Proof The Bible Is True

We all struggled when my husband died, but my youngest daughter, Jill, simply couldn’t bring herself to talk about it. My prayers were for God to bring her comfort.   One evening after visiting with her children, she got in the car to leave and began crying.   Read More: Till We Meet Again: Angel by Her Side – Guideposts

The only place I’d seen military aircrafts, tanks or jungles in my small hometown of Oelwein, Iowa, was at the local movie theater. Iowa was more a place for ice cream vendors in the summer, hay rides in the fall and Salvation Army bell-ringers at Christmas.   But as I headed over to the mess hut for my morning coffee that day in 1945, I barely noticed the jungle. My months in Burma airlifting supplies through China to the other Allied forces had gotten me used to airplanes and tropical birds. But still I missed the little things. Like a [More]

John was a teenager in the ‘70s, raised in a very religious family.  But he was more interested in hot cars and pretty girls. “My faith was very superficial,” he says, “consisting mostly of a strict adherence to the rules except when my parents weren’t looking.”   Shortly after getting his driver’s license, John landed a well-paying job at a local grocery store chain.  Soon he talked his dad into letting him buy a motorcycle.  “Now, my independence was complete,” John explains.  “I earned my own money.  I was buying my own vehicle.  I felt like an adult.”  (And at [More]

Skiing was all I had on my mind.   There was nothing I liked more than grabbing my cross-country skis on a sunny winter day and leaving everything else behind. I drove out to the local nature preserve. There was real freedom in being out there alone, just me, the snow and the sky.   The day was so beautiful, I stayed out way later than I should’ve. How can I go back to my day-to-day life when I’ve got all of this? I thought as I whizzed down a small slope. The sky darkened and the wind picked up. Better get home [More]

It was the 16th of February, 1985, on a cold, dark Saturday in Red Bank, New Jersey, and I was determined to die having a good time.   I had nothing to live for. Just a thankless job as a gunnery sergeant in the Marine Corps. I was going to go to every bar I could find and drink myself into a stupor. Then, defiant in the face of my misery, I’d tell the world that I just didn’t care anymore, and hopefully end my life for good.   This is fitting, I thought as I swung a leg over [More]

Up here on the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland February blizzards come up right quick, and when they do, watch out!   Snow blows in heaps from the northeast, pack ice piles up and you can’t see five feet in front of you. A man can lose his way just walking to a neighbor’s house. It’s weather you don’t want to get lost in.   I should know. I had my own brush with a blizzard when I was just 25. It happened on a chilly February Saturday here in Raleigh, where I’ve lived all my life.   Read More: Snow [More]

“Think I’ll do a little yard work,” my husband, Gary, announced. It was early Monday morning, and I caught myself grinning as I opened the cupboards to get out the ingredients to make pancakes while Gary got to work outdoors. I could relax and enjoy myself knowing Gary would be around the house a few more hours.   But it would be time for him to leave for work soon enough. Gary was a foreman at a plant with lots of big, dangerous machinery, so ever since we got married I said the same prayer when he left the house [More]

I fretted as I felt my five-year-old daughter’s warm forehead. All day she had been sick with a fever. I checked her temperature again. Still high.   It had been nearly four years since she had a seizure, but still I worried. The doctors had never figured out what triggered her off-and-on seizures as an infant. I lay down beside her and dozed off   A piercing scream jolted me awake. I knew that scream. I grabbed for my glasses and shoved them on. Celina was deathly white and her eyes were glassy and fixed. Her body was stiff. Her [More]

I dropped my husband off at the trail at around 8:00 a.m. He got his lime-green mountain bike off the rack and checked it for readiness. “Are you sure this is the right spot?” I asked.   “It’s the Colorado Trail, Ruth,” he said. “Tons of people use it.” He kissed me, then got onto his bike. “I’ll see you at the parking lot at the North Pass in about six hours.”   I watched him head off, then got on Highway 50. I had a nice picnic lunch packed, might take a hike, or just sit in the sun [More]

I come from a family of rescuers. My two sons are officers in the military—one in the Army, the other in the Coast Guard. They come to the aid of those in need every day. You could say it’s in their DNA. My Dad was a “lifer.” He served first in the Navy during World War II, and then the Coast Guard, where he spent the remainder of his military career conducting dangerous air search and rescue missions for lost mariners. But the most important rescue mission was one that my family, more than 60 years later,   Read More: [More]

Diana T. was a happily married mother of two daughters, working at a grocery store, when she slowly slid into a depression. Like many in this situation, she did not know why, so she eventually changed jobs, hoping her spirits would brighten.   But they didn’t. And one day on her new job, she was hit in the head with a heavy box. While in the hospital emergency room, Diana’s doctor told her that she had a buildup of fluid in her skull. This could lead to swelling in the brain, he explained, and she should consult a neurologist if [More]

Shirley Miller of Pittsburgh had received a phone call from her brother in Phoenix, which had left her alarmed and upset. “Our 96-year-old mother was in the hospital, and wasn’t expected to live much longer,” Shirley says. “The family was gathering, and I needed to fly out as soon as possible.”   Fortunately she was able to find a seat on a flight later that day. A friend took her to the airport and dropped her in front of her airline checkpoint. So far, so good. But when she arrived at the security line, her heart sank. Passengers were in [More]

I’ve been a “water bug” for as long as I can remember. My dad taught me to swim when I was 10 years old, and I’ve been swimming almost every day since. When I was in my 40s my teenage son taught me to bodysurf. The idea is to catch a large wave at its crest. Just as it foams over, you flop on your stomach with your arms stretched out in front and ride that wave to the shore for all it’s worth. There’s no thrill like it.   In 1990 my husband, Donald, and I were vacationing in [More]

Just a few more minutes and school would be over for the day.   I packed up my books and straightened my uniform, the same one worn by every girl at Blessed Sacrament Catholic School in St. Louis, Missouri. Finally the bell rang. “Bye, Sister,” I called as I passed her at the door.   I followed the crowd down the hall, jostled and carried along to the front door. Once outside I ran down the steps and over to the church, where I waited for my father to pick me up.   Inside it was quiet and peaceful. Statues [More]

Everything in my life was falling into place. I’d found David, the man of my dreams. We had just gotten married and moved to Hays, Kansas, where David was president of Hadley Regional Medical Center.   One Friday afternoon I went to the medical center for an appointment. David promised me a romantic lunch when I was done. It was just a follow-up to my annual physical. My regular doctor had noticed symptoms that might indicate multiple sclerosis, and he recommended an MRI to rule it out.   After the MRI, David and another doctor were waiting for me. Something’s wrong, [More]

My baby sister, Rachel, had respiratory syncytial virus, which made it very difficult for her to breathe. My parents had to watch her every second. One night I awoke after midnight to an extraordinary sight   Read More: Kids and Angels – Guideposts

I tossed and turned in bed next to my husband.   I hadn’t slept much in the two weeks since our third daughter, Katie, died in a drunk-driving accident. My days were a haze. Painful thoughts consumed me. How could she have done it? Could I have stopped her?   Before the accident, I’d thought my second daughter was the one I had to worry about. She was going through a rough patch and her six-year-old daughter, Alana, stayed with me or her other grandmother most days. Would life ever be alright again? It seemed impossible. My bedroom door creaked [More]

It was a hot summer day in Atlanta… and we were locked out.   There’s nothing hotter than summer in Atlanta, especially if you can’t afford an air conditioner. My wife, Rebekah, and I couldn’t that year, and living on the third floor of an old building, the heat seemed to turn our apartment into an oven.   “Let’s get out of here,” Rebekah said one scorching Friday afternoon. “Why don’t we go down to the mall and enjoy their air conditioning?”   So that’s what we did. We cooled off sipping iced tea before ambling back. Maybe it was [More]

The sky was blue, the sun was warm. A perfect summer day for hiking. Atop 13,507-foot Mount Ypsilon, where my husband, Wes, and I had just eaten a packed lunch of sandwiches, apples and fruitcake, the view extended for mile after glorious mile of snowcapped Rocky Mountain peaks.   It was Friday, the day Wes and I hiked together each week. Mount Ypsilon was one of our favorite routes. We’d climbed it at least three times in the 41 years we’d lived in Colorado, where Wes had taught geology at the University of Colorado and I’d worked as a nurse. [More]

Boxes filled the bedroom. We had only days to go before my daughter, J.J., and I had to move.   But I was having second thoughts. Downstairs, the front door slammed and J.J. called up to me. “Mama,” she said. “Guess what? I saw another angel today!”   I wasn’t too surprised. With all the time J.J. spent at the little church next door to our house, angel sightings had become a common occurrence.   Although she was an adult, J.J. had Down syndrome, so there weren’t many places she could go on her own. At our church, I knew [More]

Fran and her husband, Tom, parked on an isolated Nantucket beach. They wanted to watch the sunset.   When the light was gone, they decided to go back to their inn. Tom stepped on the gas. The tire spun in the sandy mud. Each attempt to get out made them sink deeper.   Pushing the car didn’t work either. They were very far from the main road. God, Fran asked, send someone our way.   Read/Watch: Stuck in the Mud – Guideposts

“I have a story,” Uncle Junior said one Christmas Eve. My aunts, uncles, cousins and siblings were all seated around the dinner table. That wasn’t unusual. Whenever my family gathered—after the meal was finished and the dishes were done—we returned to the table to entertain one another with stories.   My mother’s older brother Harold Junior told some of the best. When he reminisced about growing up with his seven siblings, no one laughed harder than he did. But there was something in his tone of voice that Christmas Eve. Something unusual. Uncle Junior sounded serious. Everyone gave their full attention [More]

“This is a new recipe,” my grandmother said, setting a pan of pastry down on the table in front of me and my great-aunt Gertie. “Tell me what you think.”   At 80, my grandmother, Loretta “Rita” Shultz, was as fearless as ever, always trying new things. I wished I had her confidence. “Tell me again about that time you got lost in the woods, Gram,” I said while she dished out our dessert.   Gram and Aunt Gertie shared a conspiratorial smile. I’d heard the story a million times, but how they loved to tell it. “Well,” said Gram, [More]

Scooping up one-year-old Jason, I grabbed my keys from the counter and called to five-year-old Robert: “Time to go!” We were running late for a doctor’s appointment.   The Texas summer heat beat down on us when we stepped outside. Robert kicked off his shoes and made footprints in the sandy driveway all the way to the car. “Mommy will crank up the A.C., guys,” I promised, buckling Jason into his car seat. I locked and slammed his door and reached for the handle on the passenger side so Robert could hop in. Now where did I put those keys? My eyes [More]

Getting home from Eastern Europe was an arduous journey, but my traveling companions and I would make the most of our two-hour layover in Paris. We didn’t have time to venture out into the city to sightsee, so Mark, John and I found a charming airport restaurant that might as well have been a bistro on the Champs Élysées. I decided to take a picture of the menu as a memento.   I reached into my backpack for my camera. I rummaged around for it, expecting my fingers to brush against the familiar shape of my passport. I’d kept it close [More]

Everything was quiet when I blinked awake in the darkness. My husband, Bob, was fast asleep beside me. But I’d heard someone call, “Mom!” I was sure of it. One of the kids, I thought, dragging myself out of bed. Probably just a nightmare.   I checked the rooms where my two younger daughters slept. Eight-year-old Elizabeth was fast asleep in her bed. So was 10-year-old Sarah. Cosmo, our Jack Russell, lifted his head from the living room sofa as I went up the stairs. “Shh, it’s okay,” I whispered. And it was. Fourteen-year-old Amy was in her upstairs bedroom, sleeping as peacefully as [More]

Rattlesnakes were common in the Smoky Mountains, where I grew up, and I knew to avoid them at all cost. But the timber rattler I came up against one sorry day when I was nine had been hiding under the roots of an old tree stump. I didn’t notice until it was coiled like a tight spring, its forked tongue flicking, tasting the air—searching for me. I tried not to move a muscle. If I was standing up, my boots might help protect my legs from a strike, I thought. But I wasn’t standing. I was crouched down on my haunches, eye [More]