I left on a Thursday evening. Earlier that day I had told Will I would be going away for a few days and that he would be staying at home with Daddy, Cate and Laney. At the time I wasn't even sure he heard me because he never stopped playing and didn't seem to care. Well, on the drive to the church, he just looked at me and said, "Mommy, I go with you." Talk about break your heart! I was already emotional about leaving my family for three nights and that just put me over the edge. It was incredibly hard to leave, especially since I could not bring my cell phone and would have no contact with the outside world during the retreat, but I knew it was going to be a good thing in the end and would help me to be a better and more Christian wife and mother.
I returned from the A.C.T.S. retreat feeling freshed and renewed (even though I was incredibly physically and emotionally exhausted). Little did I know what the upcoming week had in store for me and my family. On Wednesday I received the devastating news that my Granny had passed away unexpectedly. The circumstances surrounding her death have been especially difficult, and I can only believe that I was called by God to attend the A.C.T.S. retreat, partly in preparation for the rough road that would follow. The strengthening of my faith during those days at the retreat have helped carry me through the last few days and will continue to affect my daily life for years to come.
Some don't believe in "signs from heaven" and divine intervention, but I do. Right or wrong, it brings me comfort. I truly believe that I finally accepted the call to attend the A.C.T.S. retreat for a reason (and believe me, I had plenty of reasons not to go).
On Thursday I went outside for a little while during the kids' naps. While I was out there reflecting, I looked over and noticed the hanging basket of flowers given to us a while ago whenever Billy's grandfather passed away. Thinking I should water it, I filled my watering can. As I approached the flowers, I saw what appeared to be some debris at the base of the flowers. I was ready to reach up and pull it out when I realized there was organization to this "debris." I noticed a hole in the center and pulled it back just a little bit to reveal 5 tiny speckled eggs. A perfect little bird's nest with five eggs was put in my path that day. Sign from God or not, it comforted me that day to encounter something so special.
If you look closely you can see a few of the eggs.
On Thursday I also received a package from my mom. She had mailed it on Tuesday, the day before my Granny passed away. In it was two CDs. One happened to be a CD that my Granny had given my mom earlier in the year. I can only credit divine intervention for causing my mom to buy that CD and put it in the mail to me the day that she did. It has been so comforting to listen to the meditations and songs that my Granny listened to regularly. The other CD was The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in Song. Prior to the A.C.T.S. retreat, I had never heard of The Chaplet of Divine Mercy. It touched me deeply during the retreat, and I had made plans to purchase it upon my return. On Tuesday I had emailed someone from the retreat to find out which version we listened to during the retreat and sometime after hearing the news on Wednesday I purchased a copy (plus a copy for my mom because I knew she would love it). Again, pretty sure someone upstairs is wanting my mom and I to pray The Chaplet of Divine Mercy because we now each have two copies that we purchased/sent simulataneously.
And to top it all off (and no, I'm not making any of this up), today before his nap, Will picked out a book to read as usual. Will picked out What is Heaven Like? for his naptime story. He very, very rarely picks this book, so call it a coincidence or call it a sign from God, but I'll take it!
No comments:
Post a Comment