The Picture

So, It was 2009, it was a beautiful day in June that my Mother took her last breath on this planet after much suffering.

You can never be ready for that moment really. It's very strange on many levels. Wonderful for the deceased as they move on and leave the pain of this life behind, and horrible for those left behind. I didn't cry for months, it was so odd for me.

I was actually that happy for her.
 

My Mother and I were very close and had been through many changes together. Very hard changes in this life many will never know.

Everybody deals with death in their own way. There is no right or wrong. I was a bit shocked at how I was feeling through the changes I was going through. I always thought it would be different.
 

So, as the day approached that the family would all gather in her hometown of Franklin NC, to lay her to rest, there were many preparations to be done. The sale of her home, the Funeral home,  the local church where her service would be held, and then the graveside service in the graveyard.

It's crazy the amount of energy you have to muster to do these things at a time like that.

All my siblings had flown in and were there which made it comforting for all of us! We were all so relieved my Mother was no longer suffering. It was truly a blessing.
 

The Church service was to be held at her regularly attended Catholic Church in town, This was such a wonderful gesture for so many of her church friends to come together to serve her one last time with a wonderful dinner.  I was so happy to see so many gather to say goodbye to her, it was very well attended.

The church was packed by the time the service began, which was a wonderful comfort to me. Knowing she was loved by so many in the city. She never retired, she always did volunteer work for hospice even though she herself were dying for so many years. Not to many had any idea of it! She was never one to complain.  
 

As we entered the church her picture was at the front on a grand little table along with her prayer book and her Urn.

We all filed in and sat silently awaiting for the priest to begin the service.

I so wanted this to be over as it was hard to sit there for me for some unknown reason.

The whole family was all seated in the front row at the church. There were many of us, and I was just to the right of the little table and could see it very clearly.
 

I felt my Mom close by and wondered if she truly was there, or if it were just "the moment" and me wanting to feel her there?

This priest we were waiting for as we all sat quietly was a Chinese priest who only knew my Mother briefly.

He finally came out a bit late and was on a platform just above my Mothers little table with her picture and Urn on it, which was even  on the floor to where we were all sitting.

As he began speaking, his accent was so hard to understand the whole family were trying to hide our laughing under our breath as he was mispronouncing her name so badly. We could only understand every other word or so he spoke.

I mean it wasn't even close the pronunciation of her name! Can you imagine! A time like this and the priest gets the name wrong because of his accent? Oh boy, I thought. How unfortunate this is. If my Mom were here she would probably correct him! She was a strong, loving woman, but very firm! Things were to be done right!
 

All of a sudden after thinking that thought, her picture that was standing on the little table, threw itself into the isle right up near our feet! We all gasped as this happened. One sister cried out loud! It so shocked her. I thought to myself, 'Mom, you are here"!
There was NO WAY that this could have happened except that it was truly a paranormal act!

I thought to myself this is you Mom, saying correct the priest already!

So I did. I said to the priest, excuse me sir, "you are mispronouncing our dear mothers name"!
He said well, she didn't have to make such a scene, and then he laughed! My brother picked up the picture and set it back on the table. It had not broken, which I took for her not being mad, but being firm to correct the priest!

So, with that the priest corrected himself somewhat and continued the sermon. It was beautiful, short and sweet.
 

It was such a comfort to me to have my Moms picture fly off the table as it did. You see, that was just like her and she could see us all laughing. She would never have allowed any of us to be laughing at church at such as time as this. It just was disrespectful!

Yes, this actually brought me comfort. It's one of the reasons it took me so long to cry at her loss.
I was wondering how long I would feel her presence. It was on and off for awhile following the burial. It did finally dwindle some within the year, but to this day I still feel her strongly. I speak with her in my dreams. But I am well aware she is dead and gone and at peace. I believe the Lord allows this type of happening once in awhile.

And as usual I will say, Truth is always so much stranger than fiction.

 

 

The Tunnel Premonition

So, it was 2005 and my husband and I were on vacation in New York. We had rented a car and drove to all the wonderful sites we had set out to see. We were not on a time frame of any kind and we wanted to see everything on our list! From Manhattan to Buffalo,

we spent hours in the car traveling to Rochester, Albany, Williamsville and Blasdell to name a few places.

 

As we were going through a tunnel in NY I had a strange premonition come over me like I was reliving a moment in time when Lady Diana was killed in the tunnel in Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris, France, in 1997.

It was so strange. All of a sudden and out of nowhere, I felt as if I were seeing a car deliberately drive her car into a median lane. It was as if I could see her being killed. I could here her screaming.  I instantly knew this was not at all an accident but a deliberate killing.

 

Here I was in New York, millions of miles from that happening, not to mention 8 years later, but as we entered the tunnel this strong overwhelming sense took me over. Like I was picking it up from some vibration.

I told my husband what I was seeing and he said, it's probably just because your in the tunnel? I said why would that be the sole cause? I wasn't thinking of Lady Diana at all before we drove into the tunnel.

I mean really, why would I?

He also stated that she was in an accident. Not murdered. I said back to him, "No, she wasn't, it was a deliberate kill"!

I'm sure of it!

I felt Diana knew it as well. She had figured it all out too late.

I am not usually that sensitive where others are concerned, but I am interested in truth above all things.

To this day regardless of what the tabloids and the news media have to say I am certain Diana and her Fiancé were purposely killed that day in France in that tunnel in 1997.

 It was clearly Murder!

I felt it. And I have learned to trust what I feel when it comes to me in this manner.

I have never had any other type of incident like this to this day where others are involved.

I believe some day it will be proven and brought to light.

Holding The Hand Beyond

 

It was 2003, I had a very ill older friend who had just been hospitalized. She had been a good friend for at least 18 years. She and I spend dinner after dinner talking about life and our faith. We spent hours on the phone talking just about everything under the sun. My friend was alone in this life with no other siblings and her husband and parents had passed away long before. She was a bit of a worry wart and was suffering from an ulcer which was very serious. I visited her every other day in the hospital, as I worked every day and tried to be there for her as often as I could. She and I had become more like family than friends over the years.

 

One evening when I went into the hospital to visit my friend the hospital staff told me they would be moving her to a rehab facility soon  as she seemed to be getting better. I was so excited. I thought this was her turning point from this dreaded illness to better health.

I walked down the long sterile corridor to my friends room.

I knocked softly on the door, I could hear her talking to someone, I hesitated going in for a moment.

When I finally entered the room I noticed the lights had been turned off and the room had an orphic feel to it.  The shades were pulled closed on the windows. My friend  was lying in her bed alone with her hand up in the air and talking with someone as if she were holding their hand.

It really looked like there was a hand in her hand, from the position she held her hand in. She was holding it tightly. I walked over to the window and opened the drapes a bit to let a little sun in. As I got closer to her I  said "how are you feeling today"?

She replied with a cheery and enthusiastic, "OH, I'm so glad you're finally here, I want you to meet my Mother"! I said O.K., with a slight laugh in my voice. She then grabbed my hand as I got closer to the bed and said, "Mother, this is my good friend Teri that I have told you so much about", Teri, this is my Mother, and she then said her name.

It was all so normal, and yet extremely paranormal.

I saw no one. My friend kept looking over at her Mother and talking the whole time to her as she held both our hands squeezing them both as she talked. Then she would look at me and speak to me just as normal as she always had.

 

I looked up again at my friends hand, then I looked at her holding my hand. It looked as if there was a hand she was holding although there was no one there. I  then said, "Hello, it's so nice to meet you". I felt something very powerful in the room, but yet  I still saw nothing.

My friend then said she and her Mother were talking about many things together. She wanted me to grab a  piece of paper on the desk and write some things down. I did as she asked.

It was amazing what she told me. She spoke as if her Mother were right there and they were both speaking together very naturally.

It was a lot for me to take in.

Her Mother was right there. Less than three feet away from me.

My friend  was holding onto two dimensions and she was able in her failing frail state to interact with us both.

I kept looking across the bed hoping to see someone. From the placement of her hand and mine it was literally exact. I studied how her hand moved as she spoke to her Mother. I was really in disbelief. I had never had something like this happen before. I spoke to her and her Mother as if I could see her Mother so as to keep the flow of communication open. It was surreal. 

After about 30 minutes of this going on she said goodbye to her Mother and said she was going to spend some time talking with Teri for a while. She kissed her Mothers cheek and said goodbye. She let go of her Mothers hand. We visited for another hour.

I sang to her and prayed with her and then headed for home.

 

My friend passed away the next day.

 

Even though the doctors had said she was improving and could go to a nursing home for rehabilitation. My friend told me while I was in the room with her and her Mother that previous day that she was ready to leave this life and go on to meet her husband again and be with her  parents beyond the veil. She was so excited to see her husband again. She was really looking forward to it.

 

I never heard anyone make so much sense while existing in two worlds at once. It was an experience I hold dear.

I have held the hand of someone from beyond. What an adventure that was. I was privileged to meet someone from the other side.

My friend told me her Mother was so happy to meet me.

That will always mean a lot to me. I look forward to seeing both my friend and her mother again some day.

 

 

 

 

Divine Intervention

While my Mother was alive she and I would frequently spend time together in a day. We lived only one minute from each other and both enjoyed shopping and hunting for fantastic bargains. It was like entertainment for us both.

One afternoon while we were both coming home from a very successful day of shopping in down town St. Petersburg, she and I were laughing and talking about the bargains we had gotten that day.

I had chosen to drive my car today as she was a slightly slower driver then I was and we would frequently fight over who was going to drive. I was going just a tad over the speed limit as I am known to do flying down the road headed home. She was sitting in the passenger seat up front with me and we were talking a mile a minute just having the most wonderful time together. So we were flying down the interstate headed towards the 38th avenue exit heading north.  As usual the light changed to red at the exit ramp, it's always so hard to catch that darn light. 

 

 As Mom and I continued talking she let me know she was really tired and needed to get home and take her nap. Shopping had just worn her out that day. After all we walked 6 city blocks up and down stairs carrying packages and continued walking to a restaurant nearby at the pier. For a 65 year old, I thought she did real well. But never the less that was her way of letting me know, don't stop anywhere else Teri.

I smiled at her and as I glanced over at her for a second and then the light changed to green.

 

I will never understand why this all played out the way it did but now she was looking at me, I looked back at her and she spoke to me with her eyes saying, the light is green, why are you sitting here?

 (you know how Mothers are). You can read so much in that glance. It was almost a smirk and a prodding for me to GO, MOVE, the light is green. Even her hand was moving as to make that related inference to GO, the light is green!

I however was hearing another voice while all this was happening and at an incredible rate of speed I might add. It all happened within seconds.

 

I couldn't go. I felt as if I were frozen sitting behind the wheel of that car. The voice said "don't go Teri".

Then all of a sudden a huge blue semi ran the green light and barreled through the intersection like nothing I had ever seen before. He had to be moving 80 miles an hour, his truck flew past us so fast I hardly knew what was happening as he flew through the light. Clearly, I had the green light. Clearly, he ran the red light he had. My Mother cried out, Oh my GOD Teri, had you gone we would be dead! We could have never survived a hit from that semi! She grabbed my arm and held it. She was shaking. I said Mother there was no way I could have moved. I was physically frozen. Only my eyes and my head could move. I knew not to go, even though that didn't make any sense at all.

I told her

the voice said "don't go Teri".

She said I was wondering why you didn't take off immediately because we all know you have a quick silver driving style. She verified what I didn't hear her say, yet  new she was sending me through mental telepathy.  

 

I told her again, there was a voice that told me not to go, had I not heard it I'm sure I would have gone through that green light. She just rubbed my arm and said in a fragile voice, this was divine intervention like I have never seen before. We both thanked GOD and we continued on towards home.

I am still Thankful for this blessing 30 years later.

They say if it's not your time, it's not your time!

I believe that.

Losing A Loved One Amongst The Paranormal

So, You're probably wondering what this photo is all about.

Well, on the last night of my Mothers life I was at the Hospice house in Oconomowoc Wisconsin.

I had just had a very unusual experience  at my Moms bedside who was dying from lung cancer.

 

The cancer had taken her voice from her about two weeks earlier and she had a very hard time communicating. She would try to speak but it was a very odd sound, which somehow I always understood. Mom had been in a coma like state on and off for a couple of days and was getting worse. We knew her time was very limited.

 

I sat next to her by the bed as she labored with a very harsh "death rattle", and tried to comfort her as she struggled. I would sing to her softly and she would struggle a bit less. I prayed with her and reminded her of all the wonderful moments that she and I had shared. As my older sister walked into the room she was simply horrified by the sound of the eminent doom with her heavy breathing, it really was hard to listen to. 

Chris sat across the room on a small sofa just crying as I continued to sing to Mom.

 

All of a sudden, my Mom opened her eyes, sat up a bit and looked me right in the eyes and said,

"Kiss me goodbye". This was spoken in her actual voice, and she said it with strong conviction as if she knew this was it!  I was stunned. I looked over at my sister sitting on the couch and all of a sudden I reverted to a young child as I said, Chrissy, Chrissy, come kiss Mommy goodbye!

 It was simply the most innocent thing, and yet it dumb founded my sister as she looked at me in amazement. Chris began crying loudly, she got up to come to my Mothers side to join me as Mom tried to make a puckered up pout to kiss us. We both kissed her goodbye, Chris was crying profusely. I wasn't able to cry just yet, I felt strong somehow. I believe I was still a bit shocked that I had just heard Mom's voice again, I missed her voice so much, I heard it as if there was no cancer at all. 

How could that be possible? I hadn't heard her voice that clear in almost 6 months. My Mom then closed her eyes and laid back down and slipped back into the coma like state she had been in for a day or two before and her breathing began to struggle again.

 

As I left the Hospice house that night I stood in the parking lot and beheld the most beautiful radiant moon in the cool night air. I said out loud, Mommy, I'm taking a picture of the moon tonight, because this is the last moon of your life. I knew she would not live to see another one. The night was so dark, no lights anywhere to be seen. Just the beautiful Full Moon.

As I took the picture there was an odd peacefulness and quiet all around me. I could hardly move.

My Mother passed away the next day.

Many more strange and very paranormal things accompanied that day. But today this is all I will share.

 

When I got home from Wisconsin I took my photos to the drug store to be processed.

This was the picture that I had taken of the moon that night.  The Orange Orb was NOT there when I took the picture.

I believe it was a sign from my Mom.

Death is not the end, it is the beginning of the next life.