Although often depicted with wings in art, in the bible, angels do not have wings.

Lost in the Cold

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On the 28th of October, Michelle went deer hunting in the Oregon wilderness. She promised her father she would meet him in an hour or so at the usual meeting point. Hoisting her gun over her shoulder, she trampled off into the woods, foregoing her jacket as she felt it hindered her ability to hunt.

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Michelle pursued some deer into the Alder Creek Canyon. Close on their tail, she was about to take aim when her foot suddenly slipped and she fell down the canyon into the gorge. 

Her foot was busted, and she could barely hobble to a small shelter before she collapsed from the pain. Michelle quickly realised her dire position. She'd wandered away from her initial hunting grounds, meaning even if a party was sent out they would be hard-pressed to find her. And to top it off a storm was brewing, and she had no way to keep warm. Wrapping her arms around herself, Michelle quietly prayed for a miracle. 

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Meanwhile, her father had already started a wide search of the area. He'd waited for almost three hours at the meeting point before he raced to the local ranger station to get help. Over 100 people would join the search, but even after four days, they couldn't find her.

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By this point, Michelle was barely hanging on. The temperatures were dropping fast, and if she didn't find a way to keep warm, she wouldn't make it another night. She lay curled up on the ground, rubbing her arms with frozen fingers to keep the blood circulation going, when a sudden warmth seeped into her. Blinking awake she could see four bright figures standing around her. They looked human but they resonated warmth and light. Michelle, too tired to even speak, peered up at the figures for as long as she could before collapsing from sheer exhaustion.

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The temperature would continue to drop in the coming days, coming in just below 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) but on 3 November, they finally found Michelle. She'd survived her ordeal, she was dehydrated, starving, but thankfully alive. The park rangers were a little baffled by her survival. She should have died from exposure. Michelle retold the story of the four men who had watched over her the last few days, who had kept her warm long enough until help could arrive. "Like the angels had watched over me."

The Yellow Rose

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Not all angel stories need to be about miracles. Sometimes their worth comes from the simple comfort that there might be someone in our life who watches over us.

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When her husband Rudy passed away, Wilma had felt bereft of something integral to her life. They'd been together for 37 years, and she struggled to adjust to the sudden loneliness. But life, as they say, goes on and so Wilma found herself in the supermarket. It was a struggle to buy anything that day. The old memories rushing up so quickly it left her close to tears around every corner. It was so easy to see Rudy between the aisles already scheming on buying her a few yellow roses. He knew how much she adored her yellow roses.

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At the beef section, she bit back another sharp sting of tears. Rudy had loved his beef, she would sometimes, when they could afford it, buy a nice big juicy one just for him. As she was considering the meat, she spotted a young, pretty blonde woman also considering the beef. She'd pick a piece, huff, put it down, then pick it up again. Realising she was being watched, the young woman gave an uncomfortable laugh, "My husband loves beef," she said, "But it's just so expensive!"

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Wilma swallowed down her growing sorrow and said, "My husband passed away eight days ago," struggling to keep her emotions in check she quickly continued, "Buy your husband the beef and be grateful for every moment you still have with him." Wilma left before she was overwhelmed.

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When she finally approached the register, the blonde woman was waiting for her. For a moment, at least to Wilma, her blonde hair seemed to be glowing. The young woman walked closer with a bright smile and held out three beautiful yellow roses. "These are for you," she said, "I've already paid for them," then she leaned in and pecked Wilma on the cheek, before heading out of the store. 

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Wilma held the roses tight to her chest, feeling a sense of calm wash over her. Rudy, she thought, you really haven't forgotten me. 

The Bridge

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On a sunny day in Northern California, a young couple was driving home from church. They were passing over a large bridge when disaster struck.

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A driver in a black truck had fallen asleep at the wheel and rammed the couple's vehicle shoving it towards the edge of the railing. Both screamed in terror as they drifted closer to the edge. Before the man could even attempt to right the car, it swerved by itself and righted them back into the correct lane. The black truck flew by, almost hitting them again. 

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The young man stopped quickly on the side of the road to assess the damage. The truck driver also stopped and came rushing towards them. “I thought I had pushed you over the bridge when I hit your rear bumper!” he said.

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They were all a little perplexed as to how the car had drifted back onto the road. He certainly hadn't turned it back, and the momentum from the car behind them had forced him to the edge. They should have gone over the side. 

Many pictures of angels are floating around the internet, and not all of them can be debunked as fake.

Although neither had seen an angel, they both believed something must have intervened that day.

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The difficulty with an age of logic and science is we tend to believe that everything will, at some point or other, be explained by science. But that simply is not the case. Countless stories of miracles, angels, or of the supernatural and paranormal variety have popped up over the years all across the world, and although it is becoming easier and easier to fake them, there are many more which have been proven to be real. We are living in an age where even UFOs have been confirmed by the US military as something which cannot be explained. We live in an age where we still cannot explain how (or even why) the Egyptians built the pyramids. Where mystery and wonder await us around every corner of our lives. So why not the warm glow of an angel?