One Woman's True Story of Her Miraculous Encounter With an Earth Angel
"All God's angels come to us disguised ~ James Russell Lowell
Do you believe in the miracles of Angels?
I do.
Ever since I was a small child, I have felt the divine presence of some supernatural force constantly watching over me. Being a strong believer in God and Christ, I naturally contributed these feelings to my faith. However, as I now look back over my life, I know with great certainty that special Celestial beings were sent to protect me.
What Are Angels?
Angels are spiritual beings and servants of God. They are intelligent and powerful. In fact, one angel destroyed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in only one night (2 Kings 19:35).
Angels can appear in human form and oftentimes bring messages from God. It was an angel who appeared to Joseph in a dream to inform him of the coming of Christ through Mary, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:20 – 21 NIV).”
A Story to Remember
I have heard many uplifting stories throughout the years, but only one has really stayed with me. It is the true story of a young divorcee named Ivy Olson.
In 1969 Ms. Olson was the single mother of two young boys. She had just moved into a modest two-bedroom apartment and was having tremendous difficulties making ends meet.
On Thanksgiving Day, she only had three hotdogs to feed herself and her children with no money to spare. To make matters worse, no one had invited them over for dinner.
For the sake of her boys, she braved a smile and took them to a local park in the hopes that they would have some fun despite their grave circumstances. Ivy roasted the hot dogs on a park grill and she and her boys enjoyed their small yet humble meal. However, on their way back to their apartment, the boys complained that they were still hungry.
Ivy did not know what to do. She had no one to turned to and felt very much alone.
Random Act of Kindness
As Ivy and the boys neared their apartment a little old lady came out of one of the ground units, “I’ve been waiting for you! I cooked you Thanksgiving dinner, but you left out before I could invite you over.”
Ivy stared at the woman in confusion. She had never seen this mysterious stranger before, “I’m sorry. That’s very kind of you, but I wouldn’t want to impose.” Her boys immediately begged their mother to take the kind little woman up on her offer, which Ivy did.
The woman’s apartment was warm and welcoming, and the dinner table was laden with food.
“I just remember feeling so comfortable around this person and so thankful that I was no longer feeling alone,” said Ivy Olson in an interview on the show It’s a Miracle. “Her presence was like electricity. She had a sparkle in her eye and there was life to her.”
The Olson family dined with the little old lady for over an hour and a half. Before they left, the kind woman gave them each a gift and packed them leftovers to take home. “We had food for a week,” Ivy recalled.
Miraculous Encounter
The following day, Ivy went to take the plastic containers back to her new friend. She knocked on the door, but there was no answer. After several failed attempts, she walked over to the window and peered in. To her astonishment, the apartment was completely empty!
Shocked and confused, Ivy immediately went to the property manager on site and knocked on his door. “What happened to the little sweet lady in that apartment?” she asked.
“There hasn’t been anyone living in that unit for ten or twelve weeks now,” he said.
“No, you don’t understand. We had dinner there yesterday,” Ivy explained. The man looked at her like she was crazy, and Ivy knew that something was going on that could not be explained with human logic; she believed without a doubt that she had been visited by an angel.
A New Beginning
“If spending one hour in the presence of an angel can make me feel that amount of love and comfort, just imagine what we earth angels could do? It could make a total difference.
That one act of kindness changed Ivy’s life forever. “If spending one hour in the presence of an angel can make me feel that amount of love and comfort, just imagine what we earth angels could do? It could make a total difference.”
Ms. Olson eventually improved her circumstances and later formed a charity called The Angel Network Charities which served hundreds of homeless families in Hawaii. Her program gave assistance to those in need of housing, health care, transportation, and job training.
Her organization inspired the hit television series Touched by an Angel, and in 1992 Ivy was chosen as one of President George H.W. Bush’s "Thousand Points of Light” award, a non-profit organization supporting volunteerism.
Ivy Olson had experienced a real miracle. What began as a day of despair, loneliness, and grief, ended in unconditional love and joy.
Ivy died from instestinal cancer in 2002, but her memory will forever live on through her devoted work in helping, supporting, and loving the lives of others.
So, again I ask you: Do you believe in angels?
I know I do.
(You can view Ivy's story below!)
Author’s Bio
Isabella Boston
Isabella Boston is a multi-talented writer and the creator of Bella’s Attic Studio. She is well-versed in copywriting, articles and research, and medical content writing with a focus on traumatic brain injury (TBI), autoimmune disorders, and inflammation within the body. She is a diarist and the author of Passion of Flames.
When Isabella is not writing, she enjoys reading, learning new languages, and spreading God’s Holy Word.
Sources
Gee, Pat (2002, April 10). Ivy A. Olson/ Angel NetworkFounder. Retrieved December 15, 2021 from http://archives.starbulletin.com/2002/04/10/news/story13.html
"Thanksgiving Angel". It's a Miracle., Written by Jule Gilfillan and Chris Pechin., Season 1, episode 11., Try-crown Productions. Release date Sept 6, 1998. https://tubitv.com/tv-shows/451970/s01-e11-111-thanksgiving-angel-blind-skydiver-sees-thanksgiving-feeding-needy-african-hijack