There's Your Sign!

Three weeks ago a dear friend, Laverne (who preferred to be called Sis) departed this world for the next phase of her journey. We were having a heart to heart talk two weeks beforehand in her hospital room. Her light was fading and she was tired of being sick. I was talking to her about how beautiful Heaven must be. She smiled a weary smile and said, “Everybody wants to go to Heaven, but nobody wants to die.”

Sis was an intuitive, a medium, a psychic. She was the person who had delivered a message from my angel, my daughter Brittany, that changed my life. She’d always seen things most of us don’t, but she was afraid of what she couldn’t see right then.

Two years after my daughter’s fatal accident I was at a dinner with my sisters-in-law. They had invited an aunt and an older cousin. Sis (Laverne) was the cousin. She was seated directly across the table from me. I had only met her a couple of times prior so I didn’t really know her. While everyone around us was engaged in conversation, she looked at me and sweetly said, “Your angel is always with you, isn’t she?” I told her I thought she was. She went on, “I have a message for you, Sugar. She loves what you’ve done with her room.” A big smile came across her face and her eyes sparkled. A single tear escaped from mine. Nothing had changed in Brittany’s room… Until that week. I had finally moved her bed and replaced her comforter with something bright and new. No one knew that except me! She had just delivered a message from Heaven!

We became very close over the decade that followed.

In the hospital, I held her hand and asked her if she would give me a sign when she got to Heaven. For a minute we thought about what the sign should be, but quickly agreed that I’d know when I saw it.

I went to Florida for a meeting the weekend after our hospital visit. Sis was on my mind, but I didn’t mention her. Someone else attending the same meeting randomly asked me if I had read the book, Heaven is Beautiful. She showed me her copy and said, “I think this is for you. I’ll order another one.” I thanked her and graciously accepted the gift. I put it in my carry on bag to read when I traveled home.

On my return flight I opened the first few pages and was surprised to see that the book was published in Charlottesville, my home town. Hmmm.

When I landed in Charlottesville, I quickly headed to the assisted living home Sis had gone to after leaving the hospital. She had made the decision to accept Hospice care and stop all of the meds and machines that were keeping her alive. When I arrived she was having a difficult time keeping her eyes open, so I told her to rest and pulled out my new book. I softly read the author’s description of the Heaven he had experienced, briefly, many years before. Then, these beautiful words….

”You are not your body. You are your soul. Your soul inhabits your body. When you go across, or when the one you love departs, the soul does not die. The real you does not die. When you die, you will carry with you-yourself-the you who is you, plus all the love you have given away or shared, and all the love you have gathered.”

On my way home from my visit, I telephoned a mutual friend to share Sis’ condition. I also told her about the book that was gifted to me and my surprise to learn there was a publishing company in Charlottesville. She, very matter of factly, said “Oh yes, Hampton Roads. The publisher spoke to Laverne some time ago about publishing a book detailing her experiences as an intuitive.” Wow!

While I don’t know what all of these “connections” mean, I’m very certain they are more than coincidence; the gift of a book I hadn’t heard of, published in my own town, by a company that had considered printing my dying friend’s words. I like to think they are little angel whispers or Heavenly clues, that have a meaning I will eventually understand. In the meantime, they make me smile because I know there is a message…..

Laverne passed one week later, in the wee hours of a Tuesday morning.

On Thursday, I went out very early for my morning walk. It was still dark. The sky was clear and full of stars. I was deep in thought about writing a story about her. The thought in my mind was, “Yep, Sis would like that.” At that very instant I glanced up to witness a bright star shoot across the sky. There’s your sign! I laughed and cried and whispered a heartfelt “thank you” into the crisp morning air.

I believe there are signs and clues given to us everyday. I wonder how many more I miss and if there are angels, loving souls, shaking their heads, saying “listen, Kellie, listen!”

The author of that book, Peter Baldwin Panagore said, “The veil between heaven and earth is lifted more often than we know.”

Do you notice these patterns? Do you also sit in awe and wonder? I HOPE you do. I’d love to hear about some of your Heavenly winks and whispers.

With love,
Kellie