Debra Basham

Living and Loving

Category: Sacred Stories

Contains sacred stories

  • A Father’s Love 2

    Sacred Stories

    Driving back from visiting her husband in the Alzheimer’s facility, she was telling his daughter the story of having drawn ‘A Father’s Love’ Messenger Card the previous month following her surgery. (See previous post: A Father’s Love)

    They were just about home when the story was finished. “Did the medicine container ever show up?” his daughter inquired.

    “Nope,” she replied.

    As they pulled into the driveway, she reached down to the shelf below the console to get the garage door opener.

    Instead of the opener, she pulled out the medicine container!

    They were both were speechless with mouths and eyes gaping open.

    A father’s love truly is one of the strongest bonds any of us will ever experience….

  • Annabelle’s Own

    Sacred Stories

    The following story was submitted by a reader. When I asked her if she wanted the names to be used or changed, she responded, “Leave the names the same. I want people to lift up my Mom’s spirit!”

    Sometimes I don’t catch subtlety, my Mom (who passed away 5 months ago) knows this.

    I don’t think she was very subtle one night letting me know that she is watching over me.

    My Mom was on the Board for Art Reach (a non-profit in Mt. Pleasant, MI) for more than a decade. I accompanied my Mom to many Art Reach fundraiser auctions throughout the years. After soliciting for some donations for her and knowing how much I enjoyed the event, the Executive Director offered me 2 tickets to the mid-week event. I thought about it for a while and told myself that if Mom’s best friend, Val, could go with me, then I’ll drive over 2 hours each way on a Wednesday night for the event.

    Val spends most of the warm months at her cottage up north, so it was a long shot. Well, not only was Val in Mt Pleasant for the event, it was on her birthday! So I drove to and from Mt. Pleasant to attend the Art Reach Auction.

    While there I did not bid on many items so I decided to try my hand at the Gift Card Pull. This is where random gift cards are all put in similar envelopes (all same size, just different colors) and you pay to pick an envelope and get the gift that’s inside. I assumed that most of the gift cards were for local establishments, but I could get lucky with a Meijers or something. Otherwise Val or my brother (who works in the area) would be getting the gift card – the donation is going to a good cause.

    Out of 100 random gift card options, I selected the gift certificate from Annabelle’s Own, a locally owned restaurant in Midland, MI that has great, homemade food and happens to have been my Mom’s favorite restaurant!

    I was so surprised and pleased to get that gift card, but was even more taken aback when I read it. Ann had donated the gift certificate because of my Mom and had written in the From space of the card: Annabelle & Carol Brannan (my Mom).


    It truly was a gift from my Mom – aligning everything to get me there and draw that card. What a fun and memorable night! And it was the sign I’ve been needing, to know that my Mom is okay and watching over me every single day!

    (Interestingly, earlier in the day I had decided to switch from weekly postings, to posting as the stories come forth. This is your first immediate post. Keep those Sacred Stories coming!)

  • A Father’s Love

    Sacred Stories

    She had just come home from the hospital following a knee replacement. Her daughter was staying with her.

    She noticed her pill container for that day (Wednesday) was missing. She knew she had not taken any medication to the hospital with her.

    They looked everywhere. Not finding the missing Wednesday container, she decided to draw a card.

    She drew “A Father’s Love.”

    They shuffled the cards and her daughter drew a card. It was “A Father’s Love” again!

    “Okay, Dad,” she said, knowing her dad was supporting them both.

    When her daughter also drew a card for ‘herself’ she drew “Caregiver.”

    A father’s love is one of the strongest bonds any of us will ever experience…. Also true about a Grandfather’s love.

    Please share the Sacred Stories you experience with friends, family, and anyone who will listen.

  • 1973 Kennedy Half Dollar

    Sacred Stories

    Her husband had recently passed. She was moving from their home into a condo.

    Two STRONG men & a truck moved her furniture.

    One of the pieces they moved for her was the antique Jenny Lind bed in the guestroom she had inherited from her granny.

    When the movers picked up the bed, a Kennedy half dollar was on the floor.

    1973 is the year they fell in love and married!

    Coincidence? She does not think so.

    Once you begin to notice, Sacred Stories are unfolding moment-by-moment.

  • Furry Friend

    Sacred Stories

    They were traveling from Florida, where they had wintered, back to their Northern home. It was a stressful even for both of them, but even more so for her, given his physical limitations from the strokes. His wheelchair was where an aisle seat would normally be. She was seated next to him in the middle seat.

    As their aisle-mate approached, motioning with her head, she said, “Obviously he cannot move for you so I guess you will have to climb over both of us.”

    She is one who gets chatty when nervous, unlike the easy quiet she finds other times.

    He looked at both of them, then handed her a small black dog. “Well, I guess you will have to hold him for me until I get settled.”

    She willingly took the dog, and instantly felt herself slide into the present moment.

    Holding the dog calmed her right down.

    By the time their seat mate had settled himself in beside her, she said to him, “I am sorry, but you can’t have him back.”

    “You may hold him until he has to go into the case under the seat for takeoff.”

    She contentedly smiled down at her furry friend curled up on her lap. Life was once again giving her the perfect support.

    Be sure to notice when this is happening for you, too….

     

  • Re-Gifting

    Sacred Stories

    She and her sisters were together celebrating her birthday. As she opened one of the gifts, a pronounced whiff of perfume hung in the air.

    “This was mom’s, wasn’t it?” she chided her sister. “You are giving me a re-gift!”

    Their mother was famous for buying and wearing something and then giving it to one of them as a gift. The fragrance was palpable.

    “I bought it new!” her sister assured her.

    The sisters looked at one another as the obvious now dawned on them: Their mother was letting them know she was there celebrating the birthday with them.

    When your beliefs are stretched, you can let yourself honor your experience. Sometimes just looking into other cultures helps you understand truth.

     

     

  • Sticky Note

    Sacred Stories

    She had just been asked to be part of a project for a spiritual group she was associated with. It was something she was capable of doing, so she sent a brief email reply that she was willing.

    Getting up from her computer, walking across the room, she noticed a piece of paper stuck on the bottom of her shoe.

    Here are the words written on the sticky note:

    This is a really good idea. Before you dismiss it, remember how you felt when it came to you.

    She had written the words from Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story, by Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter, Ann Kidd Taylor, on that sticky note several years before. It had somehow—at that moment—gotten from her keyboard shelf onto the bottom of her shoe!

    Take notice of the sometimes subtle and sometimes obvious way LIFE is always guiding you. Send email to Debra when you have a Sacred Story to share.

  • Elephant at Meditation

    Sacred Stories

    The group gathered each week for meditation. One particular day, a woman who lived in another area was visiting and also joined them.

    At the conclusion of the meditation, she said, “I just kept seeing elephants…. Other animals, too, but lots of elephants.”

    Finally one of the other women said, “Well, I did a painting of an elephant. I have it here with me today. I brought it to show a woman who is not here today.”

    Coming back to the group, she produced this amazing water color!

    How do you make sense of the amazing experiences we are having? To share your sacred stories, send email to debra@scs-matters.com.

  • A Blessed Visitor

    Sacred Stories

    They were traveling out of state when involved in an auto accident. She was taken by ambulance, leaving her husband behind at the scene.

    He made a desperate call to their home church asking for prayers.

    A member of the church who happened to hear the call had a relative in that town.

    The church member’s relative went immediately to the hospital, and stayed with the woman until her husband located her and arrived!

    Threads of divine connection reach out in all directions to nourish and support us like the roots of tall trees.

    Do you have a story to share? Send email to debra@scs-matters.com.

  • Flood Cleanup

    Sacred Stories

    Fortunately it was at the end of the summer camping season when a church camp in Pennsylvania experienced pretty extensive flood damage.

    The office was closed but the secretary had stopped briefly to pick up mail. She answered when the phone rang.

    A volunteer organization out of Texas had heard of the damage. They were on site and willing to handle the cleanup and repair!

    Sacred Stories happen every day. We are provided evidence that life is wonderful, and we are being supported. Notice. And share….

    Do you have a story to share? Send email to debra@scs-matters.com.