“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.”
Hebrews 13:2
“Have you ever been to Murphy?” my daughter asked a few days ago when we were trying to decide on a weekend destination. Her sweet little 4-year- old daughter had spent the week with me and we were going to meet somewhere to spend a couple of days together. After talking for a little while my daughter decided she would check out the possibility of us meeting in Murphy, NC to spend a restful weekend of sight-seeing and just being together.
A few hours later I got another call from her and she was very excited. “You won’t believe this, Mom. I found us a B&B named Angels Landing Inn. The lady’s first name is Sandi and she spells it just like I spell may name – with an “I”. “
“But, that’s not all!” She continued. “She believes in angels and has an “angel room” that I’ll be sleeping in with my little angel and you will be sleeping in the Daisi room – also spelled with an “I” – just like I spell Daisi!”
I laughed. There were lots of coincidences in her spiel. My daughter’s first name is Sandi and her pen name (yes, she’s a writer) is Daisi. Her adoptive daughter’s birth name was “Angel” (and we have always called her our “little angel” even though she now has another name). Plus I am the owner/webmaster of the “I Believe in Angels” website. I have always believed in the ministry of angels in my life and have shared my belief with my children as they grew up.
As you can see there were lots of “coincidences” and this excited and thrilled us. It was delightful to hear the excitement in my daughter’s voice as she relayed her “find” of the Angels Landing Inn Bed and Breakfast in Murphy, NC. Her excitement was contagious. I knew we would have a wonderful time even without the coincidences. I could hardly wait!
The inn keeper of the Angel’s Landing Inn (Sandi Stone) is a warm and friendly person who welcomed us with a hug and the hospitality of a true southern belle (though she is from New Jersey!). Her whole demeanor invites conversation and you find yourself talking to her like a long-lost friend or sister.
When I went to bed that night it was as comfortable as sleeping in my own home; very peaceful and very clean. I was wound up from having an active day sightseeing, touring the Biltmore Hotel (a couple of hours away from Murphy) so it was hard to go to sleep. I lay in bed thinking about Sandi and the wonderful B&B she and her husband had created. I heard the grandfather clock boom eleven bells; my sweet little granddaughter was asleep beside me and I was simply basking in the comfort of the Angel Landing Inn’s Daisi room.
About 30 minutes passed as I relived the events of the day and felt myself relaxing. Then I heard voices and someone walking in the hall. I lifted my head from the pillow and listened. A man was speaking in low tones and I assumed Sandi’s husband had arrived (he works out of town). A muffled voice answered the man’s voice and the footsteps grew faint. I lay there awhile and thought of the voice and the footsteps, then I drifted off to sleep as the clock boomed again.
“Have you experienced an angel encounter?” I asked Sandi the next morning after spending a very restful night in the Daisi room.
“I believe I have,” she told me. “When we were refurbishing this house” [the 106 year old Victorian that is now the B&B] “my daughter and I were sleeping upstairs in the “Angel” room and my sister and brother-in-law were sleeping downstairs in the “Daisi” room. We had just gone to bed and got settled in when my daughter and I heard footsteps coming down the hall toward our room. I got up and opened the door thinking my sister had come up stairs to ask something. But, when I opened the door there was no one there. I asked my daughter if she had heard the footsteps and she agreed that we had heard footsteps that had stopped just outside the door. The next morning I asked my sister if she had come upstairs and she said no.
“I believe that was our guardian angel walking around the house, protecting us,” she concluded.
I told her about the footsteps and the man’s voice I had heard around midnight.
“Oh my!” she said. “There were no men here last night – just us women and your granddaughter. My husband is still out of town.”
Hmmmm. I wondered if Sandi’s guardian angel was talking with the guardian angels that came with us. Was this another coincidence? Somehow I don’t think so. I do believe the Angels Landing Inn Bed and Breakfast and the lovely innkeeper, Sandi Stone, is encamped around about by angels.
If you’re ever in Murphy, NC, be sure to stay there. You’ll be glad you did – especially if you believe in angels.
Here’s a link to their website if you’re interested: Angels Landing Inn. Thanks, Sandi, for a lovely time we had in your home.
Blessings!
Linda Van Fleet