Ethereal images in everyday life

Choose->, Choose->

Bird Angel

My angel sighting was today, the first Sunday during Lent. On Sunday mornings before mass while my daughter attends her religious education class, I find a quiet chair in the meeting room to read my book.

Well today, a bird flew into the window right next to my chair, and jumping when I heard the noise, I looked up at the window. What I saw is in the picture, and the bird was ok!
 
—Yolanda Cullagh

Watchung Avenue Train Station
Montclair, New Jersey

I commute by train to my job in New York city.

One morning I noticed the metal gates around the old ticket counter at my home station. The pattern made me think of angels.

When I added a coin for a head among the wings, I was sure fellow commuters would see angels too.

—Audrey Razgaitis, Creative Director, Angels on Earth [1]

 

 

Loretto Chapel

The Loretto Chapel staircase was a highlight of my Christmas trip to Sante Fe, New Mexico.

In 1878, the sisters of Loretto prayed for easy access to the choir loft—22 feet above the main floor.

Legend has it that a stranger came to town and built this spiral staircase with primitive tools and wood that was not to be found anywhere in the region. He left without warning or payment, and the nuns never learned his identity.

The miraculous feat of carpentry stumps engineers to this day.

—Tanya Richardson, Associate Editor

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If you’ve had an Angel Sighting you’d like to share, send it to submissions@angelsonearth.com [2] and include "Angel Sightings" in the subject line.

A City in the Sky

When my friend Sue showed me a hard copy of this photo—taken on another friend's cell phone—I saw not only an angel in the cloud formation, but what Sue called "a city in the sky."

It looks like there are two white, square skyscrapers in the clouds on the lower right of the photo. There are no skyscrapers in Montana!

—Lois Lyford, Kalispell, Montana

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If you’ve had an Angel Sighting you’d like to share, send it to submissions@angelsonearth.com [2] and include "Angel Sightings" in the subject line.

Thanksgiving, 2008

Thank you, God, for all my blessings. Thank you for my family and my friends. Thank you for marbles and soccer and my garden. Oh, and one last thing: Thank you that I'm big enough this year. Big enough to eat a whole drumstick. 

—Samuel Eliasen, Port Byron, Illinois

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If you’ve had an Angel Sighting you’d like to share, send it to submissions@angelsonearth.com [2] and include "Angel Sightings" in the subject line.

Highway 61
October 27, 2008

It was a cold autumn morning in Minnesota, the kind that hits you like a wall the second you step out of the house.

"Goodness," I said as I pulled my coat tight.

My breath hung in the air while I waited for my pickup to heat up. I backed out of the driveway and headed to work.

But coming into Grand Marais on Highway 61, I was met by this glorious sight.

I pulled over and took my camera from the dashboard console. As I got out to get a clear angle, I realized I hardly felt a chill!

—Tamara Rude, Tofte, Minnesota

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If you’ve had an Angel Sighting you’d like to share, send it to submissions@angelsonearth.com [2] and include "Angel Sightings" in the subject line.

Lazy Sunday
July 2009

Boys get the strangest notions.

In the woods by our house one Sunday afternoon, my son and his friend threw handfuls of sand in the air.

I captured them and their hijinks—as well as their surprising companion—on film.

Even a lazy Sunday afternoon can have an angelic photo finish.

—Debbie Brigham, St. Cloud, Florida

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Backyard Paradise
Summer, 2008

Something was missing from my garden. What, I wasn't sure.

Until I spotted an Oriental lily at the nursery. See its shadow!

Now I know what was missing from my garden.

—Linda Hass, Holmen, Wisconsin

The Ross Fountain
Butchart Gardens, British Columbia

We certainly deserved a vacation after the challenges my wife and I had faced recently.

We tried to relax and look forward to the future. During our trip to the Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island, Marsha and I snapped this shot of the Ross Fountain.

This stunning angel seemed to reassure us that easier times lay ahead.

—Ronnie Payne, Dillsboro, Indiana

Sunset
February 25, 2007

My sister's house backs onto a series of connected fields that haven't been farmed in years.

I went for a stroll one chilly evening just befopre supper to try to catch the sunset when I came across a hill covered in footprints—both human and canine.

There were snow angel attempts all over the field but most had been trampled on. This one was untouched.

How did the "angel" get up—wings, perhaps?

—Matthew Greer, Calgary, Alberta, Cananda

Ice Angel Statue
December 2008

"It's just beautiful to us," Mary and Bob Gustafson say about their ice angel statue, formed naturally over the course of one week as water dripped down the eaves if their house.

Mary came upon it first and Bob was struck by the happy circumstance, Being a photographer and graphic artist, his natural inclination was, of course, to go get the camera.

As quickly as it appeared, the ice angel melted, save for this picture-perfect proof.

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The Angel Crop Circle, Babraham, United Kingdom
September 2008

"Crop Circles" is the term for any large, intricate patterns created by the flattening or bending of large fields of crops, like this one with a diameter of 237 feet.

While there has never been a definitive explanation as to why some crop circles form, or why in specific shapes, scientific theories include magnetic fields and geometric wind patterns.

Most have been proven to be of human construction, but it's clear angels had a hand in this one!

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Amaryllis
July 2008

For my birthday some dear friends got me this amaryllis plant. My husband and I tended our berry bushes, grape vines and apple tree, but nothing as exotic as this South African flower. The name, in Latin, means "shepherdess." What a surprise to find that this shepherdess is an angel as well! Can you see it?

—Jackie Earl, Vergas, Minnesota

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Bradley James Lancaster, Sleeping with a Friend
May 2008

The fertility doctor warned me that conception was next to impossible. The process he recommended was long and arduous, and I would truly need a miracle.

Eventually my husband and I decided we didn't have the stamina to continue after one last treatment. That's when the angels stepped in withour miracle. As you can see, baby Bradley James knows all about angels too.

—Michelle Lancaster, Amarillo, Texas

In a Heaven of Cotton Ball Clouds...
March 2008

Victoria Oeftering, of Ohio, is 9 years old, the youngest of three and a Girl Scout. She sent this original photograph (see below) to the Kids & Angels Art Contest [9].

She scanned porcelain figurines and some cotton balls onto her computer, and manipulated the image for an ethereal effect.

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Otsego Street
September 18, 2007

Ruth had always loved the evergreen bushes in front of her house, though in the neighborhood they were considered eyesores. They grew tall and spindly and resembled trees more than shrubbery.

Ruth never cared about that though. The bushes were home to the birds she adored. Now Ruth lived in a nursing home, unaware that her beloved bird-watching bushes had been cut down.

Feeling sad for her, I meandered across the street to inspect what was left. One of the stumps curiously resembled a heart, all the way down to its red coloring! Finally I saw what Ruth saw in those bushes all those years.

—Thia Li Rose, Storm Lake, Iowa

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December 2007

My young nephews, Derek and Andrew, and I always make time for a nice long walk. That's when we relax and enjoy the simple pleasures of the world God created for us.

Though we got to know the neighborhood like the back of our hands, we could always count on spotting something new. I taught the boys that if you keep your eyes and mind open you'll be surprised at what you see.

But what Andrew spotted one afternoon was beyond our expectations. "Aunt Elizabeth, look! A feather!" he said, pointing to the sky.

We weren't far from home, so I ran back for my camera. God's surprise for us that day wasn't jidden, waiting to be discovered. It was yards long and right in the middle of the sky. I wonder to this day what size angel lost a feather this big.

—Elizabeth Powell, Anderson, South Carolina

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September 2007

My grandson, Michael, sat at the kitchen table one evening staring intently at the apple in his hand.

His frist-grade teacher had told the class that inside every apple is a surprise—depending on which way you cut it in half. A vertical cut reveals a heart at the core; a horizontal cut produces a star.

"Okay," he finally decided. "I want to see a star." I sliced the apple in half, and what Michael saw was a real surprise.

"Gramma," Michael shouted, "there's an angel in my apple!"

I guess there's a little bit of heaven inside everything God has created. We took this picture to show his teacher.

—Claudie O'Dee, Hamburg, New York

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July 2007

Between my job, the housework and caring for my elderly in-laws, I had nearly run myself ragged.

My friend Annette insisted I take the afternoon off and spend it with her at the botanical gardens. We weaved through paths of brilliantly colored blooms. Bees buzzed around the flowers, and children played tag on the open grass. My tension melted away like a stick of butter in the sun.

"Let's rest here for a second," Annette said, sitting down on a bench. The excursion had already made me feel more rested than I had felt in months. Before I sat down next to her I noticed something. Sitting in the center of the butterfly-shaped, wrought-iron bench, Annette had wings! I pulled out my camera. That roll of film was filled with beautiful photos of flowers, but my favorite is of the angel who'd invited me to stop and smell them with her.

—Mary Smith, Richmond, Virginia

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May 2007

Driving came as naturally to me as walking, and I didn't think twice when I hopped in my car to go to a salon appointment.

Not 15 minutes later I was being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. Another driver had run a red light and plowed into me. My car was totaled, but somehow I made it through with only cuts, bruises and minor fractures.

I soon healed physically, but the emotional scars stayed with me. I was tense and fearful behind the wheel.

One day I pulled into the garage especially upset. Dear God, can't I ever feel confident behind the wheel again? My eyes fell on the bumper of my wrecked car. My husband had saved it. I stormed inside. "Will you please throw that darned bumper away," I said.

"But it reminds me how lucky I am to still have you around," Tom explained.

When I got home the next day I again passed the grim reminder. I angrily reached for it and saw the unmistakable imprint of a feather etched in the chrome. The angel who'd stood between me and the other car left her mark right in the spot where she'd softened the impact. My confidence was restored.

—Judith Wojcik, Barrington, Illinois

Dad's Angel
May 2006

Dad never could let anything go to waste. He grew up in Poland and spent years in German work camps during WWII. In America, Dad's thriftiness and strong work ethic paid off. The home he bought in Buffalo, New York, was his pride and joy.

He kept his yard well-groomed but couldn't bear to throw out the saplings he dug up. So he drove them to my house, and we planted his gifts in the front yard.

After my parents died I still felt close to them watching Dad's trees grow. One maple got so large its roots damaged underground pipes. It broke my heart to chop it down.

But when a large branch was cut off, I saw a discoloration in the wood. An angel! She had been growing inside Dad's tree all those years, waiting to comfort me when I needed her most.

—Emilia Stawarski Wirth, Buffalo, New York

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Albuquerque, New Mexico
November 2005

Something about Albuquerque just calls to me. I've tried to capture the feel of the city in photographs whenever I can.

On one visit I wandered with my camera through the Old Town section. Many of the residents had painted the gates and walls of their houses.

This gate was one of my favorites: Archangel Michael, painted glorious red and blue, holding his scales and defeating the serpent at his feet.

Michael is known as the chief of archangels and virtues, and the conqueror of evil. He must provide great protection to the New Mexico house he guards. I like to think I brought a little of that heavenly protection home with me in my camera.

—Dinnie Corvidae, New York, New York

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North Como Presbyterian Church
December 4, 2002

In the ten years or so I've taken photohraphs at the North Como church, the annual quilter's drive has become a favorite subject of mine.

Every December before the ladies donate their original, handmade quilts to charity they are laid out to be photographed.

One year there were over a hundred, each unique. I was snapping pictures for the bulletin when Pastor David hurried in. "You've got to see this," he told the group. "Go out into the parking lot and don't turn around until I tell you."

I grabbed my camera and followed the quilters outside. "Is everybody ready?" Pastor David said. "Now turn around and look up at the roof. What do you see there?"

Everyone gasped. "Angels!" A band of snowy angels lined the roof, in as unique a pattern as the patchwork designs I'd just photographed. Quilting angels inside, snow angels outside. I'd say that's picture-perfect.

—Bill Stock, St. Paul, Minnesota

Sanctuary Garden
October 10, 2000

On the grounds of the bed-and-breakfast I own with my husband, there is a sanctuary garden. It's where I go when I need serenity. The angel column at the entrance sets a meditative mood.

One spring day I wandered in to find the angel was not alone—a red admiral butterfly was perched in its lap. His robust orange and black wings and quick movements were a joy to behold.

To my surprise, he fluttered from the angel to my shoulder. I returned to the garden the following day, and the next, to find my butterfly friend. He seemed to feel at home both on the angel and on me.

Every year since, the angel and I have had a red admiral companion. So my sanctuary garden now has at least two winged guardians. And they never fail to bless me.

—Freda Chaney, Mount Vernon, Ohio

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Atlanta Motor Speedway
October 10, 2000

NASCAR racing is a favorite family pastime. I don't actually race cars myself, but you can always find me cheering in the stands.

A few years ago my sister, Melba, and I spent a windy afternoon at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. There was no race that day, but watching a pro like Terry Labonte practice was exciting in itself.

"I wonder if all this wind makes it harder to drive fast," I said, snapping a picture. Danger was a fact of life for these drivers. Lord, watch over them.

Melba looked up at the sky as another blast of wind hit us. "Janella, look up!" she cried.

My hair was flying every which way, and I had to hold it away from my eyes in order to see. The sky was filled with swirling angels! Maybe they're NASCAR fans too.

—Janella Turner, Hampton, Georgia