I have no doubts that my daughter Pam and I were the recipients of divine intervention in February of 1999. It's an experience difficult to explain or fully share because it was such a spiritual occurrence and revolved around my relationship with Pam.

It happened at the Detroit Airport as I was about to board a plane on my way home to Harrisburg. And it occurred during a very trying period in our family's life - the diagnosis and treatment of Pam for stage 1 ovarian cancer.

Pam and Roger drove me to the Detroit Airport, and as we waited for my plane to board, we chatted and all seemed well. Since Pam and I hate "goodbyes", we hugged and I started down the ramp. But when I turned to wave to her, I saw that Pam was totally distraught and crying. My first instinct was to tear up my ticket and run to her side, but I thought of Dick my husband who was waiting for me at home. I was so torn: I didn't know what to do. So I asked the lord for guidance. Then, just as I decided to turn around return to Pam, a casually dressed, slightly built man in his mid-forties, with white hair and a beard and the most piercing blue eyes I have ever seen, emerged from the crowd. He put his arm around my waist and physically pushed me towards the entrance of the plane. Although I was surrounded around by other passengers, no one but me seemed aware of this man and our encounter. The fact that even allowed this stranger to touch me, much less be so physical with me, was one thing. My first instinct would have been to hit shove him or hit him with my pocketbook. Then he turned to me and said he was told to tell me "everything would be all right". His gaze and words filled me with such a feeling of peace that I never thought to question him  - another thing I would not normally have done. The next thing I knew, I was sitting somewhat dumbfounded in my assigned seat with the most incredible feeling of calmness. The young man continued past me to the back of the plane, and although I would have normally followed him to find out who he was, I found myself too immersed in my feelings. I just sat in my seat all the way home praying for understanding and guidance.

When my plane reached Philadelphia, I was met by my husband Dick and immediately pointed out the young man to him. Dick managed to get a brief glimpse of him, but the young man moved quickly through the crown and was suddenly gone.

My heart was so full and the experience so seemingly sacred that I decided not to share my experience with Pam. However, when we arrived home, our phone was ringing. It was Pam, and her first question was "Did I see a white-bearded man with the bluest of eyes?" When I responded "yes" and asked why, Pam told me the stranger had turned and looked at her before heading down the ramp. She said that he didn't utter a word, just stared at her and blinked his most incredible blue eyes at her three times. It was a gaze, she said, that literally stopped her tears and left her feeling so peaceful.

The blue eyed stranger came and went. And since, Pam and I have had many opportunities to share our encounter with what we can only describe as an "angel" sent to help both of us accept the uncertainty of our present and provide us with hope for the future.