In The Arms Of Angels

by Karal Ayn Barnett ©1998

In the book, ANGEL LETTERS, Sophie Burnham tells the tale of a navy pilot who, while trying to land his jet on an aircraft carrier, found himself in dire straits over the Pacific. An ensuing storm threatened the landing as the boat tipped and yawed in the raging tide. The pilot tried six times to land his jet. Six times he was waved away. Landing on a moving target would surely be fatal.

Nervously, the pilot reviewed his options. The mountainous, unforgiving ocean made an emergency bail-out hopeless and fear crept into the cockpit. Suddenly, the jet's fuel gauge alarm sounded. The pilot went white-knuckled. He was out of fuel.

In desperation, the pilot reviewed his life. He decided that yes, he wanted to live. But, he prayed, thy will be done.

"Suddenly," he wrote, "A feeling of great warmth, love and indescribable joy overcame me. My anxiety was gone. Although my hands were on the controls, a far better Pilot than me was flying the plane." Without fear, the pilot made another turn back to the ship. He said, "I looked at the ship in utter amazement. It appeared to be floating on top of a huge upwelling of water." When he finally set down on the carrier, his jet was completely out of fuel. The navy pilot had been saved by the loving embrace of an Angel.

This story touched me deeply when I'd first read it. I didn't know that a similar emergency, and miracle, would be waiting for me months ahead? But instead of a near-fatality in the air, mine occurred on terra firma. And, as you can see, I lived to tell my own tale.

It had been raining hard in the desert. The ground was saturated and there was standing water in the road. I was driving my mini-tracker and it was a time of heavy traffic. Though the locals usually have a healthy respect for such dangerous driving conditions, accidents do happen.

As I drove down the road, I wasn't fearful, but I was paying attention. With no warning, my car began to hydroplane, moving sideways. Everything seemed to shift into slow motion. I felt I was losing control. On my left, three lanes of traffic sped in the opposite direction. On my right, bumper to bumper cars and trucks. I was boxed in. Nowhere to turn, no time to think. All I could do was whisper, "Help."

The next thing I knew I felt a Force wrap around me and steady the wheel. Though I can't explain how, it felt as though the car was lifted up just enough to break the surface tension of the water that held a death grip on my vehicle's wheels. In another moment, the rubber met the road once again. I was sitting safely at the stop light. Across the intersection, heavy traffic zipped by. The drivers could never know that, moments before, a calamity had been averted. I had been embraced by an Angel, and many lives had been saved.

The tears well up even now from the awe and wonder of such beings that intervene in human affairs. What does that say about the Divine Mind that created such beings? And what does that say about a humanity who often feel so puny and unimportant in the face of such Magnificence? To me, it says that we are loved beyond our understanding.

Years ago I had a Near Death Experience from anaphylactic shock and chose to come back to finish my work. Perhaps that was why I was saved from this potential disaster. Or maybe it was so I could write this story for anyone who needs to be reminded that Angels are. They do exist. And if you want to know that your Angels are always with you, just ask for help. Just ask. And if you allow, you, too, will know the love and the peace that passes all understanding. ***