Angel Sunrise (sneak peek)

Prologue

            Have miracles ceased?  I hope you don’t believe that.  Sometimes, people recognize strange events and chalk it up to a coincidence or even luck.  Some recognize it for what it is; truly a miracle.  Perhaps you remember a recent event.  It made the newspapers. 

A 19-year old college student was traveling from her parents’ home to attend church in another town.  The car she was driving collided with another vehicle on the highway.  The accident crushed the teenager’s car into a ball of sheet metal that lay on the driver’s side. 

Emergency responders from several jurisdictions arrived on the scene.  They blocked off two miles of road near the accident and began working on removing the twisted metal from around the girl.  They worked for nearly 45 minutes with various pieces of equipment trying to remove the debris and extricate the girl.  They were running out of options.

Although the girl appeared calm, talking about her church and her studies toward a dentistry degree, her vital signs were beginning to fail.  The emergency workers knew they were losing time and her condition was worsening and the prospect of her coming out alive was grim.  The workers decided they would turn the vehicle up-right, as it seemed the only option in removing the girl from the car.  This was a life-threatening maneuver, but seemed to be their only option.

The girl then asked if someone would pray with her.  A man stepped forward and said, “I will.”

He was a silver-haired man wearing dark pants, a black shirt and a black collar with a visible white insert.  He came prepared with anointing oil and he prayed with her.

Everything happened quickly after that.  Twenty emergency workers pulled together and sat the car upright.  The girl’s condition immediately improved and she was taken to a local hospital where she would later make a full recovery from her injuries. 

The emergency responders turned to thank the man for praying and providing comfort, but he was nowhere to be seen.  It didn't strike the workers as strange until they later reviewed nearly 70 photographs of the scene and could not find the man in any of the pictures.  As they discussed the event, they were baffled where this man came from because the roads were blocked off.  How did he appear and why did nobody see him leave?

If you ask any of the emergency responders, the girl or her family who the man was that prayed with her that day, they will tell you it was an Angel.

Why do I tell you this story?  I tell you this story so you know miracles have not ceased.  They happen every day.  I know they happen every day because I am part of an elite team whose job it is to make miracles happen every day.  Who was the man who attended to and prayed with the 19-year old girl that day?  I was that man.

Chapter 1

            Glen walked into the room with his head down.  He was dragging his feet and seemed to be talking to himself.

“What’s wrong, Glen?”

“I keep messing up.  I’m not sure I’ll ever get the hang of this.”

            He sat down on the bench next to me, pulled off his boots and threw them against the wall.  I wasn't sure I wanted to know what happened.  The last event was pretty unnerving.

“It can’t be any worse than the last time?”

“Oh, it is…..it really is.”

            He just sat there, occasionally running his hands over his knees.  When I thought he was going to wear a hole through the fabric, he finally broke the silence.

            “Every time I’m sent to assist somebody in a time of need, I seem to accidentally kill the person and he ends up crossing over to this side.  I then have trouble remembering how to send him back and wipe his memory of the experience.”  He paused again.

            “Glen, how serious is this?  He’s not here is he?”

            “No, I finally figured out what to do; although I’m not sure his memory has been wiped.  I suppose it isn't the first time we've got more people sharing their ‘near death' experiences over there,” he says with a chuckle.  At least his mood seemed to be improving.

            I knew his story wasn't over.  He seemed to be withholding the nitty-gritty details from the time the person died to the time he returned to his body.

            “Do you think I’ll be reprimanded for this?”

            “You seem to be running quite a tally.  What’s one more ‘write-up’?”

            He stood up, walked across the room and slipped on his boots.  He walked back over to me.  “I put him back into the wrong body,” he mumbled.

            I didn't know how to react.  I just sat there trying to process what he just said.

He continued.

            “The body was lying in a casket and people were in the room looking on.  When I put his spirit into the body, he sat straight up and looked about the room.  He didn't recognize anybody and said, “where am I?”  There were screams and people fainting all over the place.”

“Oh, Glen, you didn't?”

“When I realized the mistake, I quickly pulled his spirit back.  Of course the body fell back into the casket with a loud thump and more people passed out.”

Glen tries hard.  The last mistake happened when the Boss sent him to pass along a message in someone’s dream, but he forgot to take off his boots.  As he ascended the stairs to the man’s bedroom, the rhythmic footsteps awakened him and he was so frightened with thoughts of hearing a ghost.  He panicked, had a heart-attack and died.  Glen, once again, had the task of sending this guy back.  In all the chaos, he forgot to pass along the Boss’ message.  I think he was written up for not following through on the message; not so much the ghostly fright.

            Personally, I think the Boss likes sending him on these errands.  I see him laughing hysterically, watching re-runs of the events in his office. 

No, we’re not perfect over here.  We’re a work in progress.  Even the Boss has a few quirks.