Below is the beautiful story that a Hospice nurse told me. It involves her own life during a painful time and also a sharing opportunity she had with one of her patient families. End of life stories often give us a glimplse of the presence of God. They may allow us to feel comfort and love. A friend of mine who is a hospice nurse told me this precious story. We will call her Kay and listen the to experience that touched her life.
About 20 years ago, there was a Hospice nurse who had to have open heart surgery. After Kay's surgery they sent her home without much pain medicine and she ended up in a terrible pain crisis. At this time she was also concerned about her children who were gathered around her, afraid she was going to die. In the middle of the night Kay was feeling that she could not handle the extreme pain and began praying very intensely that God help her with this overwhelming situation.
In the midst of this traumatic time Kay felt a cool breeze come through the room. Then she felt a softness brush across her face. Even though she had never had an experience like this before, she felt there was an angel that had been present with her in the room. At this point she went into a deep sleep for several hours which relieved her from the pain. When she woke up, the power of the experience made her feel that she was able to cope with the pain that she had.
Twenty years later the nurse was called to make a home visit to a family where the patient had just died. She entered the room which was kept very warm by the family. She found the family gathered around the bed of their father who had just died. They were very emotional and began to tell the nurse the following story. They had been praying very strongly that their father be taken by an angel. They said "we think this may have actually happened because for just about 5 seconds, right before he died, we felt a cool breeze come through the room and then a soft presence. Do you think this could have been an angel?" The nurse was very moved as this reminded her of the profound experience she had 20 years earlier. "yes," she said, "you are right. I believe this was the presence of an angel and let me tell you what I experienced, many years ago."
By these two life experiences coming together, the nurse was able to affirm and validate for the family what they had witnessed. As the nurse was telling me these stories, she had tears again from the beauty of God's loving presence. I hope this story may be used to inspire you also. As we share the stories of God in our lives, we often encourage others to explore the possibility of God in their own lives.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Sunday, February 2, 2014
ROSES FROM HEAVEN
Between working with Hospice families and also those from church, I often have the chance to hear beautiful stories that connect us to heaven. As we look at these we can get glimpses as to how we are connected to our loved ones there.
This story is from one of my dear friends. A story that lets us know we are not alone. My friend "Carol" told this story that took many years to become a miracle through nature. The story begins with a very sad situation that took place with her family. When her children were teenagers they happened to have a great friend named Ashley. Ashley was a precious girl who had become very close to all of the family. Many of us often have those special kids that grow up as part of our home and become like a niece or nephew, this is what Ashley was to Carol's family.
By the time Carol was telling me about Ashley, it had been many years, but tragically, when her children were in high school, Ashley was killed in a car accident. Even though it had been a long time you could still hear the sadness in her voice, obviously something like this has a life long affect on a family. The reason Carol was thinking about this loss was that she was dealing with another painful time in her life.
I knew that Carol had been struggling with her mothers terminal illness. They had been very close and it had been a very hard year as Carol had been traveling to the nearby town to be with her mother in the hospital. Carol's mother had been clear that she did not want life sustaining support. Even knowing this, when the doctor came and told Carol it was time to remove the machines, it was still extremely hard for Carol to honor her mothers wishes. I had been thinking about Carol and this sad time when she pulled me aside and told me the following story.
Carol told me about the loss of Ashley and then said "I want to tell you something that happened the day my mother died." Carol said that over ten years ago when Ashley had died, Ashley's mother had given Carol a rose bush. She said she wanted Carol to have something to remember Ashley with. Carol said "Nancy, over all those years, the rose bush never bloomed." In some ways it had seemed a little strange to have a rose bush that never bloomed, but because of the special significance the bush had, she kept taking care of it. I myself, am terrible with plants and I thought of how it must feel to see the bush all of those years without any blooms. I am afraid I might have given up on the plant, but she kept taking care of it. Carol went on to say, "I can't tell you how hard it was to take my mother off of life support last week. Even though I knew it was what she wanted, it was one of the hardest things I have had to do." I was not surprised to hear this as I have been told this by many people. Often it takes many months to come to peace with this as they are in the midst of their grief.
Carol went on to say, "I want to tell you what happened when I drove back from the hospital after mom passed away. I pulled up in the driveway and you will never guess what I saw. The rose bush from Ashley had three beautiful yellow roses on it!. After all of those years, it was finally blooming!" I was amazed to hear about the blooms that were on the bush after over ten years of being dormant! My speech became quiet and slow as I was aware of the special story Carol was telling me. I softly asked Carol, "what thought came to you as you saw these miraculous blooms?" Carol went on to say, "I knew that everything was okay. I felt that the three roses represented my three children and I knew that mom and Ashley were okay"
I love to hear the miracle stories that often come to comfort those in grief. Whenever someone tells me one of these sacred stories after a loved ones death I always ask them what this meant to them. Often they do feel a message that everything is alright and the experience usually brings a great sense of peace,
How does this work, this miraculous timing that seems to bring a message of care and hope? Maybe we just need to be willing to hope and believe. When we think something is not working, that things just aren't happening soon enough, we may want to remember "Ashley's Roses," Sometimes we can only see the miracle if we go through the quiet time first. There might just be hope waiting miraculously, with great purpose, in a bush with no blooms.
This story is from one of my dear friends. A story that lets us know we are not alone. My friend "Carol" told this story that took many years to become a miracle through nature. The story begins with a very sad situation that took place with her family. When her children were teenagers they happened to have a great friend named Ashley. Ashley was a precious girl who had become very close to all of the family. Many of us often have those special kids that grow up as part of our home and become like a niece or nephew, this is what Ashley was to Carol's family.
By the time Carol was telling me about Ashley, it had been many years, but tragically, when her children were in high school, Ashley was killed in a car accident. Even though it had been a long time you could still hear the sadness in her voice, obviously something like this has a life long affect on a family. The reason Carol was thinking about this loss was that she was dealing with another painful time in her life.
I knew that Carol had been struggling with her mothers terminal illness. They had been very close and it had been a very hard year as Carol had been traveling to the nearby town to be with her mother in the hospital. Carol's mother had been clear that she did not want life sustaining support. Even knowing this, when the doctor came and told Carol it was time to remove the machines, it was still extremely hard for Carol to honor her mothers wishes. I had been thinking about Carol and this sad time when she pulled me aside and told me the following story.
Carol told me about the loss of Ashley and then said "I want to tell you something that happened the day my mother died." Carol said that over ten years ago when Ashley had died, Ashley's mother had given Carol a rose bush. She said she wanted Carol to have something to remember Ashley with. Carol said "Nancy, over all those years, the rose bush never bloomed." In some ways it had seemed a little strange to have a rose bush that never bloomed, but because of the special significance the bush had, she kept taking care of it. I myself, am terrible with plants and I thought of how it must feel to see the bush all of those years without any blooms. I am afraid I might have given up on the plant, but she kept taking care of it. Carol went on to say, "I can't tell you how hard it was to take my mother off of life support last week. Even though I knew it was what she wanted, it was one of the hardest things I have had to do." I was not surprised to hear this as I have been told this by many people. Often it takes many months to come to peace with this as they are in the midst of their grief.
Carol went on to say, "I want to tell you what happened when I drove back from the hospital after mom passed away. I pulled up in the driveway and you will never guess what I saw. The rose bush from Ashley had three beautiful yellow roses on it!. After all of those years, it was finally blooming!" I was amazed to hear about the blooms that were on the bush after over ten years of being dormant! My speech became quiet and slow as I was aware of the special story Carol was telling me. I softly asked Carol, "what thought came to you as you saw these miraculous blooms?" Carol went on to say, "I knew that everything was okay. I felt that the three roses represented my three children and I knew that mom and Ashley were okay"
I love to hear the miracle stories that often come to comfort those in grief. Whenever someone tells me one of these sacred stories after a loved ones death I always ask them what this meant to them. Often they do feel a message that everything is alright and the experience usually brings a great sense of peace,
How does this work, this miraculous timing that seems to bring a message of care and hope? Maybe we just need to be willing to hope and believe. When we think something is not working, that things just aren't happening soon enough, we may want to remember "Ashley's Roses," Sometimes we can only see the miracle if we go through the quiet time first. There might just be hope waiting miraculously, with great purpose, in a bush with no blooms.
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