Photo by Jack Bulmer on Unsplash
I sent out a newsletter last week and the responses have been rolling in to enter my newsletter giveaway. If you didn’t get the newsletter and would like to, just let me know in the comments and I’ll send one out to you.
As I nearly always do, I invited my newsletter readers to share a story with me. Since the title of my new book, When the Meadow Blooms (releasing on Tuesday May 3rd!!), might make you think about flowers, I asked those willing to do so, to share a flower story. I’ve gotten so many wonderful stories. Whether you sent a story or not, I appreciate every response. I’m still working through the messages. If you sent a message and haven’t heard from me yet, you will very soon if all goes well.
One of the stories was shared anonymously since the writer didn’t include her name, but her message not only touched my heart, it made me remember something I experienced after my mother died. It’s been seven years now, and while I still miss her and know I always will, I have adjusted to not having Mom a phone call away. Of course my mom had dementia the last few years of her life. So, in many ways we had lost her as the mother we had always known and who had always known us, a good while before her body left us.
Still, the grief was sharp as it always is at the loss of a loved one. Not long after Mom died, a titmouse like the one above came to the window and danced around on the flowerpot on the outside ledge. The little bird stayed there, seeming to peer in the window for several minutes. Then it kept coming back.
I’ve been feeding birds for a long time and the titmice are my favorite little bird at the feeder. But in all the years, I’ve watched the birds, I had never had a titmouse come to the window like that. I got my love of watching and feeding birds from my mother. She loved everything with feathers. Somehow, that little bird appearing like that at my office window and then lingering and making return visits for several days seemed to be a sign Mom was sending me to let me know she was okay and having a good time in heaven.
Now here’s my newsletter reader’s similar kind of story.
My mom passed away at the hospital a little over 3 years ago. Anyways she was very sick and she was very thirsty. The day she passed away, she could not have anything to drink for a while. My 2 sisters, one of my brothers and I were there with her plus a couple of family members. We could only have a washcloth to wet her lips. Well, this stayed with me, so when I got back home, about a week after, my husband and I were sitting on our patio swing facing our garden. Well this same butterfly kept jumping from pansy to pansy and having some nectar. I had heard that butterflies are a sign of a loved one that has passed. Well, when I saw it drinking away I thought to myself, the butterfly is letting me know that my mom is not thirsty anymore and she is o.k. I felt so much better just thinking and knowing that my mom was not thirsty anymore.
What a sweet comfort for her. Then last week on Facebook, I saw a photo of a rainbow posted by a friend who lost her husband unexpectantly a couple of weeks ago. She said that she felt the rainbow had been put there just for her to let her know her husband was all right and that in time, she would be too.
The Lord can use many means to comfort us, but what better way than with the beauty of his creation?
Have you ever had a similar experience that comforted you after the loss of someone you love?
COUNTING DOWN TO WHEN THE MEADOW BLOOMS PODCASTS
I had the pleasure of being a guest on a couple of podcasts last week. First I talked with Alison Treat on Historical Fiction: Unpacked about the healing power of nature. Then I talked with Chautona Havig on Because Fiction. (Thanks to Chautona for the graphic.)
I hope you’ll give the podcasts a listen and let me know what you think. 
Book Birthday for When the Meadow Blooms, coming very, very soon – 1 day to go.
Comments 7
Lovely and comforting stories. I’ve heard the same about cardinals.
Looking forward to reading your new book. 😊
Author
Oh yes, Mom would have loved to have sent a cardinal my say too, but maybe because she knew how much I loved those titmice (although I don’t know that I ever told her that) that’s why those came to my window. Or it could have all been a coincidence, but I believe that sometimes the Lord can have something to to with coincidences.
I’ve heard it said that it’s not a coincidence but God’s providence. That is comforting. 😊 The latest-a Godwink.
When we lived in the country, I had a big, beautiful butterfly bush. It always had butterflies on it during warm weather. My dad’s funeral was September 23rd of that year. As we got home from his burial, the butterfly bush was covered with Monarch butterflies. They were everywhere almost like they were swarming around our heads as we walked up to the door of my house. My dad had pancreatic cancer and had experienced a long slow death. It took a toll on the family and that day I felt like he was saying to us “let go and be free of all the sadness you have lived in for so long.” I always think special thoughts oh him when I see a Monarch.
Author
What a beautiful story, Linda. Sometimes I do believe we are gifted from beyond to ease our grieving spirits. My dad died of pancreatic cancer too. He only lived a few months after his diagnosis, but he didn’t do any treatments. Sad times.
I’m happy the butterflies were there to comfort you and that now you think of your dad when you see a Monarch. I think of Mom when I see the titmouse too, but it has never come to the window again the way it did those weeks after Mom died.
My mother was my best friend. When we would go shopping together, we had this little whistle we would do when we became separated. It helped us locate each other in a low-key manner. When she developed Alzheimer’s I was more than ready to be her caregiver. A few days after she passed away, I was sitting in our porch swing drinking my coffee and thinking of her. All of a sudden, in the still of the morning, I heard the whistle. I knew the Lord had allowed her to let me know she was with Him and was ok.
Author
Lovely, Judy. Thank you for sharing. I love that you heard the very whistle that you and your mother shared. My mother had a story about when her mother died. She said she was sad about her mom’s death when she dreamed or had a vision of some kind one night that her mother came over to the edge of a cloud and told her she was up in heaven having a great time and to stop being so sad.