In The Light Of An Angel

"I'm lost," said Jacob. "What am I going to do?"

It was 3 am and Jacob hadn't been able to sleep. That afternoon, he had broken the news to Molly that after 23 years with his employer, he'd been laid off.

Jacob was 52 years old, a time in life when employers can often hire young people for far less money, and Jacob knew in competition with young people, his job prospects were bleak.

Jacob had been laid off along with 11 other employees because their employer had shifted their jobs to China to save money,. 

He and the other laid off employees were declared "surplus" and given severance checks and short-term medical insurance coverage.

When the layoff took place, Jacob and Molly had been married for 26 years, and their son and daughter were both in college, a very costly investment for Jacob.

After having been a stay at home mom for 15 years, Molly had been attending community college to bring her skill set up to date and to take an art class, something she had always wanted to do.

Between house payments, car payments, insurance costs, medical expenses and college tuition, Jacob and Molly were like most families, they had little savings.

That night, feeling his heart pounding under the stress, Jacob quietly got out of bed and walked into the kitchen and sat down at the dinner table to try to calm himself, 

But as he sat in the dark, tears began running down his cheeks. What were he and Molly going to do? Would they lose their home? How would they pay their bills? Could they keep their kids in college?

Just then, the dark kitchen began to glow in a soft white light.

The Ladybug Wars

It was a beautiful September day as I sat on a green lounge chair in my backyard basking in the sunshine and enjoying all the flowers in bloom.

But suddenly 20 ladybugs from my neighbor's yard flew in a cluster into my two foot tall snapdragon plants and leveled twin red flowered snapdragons with a crash, killing themselves, other ladybugs...

It was tragic.

As I was still absorbing what happened, a ladybug from the western side of my yard known as "The Decider" began calling for war against the ladybugs in my neighbor's yard.

Soon thousands of ladybugs were off to the nearby cement quarry, lifting tiny particles of sand and heading to my neighbor's yard, where they bombarded the ladybugs there.

After many flights to the quarry, large numbers of my neighbor's ladybugs including their children lay dead and my neighbor's yard was a mess.

"The Decider" called this "Operation Enduring Freedom" but all I saw was many ladybugs from my yard occupying my neighbor's yard. There was no freedom.

And soon some of my neighbor's ladybugs were picking up some of the sand around them and from high in the air dropping it on my ladybugs, as the war continued.

This was bad, but the next day it got much worse.

"The Decider" was flying in circles and at the top of his lungs, claimed the ladybugs on the east side of my yard had "Weapons of Mass Destruction," all the while scaring the ladybugs on the west side of my yard.

Life's Greater Purpose

As I sat outside reviewing my workload and sending texts on my cell phone, a little white winged butterfly set down on the petals of a round red rose next to me.

"Hi, I'm Andy," the butterfly said. "I'm Dick," I replied. "It's nice to meet you. I'll send this next text and then we can talk." He waited patiently for me, and after I sent my text, I turned to him.

"I'm trying to understand you humans," said Andy. "Please help me.

"My life span is just 7 days," Andy continued. "Your human lifespan is typically 75 or 80 years. I make the most of the brief time I'm here, as I sway in the gentle breeze, smell the roses and bask in the sun, while nature provides plenty to eat.

"But it seems to me you humans don't focus on living your lives. So many of you are stressed and appear to be doing things you really don't enjoy doing."

"That's true," I replied. "But we humans serve a greater purpose."

The World's Ugliest Dog

It was a very happy day in the Banyon household when their beloved dog Mabel gave birth to pups.

Little Ralphie was the last pup born, and the runt of the litter, and he was often the last to suckle any milk, sometimes unable to get any..

While his brothers and sisters had rounded faces and glossy tan coats, Ralphie was black and gray, with a squared off snout.

As the other puppies grew strong and healthy, Ralphie was thin and frail and seemed to stumble over his own feet. Mr. Banyon couldn't take it anymore.

One day during a car ride, Mr. Banyon lifted Ralphie up by the scruff of his neck and said, "Ralphie, you're the world's ugliest dog and you're a loser.

"I doubt you're going to survive and we can't waste anymore time and money on you."

Hannah The Healer

You may have heard of Hannah, for she was renowned to people all over the world who journeyed to her Malibu Canyon cottage to be healed from many of mankind's worst illnesses

If it was within their karma to be healed, she acted as a conduit, as the Creator's energy came through spiritual beings to heal them. But if it was not in their karma to be healed, she would tell them why she couldn't help them.

In any case, her services were always free.

Hannah treated each patient by gently placing her hands on them. When she touched them with one hand, there was no effect.

But when she placed both hands on them, energy surged throughout their bodies.