Do you believe in angels? If you do or don’t believe in angels, no judgement here. I do have a true story you might like to read about me. I think I may have seen an angel.
This is a true story and it happened many years ago when I was a young boy. This event took place before I learned to swim. To the best of my memory, I believe I was around ten years old.
If you have been reading my posts you will know I grew up in Southwest Missouri. There are many places to swim in the summertime. It is very common during the warm season to see people at lakes and rivers in this area.
One day during the summer, all us kids convinced the adults to take us swimming. We packed up sodas, sandwiches, chips, and took off in the cars to a local river that was popular for swimming and fishing.
We went in the late afternoon so the spot we chose had no swimmers except for our family. We parked down the road at a good spot and had to walk down the road, across the river bridge, and then down to the riverbank to enter the water.
It was a great time. It was always fun swimming with my cousins durning summertime. We would always feel exhausted once we got back to the house from swimming and playing at the river. Do you have childhood swimming memories?
We swam for hours and would splash water on each other. The river scenery was so nice until we would spot a snake in the water and it would scare all us kids back to the riverbank until the snake disappeared. Once we were sure the snake was gone, the swim party would continue.
After swimming for some time, we would complain of hunger and being thirsty. Everyone decided to walk back to the cars where the food and drinks were.
I was ok without eating or drinking. I was too excited about being at the river. I didn’t want to miss a second of water time so I asked if I could stay in the water while everyone else went up to eat. After convincing the adults I would stay close to the riverbank, the family group walked across the bridge, down the road, and out of sight. I was left alone to enjoy the water.
I stayed close to the riverbank as agreed. I didn’t know how to swim at the time. The water was about waist high for me and I would bob up and down along the river. While doing this, I came to a washout and my feet slid downward taking my head completely under water.
The washout had me. I knew the second it happened I was in trouble. I tried my best to get above the water. My head could barely seem to break the surface of the water. I could feel my hands reaching above the water as they tried to grab the air. My legs seemed like they were filled with concrete and no matter how hard I kicked them I just kept going under.
I could see the sun shining through the water surface as I flailed to save my life. I remember thinking this was the end for me and visions of flowers flashed in my minds eye. You know, like the big flower arrangements you see at a funeral. I couldn’t help but be amazed that this was how it was going to end for me. How I wished I knew how to swim.
The seconds seemed like minutes. Just when I thought I was going to sink out of pure exhaustion, I felt someone grab me by the arm and give me a good tug to the surface. I grabbed the arm that was pulling me with my other hand and could finally make my feet touch the steep edge of the washout.
I had swallowed a lot of water and even inhaled some water into my lungs. It burned like fire. I coughed and coughed until I got all the water out.
Once I gained a moment of sense about myself, I looked to see who had pulled me from my watery death sentence. It was another boy. I guessed maybe he was at least five years older than me. He asked me if I was ok. I told him I was ok and I thanked him for saving me. He asked me if I knew how to swim. I told him no. He said he was glad he was there to save me and then asked if I was there alone. I told him I came with family and they had went to the cars for food down the road.
I gave him a thank you again and began walking to the bridge to cross it to meet my family. I left the other boy by the bank of the river. There was a good amount of space between the riverbank and the forrest line. As I was walking across the bridge I looked back to get a final view of my hero.
He was gone. My bloodshot eyes quickly scanned the entire riverbank for the boy. He was nowhere to be seen. There was no way he could have made it to the forrest before I got to the bridge. I was in sort of a shock that I almost drowned and in even more shock at the fact the boy seemed to vanish.
I walked across the bridge and could see my family enjoying snacks at the parking spot. As I met them I was asked if I wanted something to eat and drink. The food burned as it went down my throat. I thought maybe it was sore from all the coughing I had done.
I didn’t tell any of my family what had happened. I kept it to myself until many years later. I was afraid if I said anything about it I would not get to swim again. In a way I didn’t want to swim at all.
I set a goal to learn how to swim. I learned how to dog paddle swim after that. Then I learned how to swim under water. I never wanted to feel that fear again in my life because of water.
I have heard many stories of angels in the past and I don’t know if that boy was a real angel or not. I know he was not there when I was alone. I know there was no other people when we came to swim. I just know that he saved my life and then vanished. He was an angel to me and I will always be grateful.
Do you have a similar story about an someone you thought was an angel? I would like to read your story. Please share with me. Maybe your story will inspire others to believe.
#angels #neardeathexperience #swimming #childhood #summer #missouri
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