Our Miracle

This Christmas story is only mine to tell, and I want to share it with all of you.

It happened one night 30 years ago. I was 20 years old at the time, and my brother William was 23. We went out to find a Christmas tree in the nearby forest. It was cold outside. The temperature was about 10 degrees. The forest goes for at least a mile and a half from our backyard. There is a pond that runs through it, and In the summer, that pond is lined with wild flowers, and is one of the most beautiful sights ever to be seen.

On this particular night, there was a full moon, and that moon lite up the entire forest. The sky was like a canopy of stars. The snow was falling gently, and the grounds were glistening as though God, Himself, had sprinkled sparkles across the land. We felt as though we were in Heaven. It was a breathtaking picture.

We saw many trees that were large (maybe a bit too large), but there, across the pond, was THE tree. We looked at each other and nodded. Yes, that was the one, but we had to cross the pond to get it, then drag it back home. The weather had truly been cold enough to freeze that pond, but should we attempt it? I was a bit leery, but William insisted. How many times did we ice skate on this very pond when we were much younger? I couldn’t count them. Good times to be remembered forever though!

We started to walk across, but when we reached the middle, the ice seemed to be getting thinner. Would we make it? We were so close to the other side, when that ice cracked and William disappeared. I stuck my hand in the water and he was trying to grab it, but the weight of his clothes was slowly pulling him down. I threw in the rope that was meant for the tree, but it only floated back up. I began to panic and screamed for help. I kept screaming when I saw a light on the other side, near the tree we wanted. It was a lady. A beautiful lady. She called out to me and said not to panic. She was here to help. It was as though she floated towards me. She was dressed in red, and her hair was as dark as midnight. She looked at me and smiled. Waved her hand over the pond and suddenly we were able to see below clear to the bottom (as though the lights in a room went on). There he was, and he did not look good. The lady simply looked at him and he slowly rose to the surface. I went to reach for him, when she stopped me. She said it was too dangerous for me to get too close. She reached out herself, and like he was a feather, she pulled him out. I was horrified. Was he dead? Who was this lady and where did she come from? She seemed to have this aura around her. She simply glowed.

We got him on to land when she knelt down next to him and put her bare hands on his chest. The color began to return to his face. He looked so……….warm! His eyes opened, and he smiled at me. I knelt down beside him and hugged him. I didn’t even notice when the lady had disappeared. William’s clothes were dry, and his body was warm. He was able to walk and when we got home, he told mother and I of this lady dressed in red who was next to him in the water. She was holding him and telling him to have faith and he would be saved. William said he began to pray, and suddenly was on land, and he saw her once again kneeling down next to him. He said she told him to allow the love he held inside him to be shared with others. Then she turned away to leave, and that’s when William saw them. Large, beautiful, white wings that came out of her back. She turned for one last look, smiled and was gone.

Our dad died years back, and William actually did hold everything inside. He was unable to grieve, unable to cry, but he did now. He let it all out. Mom held him with one arm, and with her other, she pulled a drawer open to the end table. She removed a picture of a lovely lady dressed in red with jet black hair and who bore angel wings. She asked if this was the lady, and we both said yes, but how could this be? Mom said this angel had guided her throughout her entire life. Visited her in her dreams. She was there for her when dad passed. Mom was a great artist and drew that picture when she was just 15 years old.

As mom and William, and the rest of our family slept upstairs all tucked in and warm, I lay on the couch watching it snow outside. It was a gentle snowfall. I looked over at the picture of the “Lady in Red Angel,” and I swear she smiled. I drifted off to sleep.

I hope this made sense to all who read it. This was our miracle!