Among Friends

[maestra]

When my DMIL passed 5 years ago just before Mother's Day, her cell phone began to ring; it had been turned off.

My DH picked up the phone which immedialtely showed a photo of DMIL and DFIL together as old adults, walking down the beach, hand in hand. They had been married over 65 years.

We took this sign that she was w/the love of her life and they were happy together.

If offered great comfort to DH, who was broken by his mother's unexected passing

[maestra]

@AussieLuvr

My geneology also shows my great great grandfather left Ireland to go to Glasgow ,Scotland in 1840 to work in the mills.

Because there was no Ellis Island at the time that his son came over from Paisley, Scotland, I'm having a tougher time tracing this part of my family.

I am trying to do it as a gift for my 96 yo mother. She remembers some things but not too many.

[maestra]

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@lovesrecess wrote:
The emotional connection we have with a loved one doesn't end with their death. It stays with us always if we want to stay connected. My dear mother has been gone for 8 years now....there isn't a day I don't feel her presence in some way. She did not know two of my little granddaughters....and I see them do things and say things that I just know she is giving her nod of approval. I hope that doesn't sound nutty.

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@lovesrecess  I feel this way about my maternal grandmother; she was really my 1st mother.

Not a day goes by that I dont remember her. She passed in 1976.

[jeanlake]

Yes

[blackhole99]

As a victim of child abuse, my Grandma was my safe harbor. I stayed with her on weekends and for whole summers. I slept with her in her bed and I always remember the way she smelled, fresh and earthy. Whenever I'm stressed, I smell that smell when I crawl into bed at night. I also have dreams about my abusive parents when I'm stressed. My mother never speaks, but my dad does and it seems like he's trying to say he's sorry, but it doesn't come out that way, he just sounds pleasant , he never was in life. When one of my siblings died tragically as a very young child, I felt him sit down on my bed one night. I was only 11 years old, but I knew it was him, he had only died 3 days before. He may not have known he was dead. I believe our loved ones live deep in our memories and never die until we do. 

[AussieLuvr]

@maestra

Finding Irish records on Irish genealogy sites is difficult and expensive. 

But its easy to find Scottish records on www.scotlandspeople.org. Its a pay as you go site and has helped me immensely!

[LyndaGee]

Reminds me of a story my grandmother used to relate to us.  When her mother died, she was living in CT and her mother was in New Jersey.  That night, my grandmother dreamed about her mother telling her:"Oh, Gracie.  I'm so cold.  I don't know what happened to my shoes."  Sure enough, when my grandmother arrived at the funeral home, her mother was barefoot.  Eerie.

[Azcowgirl]

I have not felt my moms presence for the 14 years since she died. I don’t understand, since we were so close. It is my dad who has been near by for the last ten years. A young man with Down’s syndrome that was very hard to understand, visiting me one evening, saw my dad standing near me and described my dad as clearly as can be.

He has spoken my name also. We were never close in life, but I feel comforted by him so often now.

[violann]

@Azcowgirl-I have a very close friend who told me she has suffered terribly because her husband, whom she lost many years ago, has never to her conscious knowledge come back to her. 

Although I don’t challenge this belief, I do encourage her to fully enjoy many blessings that she has received since his loss, and in my own mind and heart I sense his presence near her often when I am with her.

[CalminHeart]

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@2blonde wrote:

@CalminHeart  I'm interested to know what religion you are a part of that believes in the departed still being with us.  I've always had similar feelings about the departed, but my religion (Baptist) does not teach that way.

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I'm Roman Catholic.  We believe in the "Communion of Saints" in that we're all still one body, united in Christ, whether we are on earth, in purgatory, or in Heaven.  When one dies, one does not cease to exist.  They are just somewhere else, still part of the same body of Christ that we are.

We ask those who died to pray for us.  It's the same as asking a friend for help.  A friend helps us in our need just like the saints pray for us and our needs.   We don't worship Mary or saints (everyone in Heaven is a saint).  They praise God and help us along our way by praying for us.  

If we are open to it, we can sometimes receive messages from our loved ones and from Jesus in a more human manner....such as scents, feelings deep inside, dreams, thoughts, etc etc.  We can't force it and we can't think we hear when we don't.  It takes openness, prayer and discernment.

My first experience was in 1996.  My H left the kids and me out of the blue and we were devastated. A few months later, I was praying after receiving Communion and heard "do something."   I didn't know what it meant but thought about it a lot.  A couple of weeks later, I saw a blurb in the church bulletin asking for RCIA sponsors.  RCIA is the program for adults who want to join the Catholic Church.  I still do not know how I got to that meeting.  Seriously.  But I was there and volunteered.  It was life changing.  I hadn't studied my faith since I was in high school so I still had a child's view/understanding of it.  It opened my eyes to what Jesus really taught.... love, mercy, reconciliation, charity, patience, peace, joy, and a faith/trust in him that I never had before. Three years later, I joined the team that ran the program and stayed for 17 years.  It changed my life, faith, and love of God.  It also helped me realized we are all here to help others without judging if they are "worthy" as seems to be the social/political ideal these days.  We help because it's the right thing to do and let God judge.