Angels Among Us; Reflections on Miraculous Blessings After A Brain Injury with Carol Ann Guest

Hi!
I’m Karen Hall, Host of The Hero Within Podcast.

Today I reflect on my conversation with my good friend, Carol Ann Guest, who shared her miracles from her sudden traumatic brain injury.  If you haven't heard Part 1 and Part 2 of Carol Ann's story, be sure to listen as she shares her dark hours of pain and how her strong testimony has grown even stronger.
Today, you'll learn:

*Miracles surrounding Becky Hobbs writing the song, Angels Among Us, released by Alabama.

*Scriptures in which angels offer divine messages, warnings, protection, and comfort.

*Harold B. Lee and Jeffrey R. Holland teach that angels provide divine help for us and for our loved ones.

*Angels provide power and reassurance.  Examples include Elisha and Elijah in 1 Kings 19 and 2 Kings 6.

*"Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them."

*We live among the presence of heavenly messengers and heavenly beings.

*My angel dad helps me and my family and love us more now than in mortality.

*We need to speak of, believe in and bear testimony of the ministry of angels more than we do.

How have angels ministered to you and your family?

If you'd like to support the podcast, please follow/subscribe and please leave a review. I'd love to hear your thoughts!   Carol Ann would love to hear your feedback too!

Wishing you lots of love on your own hero’s journey,
xoxo, Karen

Closing thoughts: Thanks so much for listening!  Please share this episode with your loved ones and spread the love to bless others!
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Connect with Karen Hall

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Podcast: The Hero Within Podcast

Connect with Carol Ann Guest

Carol Ann graduated from Weber State University with a BS in Allied Health Science, practiced for 18 years as a dental hygienist, has an anesthesia license and taught Preventative Dentistry at Salt Lake Community College.  Then she dedicated herself to the health and wellness industry, focusing on natural solutions.  She and her family built a school in Africa and Nepal, she headed a medical mission for disabled children in Ghana, and they went to Guatemala to build garden boxes for families.  She reigned as Mrs. Utah in  2011 and shared with women her unstoppable mindset, which she developed through many difficult trials in her life.

Carol Ann is married to her supportive husband Curt and they live in Southern Utah.  Together they have a blended family of 6 children and 6 grandchildren.

Facebook: CarolAnnGuest
Instagram: @carolannguest
Website: https://carolannguest.com/

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Hey there, welcome back. I'm Karen Hall, your host of the Hero Within podcast. I'm passionate about sharing inspiring true stories of unsung heroes who've overcome some of life's most challenging adversities. Come along with me and learn how you too can find hope and healing to return to love. I just loved visiting with Carol and guest. It was amazing to hear about her experiences and I loved hearing about how the Lord has been with her throughout this healing journey. I was so happy when I heard about her angels that have come to her with her dad and her grandma, nelly, and to think of the joy that that brought her to have them come to her and minister to her and comfort her in her struggle. Oh, it just brought so much joy to my heart. I just felt so happy and you know I can't stop humming the song Angels Among Us from Alabama. I know probably all of you have heard that song before. It was Alabama's hit song released in 1993, and I've loved that song ever since. I'm probably like most people because it makes me think of miracles in my life in which I have felt angels watching over and helping me, and I thought you might like to hear about some of the miracles surrounding that song. And then I want to share some scriptural thoughts about angels with you. I read an article in Guideposts about Randy Owens, the lead singer for Alabama, and he said he's gotten hundreds of letters about that song through the years. He said that, like his fans, he also believes there are angels among us. He said if it wasn't for one of those angels on earth, I would have had a very different life.

Speaker 1: 1:56

Randy grew up in rural Alabama and he didn't know any kids who finished high school. When he was in junior high his daddy needed his help on the farm, so he dropped out of school. A year later he returned to school, not as a student, though. He came back working as a janitor after he had worked in the fields all day. He says he remembers the day the principal confronted him at work. He saw her bright red hair as she marched over to him and asked why would a straight, a student drop out before high school? All my good reasons for dropping out disappeared at the sight of Mrs Ellis I don't know, he mumbled as an educator, wasted potential offends my sensibilities. She said it's about time you went back. Randy wondered how he'd do his schoolwork and juggle farm work Plus. He'd been away for over a year. He felt he could never catch up. But Mrs Ellis insisted that she'd have his transcripts and to get to the high school and get enrolled the next day.

Speaker 1: 3:02

Randy said that he stood in front of the high school principal watching him go over his transcripts and the principal said Look, son, however well you think you did in junior high and he eyed his farm clothes with suspicion you are too far behind to catch up now Go back to the fields. Randy thanked him for his time and went back to his janitor's job. He said he felt like he had tried and he decided school just wasn't meant for guys like him. Then Randy said that he heard Mrs Ellis marching down the hall, bellowing his name, and she declared that he was supposed to be in high school. When Randy told her what the high school principal said to him, she was indignant and he says her face got as red as her hair. She exclaimed follow me. And Randy said in a minute I was in the principal's office, but this time I wasn't the one getting yelled at. Mrs Ellis was willing to fight for me in a way no other teacher had. He said the high school principal was forced to let Randy into the high school. But he didn't like it and told Randy, if I see you in my office even once, it will be your last day at Fort Payne High. Reflecting on the lyrics of the song, I believe there are angels among us to show us how to live, to guide us with a light of love. Randy said that Mrs Ellis had surely done that for him. Randy described how he depended on Mrs Ellis to continue to get him through high school.

Speaker 1: 4:37

One day the teacher demanded that Randy spit out his gum and then told him to sit in the front row. The class laughed and Randy was embarrassed. He said I wanted to run right back to the field. I was big, I was strong, I belonged there. No matter how much I loved to learn, I didn't belong in school, randy said. As I spit out my gum in the wastebasket, a hundred smart remarks ran through my head. I could lay this guy out with one punch. I thought, sure, I'd get expelled. But who would care? Not my math teacher, not these other kids, not the principal, but Mrs Ellis would care. I thought Mrs Ellis believed in me. So quietly I took my seat in the front row.

Speaker 1: 5:26

But then Randy faced an even bigger challenge. He found the class bully dangling a smaller boy out the second story window. Randy demanded that the bully pull the boy inside. The bully challenged Randy and asked who are you? Randy said A fight would get me kicked out of school. I knew Mrs Ellis was counting on me to graduate, but I also knew Mrs Ellis didn't give in to bullies. I had seen that the day she told off the high school principal. This kid dangling out the window needed someone to stand up for him, the way Mrs Ellis had stood up for me. Lord, please don't make me have to fight him. Who am I? Randy replied I'm the guy who's going to kick your tail if you don't pull him back inside.

Speaker 1: 6:13

Randy said Maybe I'd managed to channel some of Mrs Ellis's authority. Maybe my guardian angel stepped in to back me up. Whatever the reason, the bully gave in without a fight. He pulled the smaller boy back through the window just in time for the teacher to arrive. I took my seat. Maybe I can make it through high school, he thought for the first time. Maybe I do have potential. He began to think of his future and, though he knew it would be hard, he also knew there would be good people like Mrs Ellis who cared and were willing to fight to give him a fair chance. Randy said that suddenly he saw a bright future ahead of him that he hadn't known before, at least not until Mrs Ellis's example, which showed him how to fight for it. Later he graduated from high school and college and started singing on stage and became the lead singer for Alabama. Randy said I've tried to use my success to help others reach their potential. It's what Mrs Ellis would do. She's still showing me how to live and guiding me with the light of love. A real angel among us.

Speaker 1: 7:27

The song Angels Among Us was written by Don Goodman and Becky Hobbs. Becky describes how the lyrics and the melody of the song came about. She said that in 1985 she began having premonitions. She said she would wake up at night sweating, from having nightmares of crashing, thinking that she wasn't ready to die. One morning, the day before her birthday, she was outside and she felt a strong energy. She looked up at the sky and asked what is it you are trying to tell me? She heard a distinct male voice answer her Be careful, this may be your last birthday.

Speaker 1: 8:09

The next day, january 25, 1986, becky and her band were traveling back from a concert on a rainy night, their van had stopped at a traffic light at the intersection of a four-lane highway. As the light turned and they started into the intersection, becky looked up and saw an 18-wheeler barreling down the road. She got the same premonition and yelled to her driver, randy, to stop, which he did. The truck hit their van, ripping off their trailer full of the band's equipment. Miraculously, the members of the band walked away with only minor injuries, but the van was a wreck. They said that if the driver hadn't stopped when she yelled out, they would have all died. Becky realized that the voice she heard was her guardian angel. She came home and started writing the song with the title Angels Among Us, and she had the melody and the chorus which came easily to her. After several years she asked her friend Don Goodman to help her finish the song, which they completed in only two writings. The song has touched so many people and hundreds of fans have written in with stories and letters explaining how this song was a blessing, and these were compiled into a book. This song is one of the group's best-known songs.

Speaker 1: 9:35

Interestingly, when this song came out in 1993, we didn't hear people talk as much about angels interacting with us in our daily lives. I remember times when I felt prompted and shared with special people how I had felt angels from the other side helping me and my family and warning me of dangers. I remember one particular incident when an angel who was my deceased ancestor warned me of danger happening in another state, when I had no way of knowing this on my own. It was such an incredible miracle and because of this warning we were protected, then later told me I shouldn't talk about such things. I was puzzled because to me I was just bearing testimony of such a wonderful blessing and I wanted others to know it was real for me and that this was possible for them too. I had read in the scriptures about the miracles when angels had warned people and ministered to them, bringing comfort and peace. I knew it was a pattern for us and I was so excited whenever this happened to me.

Speaker 1: 10:42

There are so many accounts of angels in the scriptures and I want to share a few thoughts about some of these accounts. The English word angel comes from the Greek word meaning messenger. Angels give messages to God's children. In Hebrews 1.14, angels are described as ministering spirits who are sent to minister and to comfort us. In the Bible we are told the names of some of the angels, such as the angel Gabriel that came to tell Zacharias of the upcoming miraculous birth of John the Baptist. Gabriel was the same angel that came to Mary to announce that she would bear the Son of God. You can read about these in Luke, chapter 1. Angels announced Jesus' birth and directed the shepherds to Jesus here. An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph the carpenter in a dream, saying Arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt. Then, after Herod died, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and told him that they could return. This protected Jesus from being killed, because Herod had sent out the decree that all males two years and younger should be killed. You can read in Matthew about Jesus being tempted in the wilderness, and angels were dispatched to minister and provide comfort. Angels are described throughout the Bible, as early as in Genesis in the Garden of Eden. I love the story in Daniel 6, in which an angel was sent by God to shut the lion's mouths and Daniel declared that they didn't hurt him. Angels led armies to battle and during the reign of King David, an angel of the Lord, went forth to battle against the Assyrians to protect Jerusalem.

Speaker 1: 12:35

I recently read an experience that Harold B Lee had that he shared in 1973. He said I was suffering from an ulcer condition that was becoming worse and worse. My wife Joan and I had been touring and I was impressed the next morning that we should get home as quickly as possible, although we had planned to stay for some other meetings On the way across the country. We were sitting in the forward section of the airplane. Some of our other fellow church members were in the next section. As we approached a certain point in route, someone laid his hand upon my head. I looked up, but I could see no one. That happened again before we arrived home, again with the same experience. Who it was, by what means or what medium, I may never know, except I knew that I was receiving a blessing that I came a few hours later to know I needed most desperately. As soon as we arrived home, my wife very anxiously called the doctor. It was now about eleven o'clock at night. He called me to come to the telephone and he asked me how I was and I said well, well, I am very tired. I think I will be all right. But shortly thereafter there came massive hemorrhages which, had they occurred while we were in flight, I wouldn't be here today talking about it.

Speaker 1: 14:01

I know that there are powers divine that reach out when all other help is not available. Yes, I know that there are such powers, and that reminded me again about Carol Ann and how she had asked her grandma, nellie, to take her army and to go and minister to both of her daughters at different times, and it is such a blessing and such a miracle that we can have help when no other help is available and that we can ask for this same blessing for our loved ones. In 1981, I took an Old Testament class at the university and I was thrilled to learn about the story of Elisha in 2 Kings, chapter 6. This is one of my favorite stories about angels providing power and strength, comfort and reassurance when all odds are against us.

Speaker 1: 14:59

Serious King had surrounded Elisha in Dothan with soldiers, horses and chariots. Elisha's servant woke and saw the large armies surrounding them and he cried out Alas, my master, how shall we do? Elisha answered Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them Now. The servant couldn't really understand this, because he's looking around and he's saying there's not very many of us. Then there's a whole lot of them I can see them, all you know surrounding us. Then Elisha prayed and said Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. Just as Elisha faced very real and terrible opposition, we may find ourselves overwhelmed and afraid and we may see no way to overcome. Jeffery R Holland said In the gospel of Jesus Christ we have help from both sides of the veil when disappointment and discouragement strike, and they will. We need to remember that if our eyes could be opened, we would see horses and chariots of fire as far as the eye can see, riding at great speed to come to our protection. They will always be there, these armies of heaven, in our defense. We know that it is by faith that angels appear and minister to men.

Speaker 1: 16:42

Another wonderful account of an angel is in 1 Kings 19. Elijah had already seen amazing miracles, with the drought and the famine and ravens feeding him by the brook chariots. He witnessed the Lord's hand when the little bit of oil and meal was multiplied abundantly for the widow of Zarephath and her only son was raised from the dead. And now Elijah fled for his life because Jezebel wanted to kill him and he felt depressed. After all the trials he had been through, he declared that he was ready to die. But an angel came and touched him and said Arise and eat. Elijah looked and there was a cake, bacon on the coals and a cruise of water at his head and he did eat and drink and laid him down again. The angel came a second time and again touched him and told him to eat. Then the angel comforted him and validated him that his journey was too great for him and Elijah felt comforted, got up and ate and drank and it gained strength from the Lord to carry on in his mission. And I thought this was really interesting because many times when we are discouraged and we just feel like we have no more energy to continue on, that if we can just feel nourished and validated and comforted, we can regain some strength and we can continue on. And I thought it was interesting that the angel gave us the example of validating Elijah.

Speaker 1: 18:29

Most people who do believe in angels believe that they are in a distant location in heaven, watching us from afar, and in 1916 Joseph Fielding Smith said I believe we move and have our being in the presence of heavenly messengers and of heavenly beings. We are not separate from them. I claim that we live in their presence. They see us. They are solicitous for our welfare. They love us now more than ever. Their love for us and their desire for our well-being must be greater than that which we feel for ourselves, and I loved that because we learned that our loved ones who have passed on are right here with us. They aren't far away.

Speaker 1: 19:18

Like Carol Ann, my father passed away 19 years ago. He thought he had a respiratory infection and he went to the doctor who put him in the hospital. Suddenly, the doctor called and told my mom that my dad was dying and would likely die in a matter of hours. The doctor told her to call all her children to say goodbye to my dad. My mom was in shock. She called my brother and sister who lived nearby to come to the hospital, but in her severe stress of the moment she forgot to call me. I was living out of state and she didn't think to call me until after my dad had passed away.

Speaker 1: 19:56

I felt sad that I didn't get to say goodbye, but then I reflected on how many tender mercies the Lord had blessed me with, such as in inspiring me to travel from several states away with my family and visit my dad only days before on our spring break. I had felt a premonition that my dad might not live much longer, and so we made the trip, but I had no idea how soon he would pass after our visit. During that visit my dad and I had a wonderful, loving conversation and he told me so many things he loved and appreciated about me, and I was able to tell him how much I loved and appreciated him. And just two days after I left he died unexpectedly. I was all alone that night because my husband was travelling, working for the government, and I couldn't reach him by phone. I felt so lonely without my husband and without my mom and my siblings, but I was comforted by my dad visiting me that night and keeping me company all night.

Speaker 1: 21:01

This was such a beautiful compensating blessing. He let me know that he was free of the illness he had felt and his face was radiant and full of joy. The photo I have of him in mortality. That is closest to the expression I saw. That night is on the day he got married to my mom. I also felt my dad communicate to me that he would be able to help me even more from the other side of the veil than he had ever been able to when he was alive, with the limitations of mortality. And he has, just like Carol Ann, sent her grandma, nelly, and her army to be with her daughters when Carol Ann couldn't be there. I have also asked my dad and my other ancestors to be with and help my family members when I couldn't. It has been a great comfort to me when he has helped me and my family.

Speaker 1: 21:54

Just like Joseph Fielding Smith said, I have felt that my dad loves me now more than ever. I keep his picture by my bed and I talk to him every day and some days I ask him for his help. I love knowing that I can still talk to him and tell him how much I love him, share memories I have with him and tell him how grateful I am for him. And I am extra grateful that I have been blessed to feel him close to me, letting me know how much he loves me.

Speaker 1: 22:24

In 1996, jeffery R Holland reminded us I believe we need to speak of and believe in and bear testimony at the ministry of angels more than we sometimes do. I was so grateful to hear him say that I love speaking of angels and I love to bear my testimony of the miracles of angels in my life. I know you have loved ones who are acting as your guardian angels, offering help and comfort in your times of need. When you listen to Alabama sing Angels Among Us, I hope you're not only aware of the blessing of your mortal angels, but that you also feel your loved ones hugging you from the other side. It is so great to visit with you about these things and I am so happy that we are reminded to speak of and to bear testimony more often of the ministry of angels. I can't wait to visit with you again next time.