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This is in response to the StoryWorth question: What is one of the strangest things that has ever happened to you?
I remember when I was eight, my heart was broken when my great-grandmother, everyone called her Granny, died. She had been a sweet and loving presence in my daily life up until that point.
Granny and my brother David.
Granny and my brother David.
When she died, my tender heart broke with the abandon that only a child’s heart can break. I don’t mean that the hearts of adults cannot break but emotions can almost consume a child. During a joyous moment, a child can get lost in the joy and unabashedly embrace it. Granny’s death so consumed me in its sorrow. I was like the phoenix being consumed up in the flames of my grief.
Sometime soon after her death, I recall looking up at the ceiling and seeing Granny. I didn’t see a spirit or anything like that. Rather it was as if I were looking at a portrait-type head and shoulders photograph of her. She didn’t move or speak, it was just like I was looking briefly at a photo of her and she was not alone. Two other ladies flanked her and I did not know who these ladies were. I just know that Granny looked happy with them.
I told Mom that I saw Granny on our ceiling with two other ladies that I didn’t know. Mom asked me if they were tall or short. I could not really say as I could only see their head and shoulders but they did look taller than Granny. When I was eight, Granny was even tall to me. I think that Mom thought that the two ladies on either side of Granny could have been Rachel, my mom’s mother, and Esther, another of Granny’s daughters who had passed away before her.
Esther in front and Rachel in the middle back.
When I was eight, I don’t imagine that I had ever heard much of Rachel or Esther unless they were mentioned in the conversations of the adults around me. Even if my child’s ears had heard of them, I probably did not pay attention to the names of folks that I did not personally know. I doubt that even if I had remembered them mentioned that I would have been able to connect them to Granny. I don’t recall having seen photos of them back then. Genealogy would become an interest to me many years in the future.
Today, I cannot really say that I recall what the other two ladies I saw in my ceiling photo looked like but I do believe that they were probably Rachel and Esther. I knew who Granny was for certain. I do know that over the years, I have never come upon a portrait of Rachel, Granny, and Esther together amongst the thousands of photos I have studied so I don’t believe that a photo that I had seen in the past had been remembered for my ceiling portrait.
I think that my ceiling picture was a gift from God. I got to see my Granny looking down upon me and Mom may have gotten comfort that we had a sign that Granny was with Rachel and Esther in Heaven. Of course, Mom already knew that, but that ceiling photo perhaps served as a comforting affirmation.
I have never had any other “vision”, I suppose that I could call it that, past or present but I have “witnessed” what I see as signs.
I recall when my Uncle Johnnie died, Uncle Olen called me in the wee hours of the morning to tell me. I told him that I did not want to tell Mom over the phone, so I would wait until I knew they were awake and I would drive to their home to tell them.
Now, I do not live in the country. My neighborhood has some wooded commons areas but we are by no means in the country. A very busy road is a few hundred feet down the road from my house and Interstate 24 is about 3.5 miles from my house to the right and Interstate 65 is about the same distance to the left. Still, we do see the extremely rare deer or wild turkey fairly close by.
The morning I was going to Murfreesboro to tell Mom that her baby brother had died, I had just backed out of my drive and started down the road when I saw a wild turkey with an ungainly head bobbing strut hurriedly cross the road. I swear, it reminded me so much of Uncle Johnnie, I had to laugh in spite of my tears. Uncle Johnnie had a big round belly and I could just imagine if he was rushing to cross the street that he would look much like that turkey with its breast stuck out as it bobbed across! I believe that God was sending me a sign that Uncle Johnnie had crossed over into Heaven just as that turkey had crossed that road. It turned my tears into a smile.
Sometime soon after her death, I recall looking up at the ceiling and seeing Granny. I didn’t see a spirit or anything like that. Rather it was as if I were looking at a portrait-type head and shoulders photograph of her. She didn’t move or speak, it was just like I was looking briefly at a photo of her and she was not alone. Two other ladies flanked her and I did not know who these ladies were. I just know that Granny looked happy with them.
I told Mom that I saw Granny on our ceiling with two other ladies that I didn’t know. Mom asked me if they were tall or short. I could not really say as I could only see their head and shoulders but they did look taller than Granny. When I was eight, Granny was even tall to me. I think that Mom thought that the two ladies on either side of Granny could have been Rachel, my mom’s mother, and Esther, another of Granny’s daughters who had passed away before her.
Esther in front and Rachel in the middle back.
When I was eight, I don’t imagine that I had ever heard much of Rachel or Esther unless they were mentioned in the conversations of the adults around me. Even if my child’s ears had heard of them, I probably did not pay attention to the names of folks that I did not personally know. I doubt that even if I had remembered them mentioned that I would have been able to connect them to Granny. I don’t recall having seen photos of them back then. Genealogy would become an interest to me many years in the future.
Today, I cannot really say that I recall what the other two ladies I saw in my ceiling photo looked like but I do believe that they were probably Rachel and Esther. I knew who Granny was for certain. I do know that over the years, I have never come upon a portrait of Rachel, Granny, and Esther together amongst the thousands of photos I have studied so I don’t believe that a photo that I had seen in the past had been remembered for my ceiling portrait.
I think that my ceiling picture was a gift from God. I got to see my Granny looking down upon me and Mom may have gotten comfort that we had a sign that Granny was with Rachel and Esther in Heaven. Of course, Mom already knew that, but that ceiling photo perhaps served as a comforting affirmation.
I have never had any other “vision”, I suppose that I could call it that, past or present but I have “witnessed” what I see as signs.
I recall when my Uncle Johnnie died, Uncle Olen called me in the wee hours of the morning to tell me. I told him that I did not want to tell Mom over the phone, so I would wait until I knew they were awake and I would drive to their home to tell them.
Now, I do not live in the country. My neighborhood has some wooded commons areas but we are by no means in the country. A very busy road is a few hundred feet down the road from my house and Interstate 24 is about 3.5 miles from my house to the right and Interstate 65 is about the same distance to the left. Still, we do see the extremely rare deer or wild turkey fairly close by.
The morning I was going to Murfreesboro to tell Mom that her baby brother had died, I had just backed out of my drive and started down the road when I saw a wild turkey with an ungainly head bobbing strut hurriedly cross the road. I swear, it reminded me so much of Uncle Johnnie, I had to laugh in spite of my tears. Uncle Johnnie had a big round belly and I could just imagine if he was rushing to cross the street that he would look much like that turkey with its breast stuck out as it bobbed across! I believe that God was sending me a sign that Uncle Johnnie had crossed over into Heaven just as that turkey had crossed that road. It turned my tears into a smile.
Uncle Johnnie.
Another sign came to me in the form of a dream. It was just after my brother David had died. David and I had not had a close relationship. He really seemed to isolate himself from most of our family. Even for family celebrations at Mom and Dad’s house, he would usually not sit with the rest of us. He would take his food into the den and watch TV. He hadn’t been to any real family gatherings in years. He did come to my house for Dad’s 80th birthday celebration but that was the exception rather than the rule. So David and I were not close.
At his funeral, several of his friends spoke and others shared memories in the form of notes. The David they were describing seemed like a totally different person from the David his family knew. This bothered me as I would have loved to have known that David. I wondered what I could have done differently to have changed our relationship so I had some regret.
Now, I know that everyone dreams but I rarely feel like I have dreamed, and actually recalling my dreams is even rarer. A few nights after David’s funeral, I had a dream and I actually remembered that dream. I dreamed that I was sitting in the den at Mom and Dad’s house. I was sitting in the recliner that David usually sat in. David came into the room and knelt on the floor in front of my chair as I sat there.
David had experienced back pain for several years and he even moaned and groaned as he knelt down in front of me. He looked up at me and said “It’s okay, April. It’s okay.” That was the dream, just a few words uttered to me by my brother; but somehow, it felt like a burden had been lifted from my spirit. I consider that dream as a gift from God.
Another sign came to me in the form of a dream. It was just after my brother David had died. David and I had not had a close relationship. He really seemed to isolate himself from most of our family. Even for family celebrations at Mom and Dad’s house, he would usually not sit with the rest of us. He would take his food into the den and watch TV. He hadn’t been to any real family gatherings in years. He did come to my house for Dad’s 80th birthday celebration but that was the exception rather than the rule. So David and I were not close.
At his funeral, several of his friends spoke and others shared memories in the form of notes. The David they were describing seemed like a totally different person from the David his family knew. This bothered me as I would have loved to have known that David. I wondered what I could have done differently to have changed our relationship so I had some regret.
Now, I know that everyone dreams but I rarely feel like I have dreamed, and actually recalling my dreams is even rarer. A few nights after David’s funeral, I had a dream and I actually remembered that dream. I dreamed that I was sitting in the den at Mom and Dad’s house. I was sitting in the recliner that David usually sat in. David came into the room and knelt on the floor in front of my chair as I sat there.
David had experienced back pain for several years and he even moaned and groaned as he knelt down in front of me. He looked up at me and said “It’s okay, April. It’s okay.” That was the dream, just a few words uttered to me by my brother; but somehow, it felt like a burden had been lifted from my spirit. I consider that dream as a gift from God.
David and I at a joint birthday dinner.
Another sign was not witnessed by me first-hand but it was “witnessed” by me real-time second hand. It happened in July of 2019.
A few weeks prior to that, I had noticed a fairly close DNA match on Ancestry. She was a second cousin match on my mother’s side. I contacted her and found out that she grew up not knowing the identity of her father. We were able to determine that her father was my cousin who had been more like an uncle to me. He had passed away but he had two other daughters and I was able to approach them for my new cousin. When I called his oldest daughter, I told her that I had something kind of big to tell her and asked if she was able to talk to me for a few minutes as I explained the situation. She listened and after a while, she laughed and said, “Thanks, Aunt Kookie for being with me while I hear this big news.” Then she explained to me that she was sitting outside and a beautiful butterfly had landed on her just as I was telling her about her sister. My cousin Kookie had passed away several years ago and she loved butterflies. The butterfly seemed like a sign to my cousin from her Aunt Kookie.
Another sign was not witnessed by me first-hand but it was “witnessed” by me real-time second hand. It happened in July of 2019.
A few weeks prior to that, I had noticed a fairly close DNA match on Ancestry. She was a second cousin match on my mother’s side. I contacted her and found out that she grew up not knowing the identity of her father. We were able to determine that her father was my cousin who had been more like an uncle to me. He had passed away but he had two other daughters and I was able to approach them for my new cousin. When I called his oldest daughter, I told her that I had something kind of big to tell her and asked if she was able to talk to me for a few minutes as I explained the situation. She listened and after a while, she laughed and said, “Thanks, Aunt Kookie for being with me while I hear this big news.” Then she explained to me that she was sitting outside and a beautiful butterfly had landed on her just as I was telling her about her sister. My cousin Kookie had passed away several years ago and she loved butterflies. The butterfly seemed like a sign to my cousin from her Aunt Kookie.
Kookie between her two daughters.
So this tells of a few signs that I have been aware of in my life. I am pretty sure that there were other signs along the way that just did not register with my consciousness. They went WHOOSH, right over my head. I believe these things that have happened that I call signs, have been gifts sent from God to calm chaotic thoughts, to begin the mending of broken hearts, to cause the phoenix to reemerge, alive and well from the ashes.
So this tells of a few signs that I have been aware of in my life. I am pretty sure that there were other signs along the way that just did not register with my consciousness. They went WHOOSH, right over my head. I believe these things that have happened that I call signs, have been gifts sent from God to calm chaotic thoughts, to begin the mending of broken hearts, to cause the phoenix to reemerge, alive and well from the ashes.
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