A Little Help From Heaven

My 91 year-old grandmother decided it was time to go home.  

Earlier this week, I was with her as she took her last breath.  She became very quiet and peaceful as her frail heart decided it was time to rest.  The room was still other than my aunt’s gentle sobbing. My sister stood holding my grandmother's hand with tears in her eyes, and I felt sadness as well, but I knew her Soul was already on its way home.  I could almost feel her giddiness and joy as she was reunited with family and friends on the Other Side. I knew she could now walk without pain, drive a car if she wanted to, and can once again play cards with her bridge club.  

She’d went into the hospital shortly before Easter Sunday and I think we all knew at that time the end was near.  She lived a long life but she had become quite lonely in recent years.  She’d lost her husband and both siblings, and watched her friends die one by one.  I guess that’s the trouble with living to a ripe old age.  

On her final day, I was visited by many of her relatives who had died before her.  I could feel her husband from the very moment I first visited her in the hospital, but on this last day he had a much larger group with him.  Let’s just say that the room was quite crowded.  A true party had gathered to help her Soul transition home.  

But what I’ll remember most about that day was the beautiful angel who stood behind her bed.  I had seen the image immediately as I entered her room that morning.  He was a tall angel with enormous wings that ascended way above his head.  I came to find out later that this was Archangel Razael who was there to take my grandmother home when she was ready to go. How wonderful to know that we are so loved and cared for in our last hours.

I tell all of my clients that their loved one’s spirit stays with them as they make funeral preparations, and I’ve heard so many deceased loved one tell me details about the service whether it’s the weather that day, the flowers, songs that were sung and by whom, or even what was served at the luncheon.  They know you are suffering a human loss so it’s important to them to help you find comfort in those early days.  

I went with my aunt the next day to help plan the service, and on my way I asked my grandmother to give us a hand in selecting exactly what she wanted.  Now, mind you, she had almost everything lined up and ready which was so wonderful, but there were still a few details needing to be tied up.  One of those was the flowers.  As we were sitting in the office with the pastor, a flower shop delivered the most beautiful bouquet for another service taking place later that day.  We knew exactly which florist we were going to use before seeing the arrangement, but we were even more sure about our choice after seeing their work.  

After our meeting concluded I was sent to the florist to place our order.  On my way over, I again asked my grandmother to please give me some sort of sign that would help me make the right selection.  I met with the florist and was shown many beautiful types of arrangements, but then I was reminded of the bouquet at the funeral home.  I asked the woman if she remembered the bouquet, and found that she had actually been the one who designed it.  I told her how much we loved it, but we were wondering if we could in some way honor the six grandchildren and the ten great grandchildren with special colors or flowers in that same design.    The gal just laughed and said, “ That’s so funny.  That arrangement I delivered this morning had 6 red carnations for the grandchildren and 10 purple mums for the great grandchildren.”  I just looked up and smiled.

Thanks, grandma.  I think the flowers will be perfect, too. 

---