Jackie Commins, of Newberg, Oregon, is a firm believer in heavenly help. One
evening shortly after New Year's, however, she learned even more dramatically
how well God and his angels take care of her.
Because no heat gets to Jackie's bedroom, she sleeps on a couch in her living
room during the winter. The couch is opposite her front door, and there is one
window in the room; both open onto a small porch. Anyone on the porch can see
directly into the room because curtains cover only the sides of the window.
Jackie was nearly asleep that evening when she was startled by loud knocking at
the door. Since she lives alone and her lights were out, she decided not to
answer. Whoever it was would surely go away.
But the knocking continued, and now Jackie could hear the low voices of two men.
They were talking on the other side of the door, just a few feet from her.
Suddenly, one shone a flashlight through the window of the door, its ray
narrowly missing her as she lay curled up on the couch. Jackie's heart began to
pound. These men were obviously up to no good.
Again they murmured to each other, although she couldn't make out the words.
Then she heard footsteps moving stealthily toward the window, and again the
flashlight went on. Its beam traveled slowly across the floor as far as it could
go, then outlined Jackie's armchair, which directly faced the window. Just a
thin pane of glass separated her from the intruders. Jackie began to pray. "Oh
angel, come and help me..."
The light beam, which had been moving slowly across the armchair suddenly
stopped. Abruptly it clicked off, and Jackie heard one of the men talking
excitedly to the other. The light went back on again, as if the second man was
now holding it. Once again he focused the beam on the chair, then quickly
extinguished it.
"Let's get out of here!" Jackie heard one of them exclaim, no longer attempting
to be quiet. Two pairs of feet clattered across the porch to the staircase. In
just a few seconds, there was silence. But it took Jackie several hours to fall
asleep.
Days later, when Jackie read her weekly newspaper, she learned what had happened
on that frightening night. Two men were in police custody, charged with
burglarizing several houses in an area surrounding Jackie's neighborhood. The
thugs had posed as travelers in distress, needing to use a phone. When kindly
people opened the door, the men had overpowered them, and robbed them of
valuables and holiday gifts still under the tree. Obviously they had had similar
plans at Jackie's house. Except for one thing, the question that has intrigued
her ever since.
What (or whom) did the men see sitting in the armchair?
Joan Wester Anderson angelwak@mcs.net
(From: WHERE MIRACLES HAPPEN, by Joan Wester Anderson, published by Ballantine
Books.)
The following bio was put together by me (Michael). It is longer than usual, but
I wanted to share as much about this wonderful author as I could!
Author and lecturer Joan Wester Anderson was born in Evanston, Illinois. She
began her writing career in 1973 with a series of family humor articles for
local newspapers and parenting magazines. She was a monthly columnist for two
parenting publications during the 1980's, and has published more than one
thousand articles and short stories in a variety of national publications,
including Woman's Day, Modern Bride, Virtue, Modern Maturity, Chicago Parent,
and The New York Times Syndicate.
Her 12 books include Where Angels Walk, True Stories of Heavenly Visitors, which
was on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year, has sold almost two
million copies and has been translated into fourteen languages.
Joan has appeared on national television programs including "Good Morning
America," "Oprah," "20/20," and "NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw."
She and her husband live in suburban Chicago, and are the parents of five grown
children, and grandparents of one.
Joan's newest book is the authorized biography of Loretta Young which is
available in bookstores nationwide or you can order it from Amazon.com at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0883474670/qid=970538404/sr=1-1/102-157
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