Voice of an Angel

Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. Love still stands when all else has fallen.

~Blaise Pascal

My daughter Kate had just passed away in a car accident, and I was beyond despondent. I didn’t think I could go on those first few weeks. But the angels had the most beautiful messages in store for me.

One night, I had a dream that changed everything.

A clear, calming voice, neither male nor female, said one sentence to me. “Read Charlotte’s Web. There will be a message in it for you.”

That was all. I woke up astounded at such a strange dream, realizing I had never read the children’s book Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. I knew my children had seen a cartoon version when they were young years before.

That morning, I went to a bookstore and bought the book. I sat down and read the classic children’s book all afternoon long. E.B. White’s beautiful imagery of life on the farm swept me into a bucolic world. He wrote of the wonderful friendship between Wilbur the pig and Charlotte the spider. Charlotte even saved Wilbur’s life at the state fair by staying near him and weaving words like “Terrific” in her intricate web.

But as I read, I couldn’t find any message that pertained to my own grief for Kate’s passing. It appeared the story was focused on Charlotte and Wilbur’s enduring friendship. Where was the message?

Amazingly, it was on the very last page. Charlotte, the spider, had died, and Wilbur was very sad. Yet the great writer had written a most loving passage: “Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart.”

These simple, wonderful words changed my thinking that very moment. No one could ever take Kate’s place in my heart, but I could and would go on loving my children and husband who were still living. I had a life to fill with happiness and giving to others.

That beautiful message has stayed with me for twenty-four years now. My children are grown, and I have grandchildren to love. Because of my love for Kate, I’ve written a series of novels about angels. This all happened because of a dream in which I heard an angel’s voice with a life-changing message for me.

— Jody Sharpe —