Tag Archives: angels

Nov 30 2011

Angel Eyes

 Patty’s Angels from HOPE FOR THE HOLIDAYS

How would you react if you actually saw an angel?

Excerpt

Setup: Los Angeles, 1960. Geri is a down-on-her-luck actress. She’s met 4-year-old, Patty, and her mother, Mary Beth, through the free breakfast program at a nearby church. Mary Beth, the new choir director, has asked Geri to sit with Patty on Sunday mornings. A confirmed sinner, Geri, reluctantly agrees. Also–Patty’s best friends are two angels.

Geri and Patty have just sat down in the church pew.

Holding Patty in her arms made Geri feel all squishy and cuddly inside. The sappy music put a big lump in her chest and threatened to turn on the water works. These squeaky-clean people around her made her feel like a total fake. Where were the guys she saw on the week days? Good old Charlie, Bill and Ed? Weren’t they swell enough for this crowd? The only person she recognized was Auntie Z, dressed like Gloria Swanson, complete with a turban.

She hoped Reverend Samuel didn’t come out, point at her and proclaim, “We have a sinner among us!”

Of course, that didn’t happen. There was a lot of stand up, sit down, sing this, recite that. She totally surprised herself by spitting out the words to the Lord’s Prayer. She and Patty made quite a team on that one.

Reverend Samuel delivered his sermon with verve. Geri thought he could probably make a few bucks doing voice-overs. She sensed the service was wrapping up and glanced down at Patty. The kid didn’t look happy. Maybe she had to go to the bathroom.

Geri whispered, “What’s the matter?”

“No angels. Where are they?”

The girl and her angels. What an imagination.

“Maybe they’re on vacation,” she whispered.

Patty’s face puckered, but she remained silent.

Reverend Samuel closed his Bible and strutted to his throne-like chair. Geri glanced at her bulletin. Mary Beth was up for the grand finale, a solo.

Wearing a maroon and silver robe, Mary Beth seemed to glide to the podium. A brighter shade of lipstick than usual gave her a Sandra Dee look. The music swelled.

Geri lifted Patty onto her lap so she could see her mama better. Mary Beth closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let the first notes rise from her throat. The words, the tones, the feelings surged from the soloist like a wave rolling across the shore. Peace washed over Geri, drenching her spirit.

Patty smiled and whispered to Geri, “They’re here.”

“Who’s here?”

“The angels. Don’t you see them?”

Geri didn’t understand what was going on. Her head felt light, almost dizzy. The song pouring out of Mary Beth seemed to be filling cracks in Geri’s soul. A light glowing in the rafters drew her attention. She didn’t think the church was set up for special effects. Golden light swirled and sparkled near the ceiling. She couldn’t take her eyes off the illusion. The music crescendoed. Two figures materialized. Geri blinked. Angels? For real? One shimmered in a golden robe; the other twinkled an iridescent blue. White wings completed the 3D image. The Gold one smiled at her. Geri stared dumbstruck.

Patty whispered. “They’re happy you can see them.”

Geri glanced around the room. No one else seemed to notice the angels except Patty and her. Okay, this was getting a little scary.

Light from the angels streamed into Mary Beth. Music flowed out of her in tones and colors. Geri could actually see it. Swirls of visible music wrapped around the congregation.

Geri continued to stare with a rising sense of terror. Mary Beth’s song faded and so did the angels and their crazy light show. But not Geri’s fear. She was scared witless.

Available as an ebook for at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Nov 21 2011

Butterfly Angels of Joplin, MO

Dana by Dana Taylor

UPDATE: May 23, 2012: I first posted this blog in November of 2011. Since then, it has been viewed nearly everyday by multiple people. Obviously, the world is interested in angels!  My admiration goes out to the folks of Joplin, MO, who have picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and started all over again. And we join them in missing the loved ones that were lost. 

Last night the CBS evening news ended with a feature on the “Butterfly Angels” of Joplin, MO. It’s been six months since a  massive tornado tore across the plain, sending cars, homes, and trees tumbling into chaos and destruction. In the midst of that fury, some people sensed the presence of spiritual helpers. Many children reported seeing big “butterflies.” From the blogsite All About Boomers comes this description on the June 30th post:

As the tornado approached, a father and his two young children were outside in their yard. They did not have enough time to get in to the house for cover.  The father of the kids threw himself on top of his babies and they were on the ground.  The father dug his hands into the ground as the tornado plowed right over them. The soles of the shoes he was wearing, ripped right off.  He LOST the Soles to his SHOES!  Amazing!  The father and the children stood up, after the tornado moved on, UNHARMED.  The 4-year-old little girl looked at her daddy and said “Daddy I saw that big butterfly holding you down”. Think about that…

The other story they told me was of a young boy was swept up by the tornado and dropped back to the ground.  As he was unharmed he told his mom “I saw butterflies and a white puppy”.

The CBS story, Butterfly is a Symbol of Hope in Joplin, MO, featured a cheerleader, Emily, and her mother who were tossed around in their SUV by the storm. But as they found shelter in a damaged building, Emily said she felt a comforting presence.

 “I remember on this shoulder a hand touched me like right here,” she said, “and they told me everything was going to be OK.”

 As Joplin is on the mend, its children have found their own symbols of hope.

 “It’s actually really weird,” said Emily, “but ever since then, I’ll be walking outside and a butterfly will come and land on me … like on my arm or on my back.

The residents of Joplin have painted a beautiful Butterfly Angel Mural to commemorate their  experience.

Update May 23, 2012–After the original post appeared, I received this note from Joplin, MO resident Linda Henderson recounting her experience the day of the big twister:

After going through this horrific storm I can tell you that but for the grace of God there would have been a lot more deaths. My entire apartment complex, and there were at least 350 people living there was virtually wiped out. We only lost one lady. Most of the places that were left were the areas where the people were, the closet, the stairwell and the bathroom. We were in the eye of the tornado, so we went through the front and back side when it was an EF5. It was an experience I don’t care to repeat.

I was in my hallway closet. My daughter’s family lived on the other side of the complex in an upstairs apartment and they rode it out with about twelve people under the stairs in the hallway downstairs. I had a downstairs apartment. The one over me was totally gone. The one across the hall from me was totally gone. It took them a while to get me out of my apartment because I’m disabled with RA so I needed help to climb out over the debris. My poor daughter sent her husband over to see if I was alive while it was still hailing and lightning really bad. I could hear him calling for me over the noise of the hail and rain. At least I knew at that point that they were all alive.

My poor youngest daughter and her family were in a neighboring town and she had called me right as I was diving into the closet and at that point I told her the windows were blowing out of the apartment and we were definitely getting hit hard. Right before we lost cell phone towers I yelled at her that I loved her and seriously I thought that would be the last time I ever spoke to her. She was so scared. They started back here and when they got as close as they could all you could see was devastation. We couldn’t get a message through to her that we were all alive. She started digging through the apartment looking for me, I can only imagine how devastating this was for her.  In a way, she’s had a tougher time dealing than we have. Her house had some damage, but it was livable. I live with her now. Believe me, there isn’t any rental property in town at this point. We are a strong city though and we will survive. Our faith is strong and I know that will carry us through. Thank you for listening.

Thanks for sharing, Linda!

Blessings to everyone in Joplin!

Dana Taylor

Ever3 Ever-Flowing Streams: Christ, Reiki, Reincarnation & Me