Divine Providence, Miracles & Guardian Angels

[尼古拉前执事]

Do any of you have a story of a time when you think your Guardian Angel intererred to protect you? Or of a miracle happening? Or of a time when you are sure something happened by Divine Providence?

I did recently, and thus it inspired me to start this thread. I'd love to hear about others' experiences.

The other night I was boiling some bean sprouts for a veggie wrap but realized the pot I was boiling water in was too smalll. Thus I transferred the water into a bigger pot and but it on a bigger burner.

Unfortunately I forgot to turn the burner off!

I set out our glass plates out on the stove to start preparing things when I go tthe urge to put the extra tortilla shells away. As I was doing this, one of the glass plates, on the very hot burner, exploded!

It broke into shards about a half an inch long and went all over the house, spraying out at least 10 feet in every direction.

Was I not behind the refridgerator door, I would have been right over the plate and pierced with this glass. As it was, I only got shards in my hand, arms, back and neck.

After I got out of the chock of the events, I said a prayer of thanksgiving and pulled most of the glass out.

The other time that I am sure I was saved by my Guardian Angel was more dramatic. I was a teenager and some friends and I were running on top of train cars jumping from one to another. When I got to the end of one car I went to jump, but It felt and looked as if I hit an invisible wall.

My friends were shocked, as to them it appeared that I was past the point of no return as I had just started my jump.

I was freaked as well. How did I just stop?

Then I looked down. The ladder type bars on this train car continued to the top and my foot was under it.

Had I made the jump I was beginning, my foot would have caught on that bar and I would have been flung, head-first, between the 2 rail cars and without a doubt in my mind, broken my neck and died.

Let me emphasize that this ladder bar did not gtop my jump. It was something that stopped me at my head and torso. Something not able to be seen my the hum an eyes.

My friends said it looked like they were watching a video of my beginning my jump and someone hit the pause button.

Anyway, those are my stories, does anybody else have any to share?

[尼古拉前执事]

These are from my friend "OrthoDoc":

You also have my permission to share the following two true stories if you so wish.

I have one already in there and another one I submiited that has not been posted I'd like to share both with you since the both had a profound effrect on me..

The first is "God Speaks In Mysterious Ways' and is a true experience I had -

This is my story and it involves the Icon of Sts Peter & Paul from Thessolonica I acquired at the GOA Clergy/Laity conference held in Philly a few years back. [This is the email I shared with my parish priest at the time.]

The first time I laid eyes on the Icon I was, for some strange reason, drawn to it. I tried to convince myself that the Icon would be too expensive (because it is hand carved), that I already had too many Icons, that I have no place to put it, etc. and would walk away only to be brought back again a few minutes later. This happened four times. The fourth time a voice said to me..."Ask how much it is." When I did, I was shocked at the price I was given. It was about 1/3 the cost I expected it to be. So I bought it. People who have seen the Icon also can't believe how little I paid.

I brought the Icon home and put it on the wall next to the door in my living room. And that's when it started. Every time I look at the Icon I am being told (in my mind) "The Icon is not yours. It is to be blessed at St Stephens and given to the family to be presented to Sts Peter & Paul's in memory of Paul M------.

[Joe Zollars]

When I was about 15 years old, while studying the Holy Scriptures, it
became clear to me that there were several points in which Fundamentalist
Protestantism did not truly follow the Bible and if they did they would
cease to be Fundamentalists. Not knowing that there were Christians who
didn't believe in the fundamentalist heresy, I forsook Christianity
thinking that I cannot believe in a lie.

For about one year I wandered throughout several occultistic and newage
belief patterns. None of which seemed to have a logical explanation of the
fundamental question "what is the meaning of life".

Then one day, I met a new kid at school who seemed to have come simply out of the air. There was no record of him ever being at that school or any
other school for that matter, but all this was still unknown to me. His
name was Nicholas Cortez. He had blonde hair and blue eyes and seemed to have a very otherworldly appearance about him.

We became fast friends and inevitably the subject of religion came up.
Nick (as we called him) was Roman Catholic. When I told him of my
spiritual journey up until that point, he agreed with me. Sola Scriptura
and Fundamentalism are heresies that simply have no biblical foundation.

Then he began to do something different. He, using fundamental logic,
proved to me that only the Christian outlook can truly answer the
fundamental questions of existance. Then, having sold me on Christ, he
began to use the King James Version of the Bible and convinced me of basic truths of Catholicism. Now of course there was a lot that was hard to
accept at first, but I eventually got there. I visited several "higher"
Protestant Churches, but they were all bad because they had sold out on one issue or another. I briefly pondered Orthodoxy but due to location it
simply was not an option. Nearest Orthdox Church was half a days drive
away.

Finally I bit the bullet. I went and talked to the Local RC Priest, Msgr.
J--- K---------. After talking to him I decided to become Roman Catholic.
The next day I went to share my news with Nick, but he was gone. There was no record of him ever existing, but he did exist. Me and my friends
remember long conversations with him and he gave me a Rosary. I no longer have that Rosary having passed it on, but I am personally convinced it came straight from heaven.

I later found out that Msgr. J--- K-------- had been praying for me, by
name, without even having met me.

Now I believe it was my first step on the long journey to Holy Orthodoxy.

Joe Zollars