Where
Angels Tread.
The Stories
Where Angels Tread will be broken into approximately ten chapters, each
following a particular theme including "Animal Miracles," "Saved by an Angel,"
and "Angels on the Road."
The chapter "Angels on the Road" will feature cases of celestial beings
assisting travelers. For example, Lelabelle Wolfert, an Albuquerquie, New
Mexico, author told me of her arduous automobile trip across the country in the
1930s. Lellabelle was only five when she and her mother and 14-year-old sister
traveled to California to see relatives.
When Lelabelle's exhausted mother dozed off while driving, the teenage
sister tearfully grabbed the wheel and steered them off the road.
Soon after, they pulled into a diner where a man approached them,
introducing himself as Gabe.
The stranger told him that he had lost his family in a disaster and needed a
ride to San Francisco, their destination.
Lelabelle's mother noted that he had the cleanest hands she'd ever seen
and decided he was safe. The trip went smoothly after that, with Gabe sharing
the driving and even changing a flat tire.
"My sister asked him if Gabe was short for Gabrielle," remembers
Lelabelle. "He smiled and said it was."
When they reached San Francisco, Gabe insisted on being dropped off on
the side of the road. "He got out of the car," said Lelabelle. "My mother wanted
to say goodbye to him but first she leaned over the seat to get her purse out of
the backseat. When she got out of the car he was nowhere in sight. He just
disappeared."
The chapter "Saved by an Angel" will include the case of a group of people
who were in the first of the twin towers hit by planes on infamous September 11,
2001.
Shortly after the first plane struck, dozens of people were headed down the
stairs but their progress was slowed by a pregnant woman who was leading the
way. People were concerned about her, sure she must be hallucinating when
she repeatedly stopped to complain about the bright light that was blocking the
way.
No one else saw a bright light but they patiently waited for her to descend
the stairs. Suddenly, the stairwell on the floor below them collapsed.
The mysterious light had stalled the group, preventing them from stepping
onto the collapsing steps.
The delayed group found another exit and survived the disaster.
The story of a Port St. Lucie, Florida, hound who was trained to rescue
children will be included as a "Miracle in the News," in the chapter, "Animal
Miracles." Hunter the hound actually flunked out of training and was adopted out
to a family. Shortly after acquiring Hunter, new owner Reyna Zurita arrived home
one afternoon and as she opened the door, the dog pushed past her and took
off. She chased him as he led her to a home half a mile away and discovered an
unconscious infant on the lawn.
The baby's mother had stepped away while bathing him and returned to find
him beneath the water. She then raced outside and deposited him on the grass
and ran to look for help.
Reyna Zurita performed CPR and saved the child's life.
The chapter "Christmas Miracles" will showcase stories of miraculous
events that happen around Christmas including the following sidebar:
Christmas Miracle in the News
A cat named Angel was the star of a Colorado family's very own Christmas
miracle according to a December 24th, 2004, issue of the Aspen Times.
Journalist Janet Urquhart reported on the heartwarming case of a pretty white cat
who vanished from his home at Christmastime five years earlier and was
believed to be lost forever.
Sam Mosher told the reporter how she and her children, Lindsey and
Parker, had adopted two cats, Fly and Angel, from an area shelter a decade
before and were brokenhearted when Angel disappeared, apparently taken by a
predator.
Five years passed and it was one week before Christmas when 22-year-old
Lindsey dreamed of the long lost Angel. The next morning she picked up the
latest edition of the Aspen Times Weekly and found herself staring at an image of
a cat who looked just like their missing Angel. The photograph of the white cat
with one blue and one green eye accompanied an article featuring adoptable
shelter pets.
By coincidence or miracle, wrote Janet Urquhart, the cat was selected over
other pets in the shelter's care for the photograph.
Lindsey sprang into action and soon learned that the cat had been found in
the area at the same time Angel went missing and was taken in by a married
couple. When the wife died, the husband took the cat to the shelter.
Shelter workers noted that the underfed feline was very shy but he perked
up as Lindsey called, "Angel!" Angel dashed over to her and began purring.
Angel not only remembered her humans, she was happy to see Fly. The
reporter quoted Lindsey, "Once they got together, they were making little cat-chat
sounds at each other."
The following story will be featured in the chapter "Christmas Miracles."
Mystery Shoppers
Mystery Shoppers
Jonathan was a joyful child who loved to laugh. He looked a little like an
angel, with his head of golden curls and wide innocent eyes. The toddler was
blissfully unaware of his serious health problems.
"He was born with Goldenhar Syndrome," confided his grandmother, Nancy
Fischer, of Lake Canandaigua, New York. She explained that the syndrome
divided his body down the middle from his head to his waist, with one half
functioning normally and the opposite side plagued with cranial and vertebral
deformities. The features on half of his face were malformed but those who
loved him saw only his beautiful spirit.
Jonathan's mother, Cheri Smith, worried about his future. Doctors had told
her that the little boy would have to endure many surgeries in the years to come.
Both she and her mother, Nancy, prayed he would not suffer.
In June of 1998 Jonathan was just 18 months old when a complication
related to his condition suddenly and unexpectedly took his life. Mother and
daughter fell into each other's arms. They grieved for the little boy but vowed to
accept his death as a blessing. They knew his spirit was intact and that they
would one day see him again. They took comfort in the fact that Jonathan would
never have to face another painful procedure.
Cheri knew she had to go on for Jonathan's baby brother, four-month old
Andrew, and she tried to be strong but the next months were tough. As
Christmas approached, the sadness deepened.
"We couldn't help thinking of the year before, when Jonathan was with us,"
Cheri told me. "Mom was trying to cheer me up and suggested that we go
Christmas shopping." Though her heart wasn't in it, Cheri went along.
Christmas music wafted through the large discount store as Cheri strapped
Andrew into a cart. The women meandered down an aisle, trying to get
enthused about the merchandise.
"We noticed two people walking toward us," said Nancy. "They were
pushing carts and smiling at us and looking at us with such loving eyes."
Nancy and Cheri returned the smiles, thinking of little Jonathan as they
noticed that the shoppers had facial birth defects. "We had such a tenderness
for that," said Nancy. "We turned a corner and saw another person with a birth
defect. And then we saw another!"
Cheri and Nancy glanced at each other. "It was very strange," said Nancy.
"Everywhere we looked we saw someone with a disability. They were all smiling
at us."
With each corner they turned, they encountered another shopper with a
facial distortion who gazed at them with an innocent joy.
"I wondered if they were with a group," Nancy remembered. "I thought they
might be on an outing. I looked around but didn't see a nurse or an assistant. "
"We saw at least 15 people over the next fifteen minutes," said Cheri,
explaining that each one had the same special quality. And each one met their
eyes and smiled warmly.
The women were perplexed by the unusual situation but they continued to
shop. As they went down the toy aisle, Cheri spotted a toy that Jonathan would
have enjoyed.
With a lump in her throat, she walked on by and was just about to exit the
aisle when a man pushed his shopping cart in her path.
"He blocked our way!" Cheri told me. Nancy and Cheri watched the man,
wondering what he was up to. "He was short and bald and looked to be about
sixty," said Cheri. "He had the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. He stood
there for the longest time."
Cheri stared back at him, mesmerized by the deep blue eyes that seemed
to see right into her soul. Finally he spoke, his words carefully measured. "I just
wanted to wish you a merry Christmas," he said.
Cheri and Nancy were instantly struck by the same realization. He is an
angel!
Neither spoke the words out loud, but each knew the man was not of this
earth. "I was afraid to look at Mom because I knew I'd start crying," said Cheri.
The women were too dumbstruck to speak as they watched the fellow turn
away. "I took my eyes off of him for just a second and when I looked back he
was gone," said Cheri. "We looked for him. I was actually running through the
store, trying to find him.” But the "man" had vanished.
No human being could have disappeared in the brief moment the women
had looked away. Still, they searched. "We even went outside and looked in the
parking lot," said Cheri.
"All the others were gone too," added Nancy, adding that the store was
once again filled with regular folks. Though the special people had been pushing
shopping carts of merchandise, not a single one was in line at the checkout
counter. Each one had vanished as mysteriously as the man who had blocked
their path.
"We left our carts and went out to the car," said Nancy. "There was no way
we could shop after that. We had realized we'd met an angel at the same
moment," she added, describing the calm certainty that had washed over them.
And they did not doubt that the others were angels, sent to them with a message.
And that message was clear.
Jonathan was okay.
He was in a better place. Though they had believed it before, now their
faith was renewed. Angels had appeared on his behalf.
Just as they had instinctively known that the mystery shoppers were angels,
the women were certain of their message. "That is when the healing began,"
said Cheri.
Today Cheri is the mother of four healthy children. She has shown
Jonathan's siblings the photo albums filled with pictures of the joyful brother they
will never know. And when Cheri and Nancy look at the photographs of the
laughing child, they smile. They still miss him but know that they will see him
again.
Angels bring gifts of all kinds. When they appeared in the store, they
delivered a gift of joy, replacing the grief that ravaged the hearts of the two
women who so loved the little boy with the short and difficult life. Sent by God
and hand delivered by angels who knew just how to appear to reach the women
weighted down by sadness, the message was salve on their wounds.