Home » Blog » Angels and Miracles » Angel Stories » The Red Balloon

Share this story

The Red Balloon

The man walked right up to our car. “I believe this is yours,” he said. Maybe he was an earth angel…

Photo by iStock
Experience the wonder of Angels and Miracles with Guideposts! Sign up for our newsletters today and unlock a world of inspiration delivered directly to your inbox. Get uplifting insights, powerful stories of faith, and heartwarming encounters with the divine—all for free!

Someone at work gave my son, Sean, a big red helium balloon on a string, and you would have thought it was the moon!

Presents didn’t come often to my three-year-old. Nor me. I was thankful for my job at his day-care center, but it didn’t pay much. I’d been so full of hope once. Now it seemed like I would be forever struggling. I reached out to tie the balloon to Sean’s wrist for our walk to the car. “I’m a big boy!” he said, jerking his hand away.

“Promise you’ll hold on to it tightly?” I said. Sean nodded. He didn’t know how quickly life’s treasures could float away.

A warm breeze blew through the car window. I heard a thunk on the ceiling. “My balloon!” he yelled. Out the window! I pulled over, but it had already gone up into the sky. Sean sobbed.

There was nothing I could do. He forgot about the balloon, but on the drive home two weeks later, sitting in traffic and fog, I was still thinking about it. How am I ever going to make a happy life for Sean and me, God, if I can’t even hold on to a silly red balloon?

A clean-cut man in his 30s walked out of the haze ahead. I blinked, amazed. He was holding a red balloon. The man walked right up to our car. “I believe this is yours,” he said, handing it to me through the open window. Sean giggled.

I held tightly to my balloon—and my hope. Maybe it was just another kind stranger with a gift; maybe it was an angel. But already our future looked brighter.

Download your free ebook Angel Sightings: 7 Inspirational Stories About Heavenly Angels and Everyday Angels on Earth.  

Share this story

Mornings with Jesus 2025 book Right Rail Ad

Community Newsletter

Get More Inspiration Delivered to Your Inbox

Scroll to Top