Sweet Birdies

I was sent this story to share with others. I find it touching that small children can express what they know to be true in words that us adults rarely use. Perhaps Jesus was right when he said that we all had to be "as little children" to get into heaven. Here is the story as passed on to me:

"When I was on a business trip, I was notified that there had been an accident at my home. My heart was now pounding, but the will to be calm took over. Woodenly, I followed this stranger to the distant telephone where I called the number he gave me for the Hospital. My call was put through to the trauma center where I learned that my three-year-old son had been trapped underneath the automatic garage door for several minutes, and that when my wife had found him he was dead. CPR had been performed by a neighbor, who is a doctor, and the paramedics had continued the treatment as Brian was transported to the hospital.

"By the time of my call, Brian was revived and they believed he would live, but they did not know how much damage had been done to his brain, nor to his heart. They explained that the door had completely closed on his little sternum right over his heart. He had been severely crushed. After speaking with the medical staff, my wife sounded worried but not hysterical, and I took comfort in her calmness. The return flight seemed to last forever, but finally I arrived at the hospital six hours after the garage door had come down. When I walked into the intensive care unit, nothing could have prepared me to see my little son laying so still on a great big bed with tubes and monitors everywhere. He was on a respirator. I glanced at my wife who stood and tried to give me a reassuring smile. It all seemed like a terrible dream. I was filled in with the details and given a guarded prognosis. Brian was going to live, and the preliminary tests indicated that his heart was ok-two miracles, in and of themselves. But only time would tell if his brain received any damage.

Throughout the seemingly endless hours, my wife was calm. She felt that Brian would eventually be all right. I hung on to her words and faith like a lifeline. All that night and the next day Brian remained unconscious. It seemed like forever since I had left for my business trip the day before. Finally at two o'clock that afternoon, our son regained consciousness and sat up uttering the most beautiful words I have ever heard spoken, He said, "Daddy hold me," and he reached for me with his little arms. By the next day he was pronounced as having no neurological or physical deficits, and the story of his miraculous survival spread throughout the hospital. You cannot imagine our gratitude and joy. As we took Brian home we felt a unique reverence for the life and love of our Heavenly Father that comes to those who brush death so closely.

In the days that followed there was a special spirit about our home. Our two older children were much closer to their little brother. My wife and I were much closer to each other, and all of us were very close as a whole family. Life took on a less stressful pace. Perspective seemed to be more focused, and balance much easier to gain and maintain. We felt deeply blessed. Our gratitude was truly profound. Almost a month later to the day of the accident, Brian awoke from his afternoon nap and said, "Sit down mommy. I have something to tell you." At this time in his life, Brian usually spoke in small phrases, so to say large sentence surprised my wife. She sat down with him on his bed and he began his sacred and remarkable story.

Brian said, "Do you remember when I got stuck under the garage door? Well it was so heavy and it hurt really bad. I called to you, but you couldn't hear me. I started to cry, but then it hurt too bad. And then the "birdies" came.

"The birdies?" my wife asked puzzled.

"Yes," he replied. "The birdies" made a whooshing sound and flew into the garage. They took care of me."

"They did?"

"Yes, he said." "One of the "birdies" came and got you. She came to tell you I got stuck under the door."

A sweet reverent feeling filled the room. The spirit was so strong and yet lighter than air. My wife realized that a three year-old had no concept of death and spirits, so he was referring to the beings who came to him from beyond as "birdies" because they were up in the air like birds that fly.

"What did the birdies look like?" she asked.

Brian answered. "They were so beautiful. They were dressed in white all white. Some of them had green and white. But some of them had on just white."

"Did they say anything?"

"Yes" he answered. They told me the baby would be all right."

"The baby?" my wife asked confused.

And Brian answered. "The baby laying on the garage floor." He went on, "You came out and opened the garage door and ran to the baby. You told the baby to stay and not leave."

My wife nearly collapsed upon hearing this, for she had indeed gone and knelt beside Brian's body and seeing his crushed chest and unrecognizable features, knowing he was already dead, she looked up around her and whispered, "Don't leave us Brian, please stay if you can. As she listened to Brian telling her the words she had spoken, she realized that the spirit had left his body and was looking down from above on this little lifeless form.

"Then what happened?" she asked.

"We went on a trip." he said, "far, far away.." He grew agitated trying to say the things he didn't seem to have the words for. My wife tried to calm and comfort him, and let him know it would be okay. He struggled with wanting to tell something that obviously was very important to him, but finding the words was difficult. "We flew so fast up in the air." "They're so pretty Mommy." he added. "And there is lots and lots of "birdies".

My wife was stunned. Into her mind the sweet comforting spirit enveloped her more soundly, but with an urgency she had never before known. Brian went on to tell her that the 'birdies' had told him that he had to come back and tell everyone about the "birdies". He said they brought him back to the house and that a big fire truck, and an ambulance were there. A man was bringing the baby out on a white bed and he tried to tell the man the baby would be okay, but the man couldn't hear him. He said birdies told him he had to go with the ambulance, but they would be near him. He said, they were so pretty and so peaceful, and he didn't want to come back. And then the bright light came. He said that the light was so bright and so warm, and he loved the bright light so much. Someone was in the bright light and put their arms around him, and told him, "I love you but you have to go back. You have to play baseball, and tell everyone about the birdies." Then the person in the bright light kissed him and waved bye-bye. Then whoosh, the big sound came and they went into the clouds.

The story went on for an hour. He taught us that "birdies" were always with us, but we don't see them because we look with our eyes and we don't hear them because we listen with our ears. But they are always there, you can only see them in here (he put his hand over his heart). They whisper the things to help us to do what is right because they love us so much. Brian continued, stating, "I have a plan, Mommy. You have a plan. Daddy has a plan. Everyone has a plan. We must all live our plan and keep our promises. The "birdies help us to do that cause they love us so much."

In the weeks that followed, he often came to us and told all, or part of it again and again. Always the story remained the same. The details were never changed or out of order. A few times he added further bits of information and clarified the message he had already delivered. It never ceased to amaze us how he could tell such detail and speak beyond his ability when he spoke of his "birdies." Everywhere he went, he told strangers about the "birdies". Surprisingly, no one ever looked at him strangely when he did this. Rather, they always get a softened look on their face and smiled. Needless to say, we have not been the same ever since that day, and I pray we never will be. "

My Friend is now an Angel

I have known my friend, Rick, for about 10 years now. We spent a lot of time together as family when we camped next door to each other in a campground for our club. He was a source of all kinds of knowledge about what to do when the wind whips your awning loose, how to change the gray water out, and when to clean those filters on the AC unit in the ceiling. I always felt safe when he was camped next to us, even through hurricane Gabriel, which fortunately was just a bad rainstorm.
Well, Rick got called home to be with Jesus last week. He held on as long as he could, but his body just wore out from all the mileage and the years.
Since he has gone to the other side of life, he has contacted his wife, daughter, and my husband. I have even had the feeling that he was still around, just as if he were still next door in the other camper. Whenever I get scared or my worries and troubles bear down on me, I have to remember that God has just given me one more angel as strong as a bear -- Rick. He will be there for me when I go home too, and I know I will never be alone.
God bless, you, Rick!

Angelic Inspiration

Many times we are inspired from a source we do not know. Perhaps it is God, our own higher self, or just plain luck. Then again, maybe it is an angel whispering in our ear. One of our survey respondents wrote us of one such occurrence:

"I have had in the span of my life, moments were I
have been spoken to in a silent language not my
own. I write down what is told to me.
I am in no way a poet.
An example: One night I awoke and could not sleep.
I went to my living room and looked out to a
cloudless night and watched the stars and found
it all so beautiful. At that moment, a voice as
clear as a bell rang out to me and said,
"The universe is but a vast desert of shifting
sands, and you within this great desert are but a
grain of sand."
It was very moving, it was not me. I cried
from the emotion.
There are have been many other moments."

If we but take the time to pause and still the thoughts in our over-active minds, we just might hear the whisper of God or one of his angels. Won't you take time to share with us your own inspirations?

Are Angels Our Loved Ones?

Many feel that their deceased family and friends live on as angels. Although there is no Biblical precedent for this, the belief is strong among Christians of many denominations, and possibly among those of other religions as well. One lady writing to our web address expressed this belief that came to her long ago in her childhood when her beloved grandmother passed away.

"I was very close to my Grandmother. On the night (Christmas) that she passed a voice came to me telling me she had gone to heaven. The voice said "Always remember that I love you, and promise to care for Grandpa. I have left this Earth and I am with God now." I was so shaken I went and awoke my mom, telling her about my message. She told me that my grandma was fine, It had been a dream and to return to sleep. I could not sleep, so I laid my head on the foot of her bed and cried. 30 minutes later the phone rang. It was the hospital telling my mom that my grandma had had a bad heart attack and they were unable to revive her. My moms look of disbelief at me still burns in my mind 25 yrs
later. Whether it was an angel or my grandma speaking to me I don't know. None the less it was a message of love. My grandma was the best Christian woman I'll ever know, and it doesn't surprise me that she be afforded a message. As a matter of fact she was probably the Angel that delivered it."

Perhaps you have had such an experience yourself. I had a much subtler one when my uncle passed. He had the same name as his son, my cousin Stuart. So when my mother left a message on my answering machine that Stuart had passed away, I did not know whether it was my uncle or my cousin who had died (both were seriously ill at the same time). It was very late at night, so I had to wait until the next morning to call to find out the details. While I sat in my recliner in the den thinking over all this, I felt the presence of three beings just to my left. I did not look, as I knew nothing was really there. I got the distinct impression that it was my uncle in the middle and an angel to either side. It was as if he was saying, just by being there in the room with me, that he was alright and not to worry about anything. I just couldn't resist, so I did look to my left, and indeed, nothing was there. The next morning, my vision was confirmed as I learned that my uncle had died the evening before.

If you have such a contact, accept it for a message of love and caring. It does not matter if it is listed in the Bible or any other holy book as a gift from God. The love that we feel for our family and closest friends would be far too large to contain within the covers of any book, holy or otherwise.