Usually, miracles are right on the edge of perception. In most cases, they leave room for doubt, for questioning (which also means that they leave room for faith). A miracle is often predicated on how we approach it. When we approach what God offers in a way that's negative, that's overly skeptical (thinking we are mature in doing so), we encounter few if any miracles and don't perceive them when they do occur (losing their benefits).

The more we believe, the more we receive.

There are miracles that are beyond question -- at least for those who witnessed them. There are "you had to be there" miracles.

One seems to have occurred to a woman named Connie Green from Kansas.

According to a fascinating new book, Angels, Miracles, and Heavenly Encounters: Real-Life Stories of Supernatural Events, Connie, who worked for Hallmark Cards, was rafting in Colorado with her husband and others, including a guide, when disaster (or near-disaster) struck.

This was on the Arkansas River, where suddenly their raft hit a rough patch of whitewater and the raft flipped, sending the woman smashing into a rock and then moving swiftly downriver -- above and below the water.

For a moment she was stopped by a log -- a hopeful moment. But then the river grabbed her downstream again. Her arms began to burn and shake. Tumbling, she lost her bearing. Dazed but still conscious, she had called out, "Jesus, help me!" Her lungs felt like they were ready to burst. Seconds seemed like hours. "Lord Jesus..."

As if from a distance, she heard her name softly called. "Connie..." She heard it again -- closer, but not urgent, not shouting; more like what she called a wakeup call. ("Connie..." )

In a flash, says the book, Green "felt hands under my arms, pulling me out of the water. I coughed, opened my eyes. Everything was blurry.

"Even with repeated blinking, all I could see was a man's white clothing.

"As he pulled me to a large flat boulder just above the river, I felt his long hair brush against me -- but I never saw his face."

"You'll be okay now," he said. "Just relax." It was the last she saw or heard from him.

Exhausted, she passed out.

When Connie's husband and the guide got to her, the guide told her it was a good thing she'd pulled herself out of the water when she did. She was just about to enter rapids that could be deadly without a raft. When she told them that she didn't pull herself out -- that a man did -- they only stared at her: The rock was in a spot that would be virtually impossible to reach without a raft. No one could have assisted her. And the rafting company was the only one with a permit for that section of the river, explained the (skeptical) guide.

How had the stranger gotten there?

How did he know her name?

How could he have just swept her up like that?

It was another one of those "mysterious stranger" accounts.

As her husband examined the ground, said Connie, he found the large partial print of a barefoot on soft earth between the rocks -- fresh. It even felt slightly warm, when Connie touched it for herself. But who could have been out there -- unseen to others -- and on those rocks with bare feet?

"I should have drowned," reflected the Kansas woman. "Never will I forget the feeling of not being able to breathe. No longer do I take air for granted. Thank God He sent His angel to my rescue."

Was there a message?

Connie believes she was saved because God had a plan for her and that plan was to help -- to rescue -- others.

"Angels are real, but not everyone has knowingly encountered one," she said. "Each of us comes across people every day who need an angel."

And finally:

"Though I may not be a heavenly angel, by God's Grace I can certainly act like one."

[resources: Angels, Miracles, and Heavenly Encounters: Real-Life Stories of Supernatural Events]

[Note also: Michael Brown retreats: Philadelphia-New Jersey]

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