The day after AJ passed away I woke early in the morning. Jeff was resting peacefully in the hospital bed next to mine. He had suggested that I take the bed closest to the window ... a very thoughtful gesture. Still reeling from the events of the previous day and full of narcotics, I gazed wearily out the window. Daylight had broken at least an hour before and all signs pointed towards a clear and calm day ahead for the world outside our window.And then it appeared. A colorful hot air balloon drifted innocently into view. Tears began pouring down my cheeks as I fumbled for my cell phone to take a picture. "He's never going to believe me", I thought. Mission accomplished. I laid the phone back on the table and started sobbing.
I could hardly contain my excitement when Jeff finally woke. "You'll never guess what I saw, honey!" I described the sequence of events from an hour earlier: a hot air balloon colored like a rainbow had floated by our window. As I pulled the pic up on my phone, I noticed something curious. The picture had been taken at 7:07 a.m. on September the 7th! The tears started flowing again ... as I choked out ... "it's just so beautiful ... so beautiful ..."
Later in the day Jeff's mom and step-dad were visiting and I shared the story with them. Jeff's mom immediately started crying upon hearing what I had seen. By this point Jeff had had enough: "what's with women and hot air balloons and rainbows!?!", he cried out in exhasperation. "God's promise", both Margaret and I replied in unison.
Whenever I bring clouds over the eath and the rainbow
appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between
me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again
will waters become a flood to destroy all life. Genesis 9:14-15
appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between
me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again
will waters become a flood to destroy all life. Genesis 9:14-15
After a moment of silence, Jeff exclaimed: "Well, that's a lot cooler than I thought!!!". We all had a good laugh. He later admitted to thinking I was a little loopy when I told him the story for the first time. Bless his heart for just nodding in agreement, hugging me, and saying "that's nice, honey".
As we were getting ready for bed that night we realized how funny it was that I actually knew something about the Bible that he didn't. Yeah ... "I think I learned two things in Sunday school all those years back, and that's one of them", I admitted. Jeff laughed. "Well, that might be", he said, "but had I been the one to see it I would have just rolled over and went back to bed". Our eyes met. I replied softly, "Maybe that's the reason that I was the one to see it".
One day, after returning home from the hospital, my mother called in excitement. "Could she and Dad drop something by for us?", she asked. Earlier that morning they had been to church. Pastor Peter Narum had approached Mom and invited her to pick out a prayer shawl for Jeff and I. The shawls are made at St. James Lutheran Church as part of their Prayer Shawl Ministry as a way to provide comfort and warmth to those with a physical, spiritual, or emotional need. The ministry was originally founded by two women in Connecticut in 1998 and has since spread around the world. As Mom looked through a box of beautifully knitted and crocheted shawls, one leapt out at her. It was delicate and white, but had rainbow-colored tassles. Remembering our experience at the hospital, she enthusiastically made her selection.
Some pretty amazing things happened to us in our darkest hours. This was one of them. Perhaps it was a divine message. Perhaps just a coincidence. Either way it made a difference. It gave us something to hold onto. It gave us hope.
As we were getting ready for bed that night we realized how funny it was that I actually knew something about the Bible that he didn't. Yeah ... "I think I learned two things in Sunday school all those years back, and that's one of them", I admitted. Jeff laughed. "Well, that might be", he said, "but had I been the one to see it I would have just rolled over and went back to bed". Our eyes met. I replied softly, "Maybe that's the reason that I was the one to see it".
One day, after returning home from the hospital, my mother called in excitement. "Could she and Dad drop something by for us?", she asked. Earlier that morning they had been to church. Pastor Peter Narum had approached Mom and invited her to pick out a prayer shawl for Jeff and I. The shawls are made at St. James Lutheran Church as part of their Prayer Shawl Ministry as a way to provide comfort and warmth to those with a physical, spiritual, or emotional need. The ministry was originally founded by two women in Connecticut in 1998 and has since spread around the world. As Mom looked through a box of beautifully knitted and crocheted shawls, one leapt out at her. It was delicate and white, but had rainbow-colored tassles. Remembering our experience at the hospital, she enthusiastically made her selection.
Some pretty amazing things happened to us in our darkest hours. This was one of them. Perhaps it was a divine message. Perhaps just a coincidence. Either way it made a difference. It gave us something to hold onto. It gave us hope.
