Ever since I began my study of the existence of guardian angels in our lives, it has been a like a wide-open window with lovely breezes carrying the most interesting and intimate true stories.

I talked with and listened to many people recalling so many unexplained experiences they have had. It seemed like everyone was happy to share one.

I was amazed at the response. Being a bit unsure how I felt, it was a big surprise to find almost everyone I asked did believe both in guardians and angels, and angels on earth in human form.

Some years ago, I not only wrote my “View from the Hill” column, but I wrote the second weekly column I called “Reality of Miracles.” The response was overwhelming.

What I now believe is possibly I was recounting people’s relationship with a celestial being. That never occurred to me at the time.

I decided to search my memory and what came to mind was an experience while I was a very ill patient at Mayo Clinic. Now I believe it was a definite experience with my guardian angel.

After a risky surgery on my spine, I developed a dangerously high fever and pain. The surgeons were called back to the hospital and decided I had to be opened up again to see what was happening.

It was a scary reality and I began to cry and mostly to pray. I needed a miracle. Lying on the surgical bed, suddenly I raised my head and there stood a man I did not know. He stood directly behind my head.

He was tall, I think he had a dark beard, and his arms were spread wide. I cannot explain the next moment, but I absolutely knew he was there to go through the surgery with me.

I wish you could have seen him. He was beautiful and was surrounded by a godly peace which emanated to me. In a second, I went from being frightened and feeling alone to having a peace I’ve never felt before.

As the IV to put me to sleep was administered, I distinctly know he lowered his arms and placed his hands on my shoulders. When it was all over, he was gone.

Was he Jesus or was it my guardian angel in a human form or even a celestial messenger?

Now I want to share some of the life experiences with angels others told me.

One young lady told me about an experience in a grocery store. Just buying her groceries, she saw an older man with snow white hair. He was not shopping. Instead he seemed to be watching this person. She said she felt no fear as he walked over to her and said, “May I touch you?”

Normally, she would have said no, but for some reason she nodded her head. The man placed his hands on her face, one hand on each side.

Then he said, “You are an angel, and I never saw one before.” Then he walked away.

I asked if it scared her. And she answered, “Not at all. It was humbling.” The woman also said she is often led by a being she hears but doesn’t see.

Another lady shared an awesome experience. After having to put her beloved dog to sleep, she was so lonely and lost without her dog that one day she got into her car and headed to the animal shelter.

While driving there, she decided to adopt two dogs. Suddenly, out of nowhere, were two straggly, thin dogs right in the middle of the road.

She quickly stopped on the side of the road. When she opened the car door, both pathetic stray dogs jumped in. Normally that would never happen.

Without a second thought, the lady knew they had been sent to her. She turned around and called one by her other dog’s name — Gidget. And she named the other dog Karma. After closing the car door, they went to their new home. Surely they were sent directly to her, and it was the beginning of many happy blessed years together.

Another person told me many experiences with her guardian angel. During bouts of depression, her angel brings her three lights into her room to give her peace. She recognized one as her angel, the middle one was God and the other one was her own father. They comforted her, and she did not feel alone.

In my last column, I said the reason God gives us angels was to guide and lead us and also to protect us.

I think the closer we get with this entity given by God, the freer our lives will be because our angel or its messengers’ purpose is to keep us on the right path to guide us and to love us unconditionally.

The view from the mountain is wondrous.

Jean Brody is a passionate animal lover and mother. She previously lived in Winchester, but now resides in Littleton, Colorado. Her column has appeared in the Sun for more than 25 years.