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.
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