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Cleveland Clinic
They were in the midst of a Michigan blizzard and he was out trying to clear their driveway when a neighbor stopped to ask how his wife was doing. Although she worked for a medical doctor, a diagnosis had eluded them. “Not good,” was the reply.
They talked a bit about what was going on with her, and later that night the neighbor, a chiropractor, called saying he thought he had identified what she had. “She needs to get somewhere and have a lung biopsy immediately,” he asserted.
She notified her doctor, and because of the extreme winter weather they could not get her to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. They could not get her to University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In the snowy situation she could only be airlifted to Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), formerly known as Wegener’s granulomatosis, is a rare autoimmune disorder that causes inflammation of small- and medium-sized blood vessels (vasculitis). It restricts blood flow and forms inflamed, swollen tissue masses called granulomas, primarily affecting the upper and lower respiratory tracts (sinuses, nose, lungs) and kidneys.
Sure enough, she was diagnosed with GPA! And even more sure enough, they had experienced a divine blizzard because the world’s foremost expert in Wegener’s granulomatosis at that time was at Cleveland Clinic….
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Ramped-up Service
The hope to get him home was sincere and unrelenting, but the barriers were significant. His condition was largely due to Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam war. And he had been Post Commander.
Two Vets came forth — they were willing to drive him and his wife (and their two big dogs) from Southwest Florida to mid-Michigan. A van needed to be rented and fitted with a bed and commode. The Post offered to cover expenses.
But they also needed a ramp at home so they could get him into the house. Time was short, but timing was divine. The day his wife called her daughter, her daughter called her mother-in-law. The local post had a loaner ramp being returned that very day. Within 48 hours the ramp had been installed and was ready to welcome him home – truly ramped-up service for a truly deserving service-man!
“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” — Dale Carnegie
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Queen of Salsa Quarter
It was the perfect quarter for her to have found.“Does this make me a member of the Circle of Quarter Finders? And what say you about my found quarter?” was the text message.
“Oh, what a find!” came the reply. “Two years ago right now we were in the deep emotional waters.”
This found “Azúcar” quarter had been released in 2024 as part of the American Women Quarters™ Program. Their mutual friend was a feminist and advocate. She died on July 5, 2024. This found quarter was the first coin in U.S. history to feature an Afro-Latina, honoring Celia Cruz, the legendary “Queen of Salsa.”
A few months earlier, she had married the beloved partner of her late friend…. The spiritual meaning of the Latin dance, salsa, seemed to speak significantly, sending affirmation from the other side: The salsa encompasses community, the energetic exchange between partners, and deep ancestral roots.
Remarrying after a spouse’s death is not a betrayal, but rather a testament to a person’s capacity for love and connection. It does not erase the love held for a late partner; instead, it demonstrates a desire to continue experiencing life and companionship.
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Hundred-Dollar Blessing
Joyce and a few friends have lunch out together on Wednesdays. They go different places on different days, but she was so grateful they went to Cracker Barrel on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.
Joyce was chatting with another patron, enjoying the pleasant sharing. “I would like to give you a blessing, if you would like to receive it,” the woman said.
“Of course,” Joyce replied. The woman pressed a bill into the palm of Joyce’s hand. Looking down, she was shocked to be holding a hundred-dollar bill!
The woman spoke of having been in a cult as a child, then finding God. She and her husband had been very fortunate financially and they liked being in a position to share that blessing with others. Joyce felt this generosity to be a direct affirmation for the special sewing she has been doing — making small zippered cases for a mission project.
“That hundred-dollar bill will be going to Hobby Lobby!” she happily exclaimed as she shared the experience of having gotten such great generosity.
Great generosity from a stranger at lunch. A stranger who will forever feel like a friend….
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Princess
Princess came as her companion while her husband was working away from home.
And Princess was her faithful fur friend for fourteen and one half years!
Princess started having seizures in October and was on seizure medications every eight hours. The alarm was set for 3 am and, after giving Princess the medication, she would watch TV until she fell back to sleep.
After Princess died, her husband’s work sent her flowers with a message, “Thinking of you. Sending sunshine your way.”
The Dharma of Dogs: Our Best Friends as Spiritual Teachers
by Tami Simon“The pain of her death was exquisite. I cried for weeks, but felt an incredible joy and comfort that was an equal part of the grief. I was so grateful that I had spent time with her — only with her, fully present and joyful.” (p.163)
Thích Nhất Hạnh shared in No Death, No Fear:
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The day my mother died I wrote in my journal, “A serious misfortune of my life has arrived.” I suffered for more than one year after the passing away of my mother. But one night, in the highlands of Vietnam, I was sleeping in the hut in my hermitage. I dreamed of my mother. I saw myself sitting with her, and we were having a wonderful talk. She looked young and beautiful, her hair flowing down. It was so pleasant to sit there and talk to her as if she had never died. When I woke up it was about two in the morning, and I felt very strongly that I had never lost my mother. The impression that my mother was still with me was very clear. I understood then that the idea of having lost my mother was just an idea. It was obvious in that moment that my mother is always alive in me.
I opened the door and went outside. The entire hillside was bathed in moonlight. It was a hill covered with tea plants, and my hut was set behind the temple halfway up. Walking slowly in the moonlight through the rows of tea plants, I noticed my mother was still with me. She was the moonlight caressing me as she had done so often, very tender, very sweet… wonderful! Each time my feet touched the earth I knew my mother was there with me. I knew this body was not mine but a living continuation of my mother and my father and my grandparents and great-grandparents. Of all my ancestors. Those feet that I saw as “my” feet were actually “our” feet. Together my mother and I were leaving footprints in the damp soil.
From that moment on, the idea that I had lost my mother no longer existed. All I had to do was look at the palm of my hand, feel the breeze on my face or the earth under my feet to remember that my mother is always with me, available at any time.
After Princess died she would still wake up at 3 am, even without an alarm. On February 11, one week to the day of Princess’ death , when she fell back to sleep she had a vivid dream that her husband handed Princess to her and she cuddled with her in bed. Sharing with a friend about the visit Princess made to her in that dream she wrote: “Very grateful.”
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Angelic Axle Repair
Folding chairs had to be moved from the funeral home, set up, and returned to the funeral home after the outdoor Blossomtime Blessing of the Blossoms ceremony held a few miles away. The trailer was rather old, and showing its age. One of the volunteer workers made a comment about the wheels and axles. The owner said the trailer had started out as a 1972 tent camper, and after many years when the camper part wore out, the frame was converted to a utility trailer. He said there would never be a problem with the wheels or axles because of a repair job many years before.
Then he told the workers this story:One four-day weekend around 1977, my family decided to go camping at a Yogi Bear campground in Indiana. I had to work until noon on Saturday, so my wife would drive the camper to the campsite on Friday night. I would come down after work on Saturday.
Everything went well until my wife drove over a railroad track in Plymouth. A weld on the trailer axle broke causing the wheel to rub the inner fender. A man following her in a pickup truck noticed the problem. After he alerted her, they both pulled into a parking lot where he introduced himself. My two younger daughters, and our fifteen year-old son were with her.
The man in the pickup truck said he had the knowledge and tools needed to make the repairs and he knew of someone who would weld it back. He said our son would have to do the work, however, since the man had been involved in an accident a couple of weeks prior and could not help. Our son was mechanically inclined and was in machine shop classes in high school. Two jacks were taken from the man’s truck and the trailer was jacked up. The wheels and four bolts holding the axle on were removed, and the axle was placed in the man’s truck. The man and our son drove several blocks to a machine shop.
Our son had related the following: They arrived at what appeared to be a new shop — modern, very nice, new black parking lot, freshly painted yellow parking stripes. They pulled up to the side door where they were met by another man who took the axle inside. The shop was brightly lit and full of the most modern tools and machines. The axle was placed on a welding table, pulled back into correct shape, checked to make sure the alignment was correct and welded back. The son told the welder to give him his name and address and the cost, that he would have his mother send a check. The welder replied, “I owe the man you are with a great deal. There will not be a charge.”
The axle was taken back to the trailer and installed. Upon completion my wife pulled out her checkbook and asked the man for a price. He told her, “There is not a charge, but when you see someone broken down on the highway, stop and do whatever you can for them. When I was in that accident two weeks ago, if someone had not stopped to help me I would not be here today.”
Our family went on to the campground and had an enjoyable weekend. After returning home my wife wanted to send a thank you card to the man who had helped them. She had his name but not an address, so she called the phone operator. She did not get a mailing address, but was given a phone number. She called the number and when a woman answered explained what had occurred and asked to speak to the man. The woman said, “That man was my husband. Unfortunately, he was killed in that accident two weeks ago. You are the second person who has called with such comments. Because of your phone calls, I now know where he is and that he is in good hands.”
Note* Upon thinking about all that took place that day, it is obvious that ANGELS do walk among us and have remarkable powers and abilities. Apparently, the machine shop and tools were created by him for that very purpose.
Photo Note** This “spare” on the trailer now is a 1972 original from when the wheels and tires were replaced in 2022, after five decades of service. We never had a problem with those tires and, although they did show cracks and had chunks missing, they continued to hold air while doing their job for 50 years.
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Welcome Back To 24550
Their home, along with the neighboring town of Hallam, had been flattened by an F-4 tornado that tore through multiple counties in southeast Nebraska during the evening hours of May 22, 2004. His brother came to help. Dan arrived quickly from Michigan. He brought with him not only badly needed skills but equally essential energy and optimism life-giving to all.
Dan designed a t-shirt that was worn by hundreds of friends and neighbors and volunteers as they worked tirelessly side-by-side, dealing with devastated properties and broken hearts.
Dan also ordered a custom-made address plaque to replace the one that had been by their front door. The words chosen carried a very special meaning:
Welcome Back To 24550 The plaque arrived the very day workers were coming to lay the bricks!
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Fox Squirrel
One day when I was a kid I was outside our house and saw a fox squirrel in a tree. It was the only time I had ever seen a fox squirrel by our house.
While I was watching the squirrel my mom came out and told me my grandpa had died. Grandpa loved his fox squirrels and even made houses for them!
I knew that fox squirrel was my grandfather saying goodbye. He was just passing through though.
I never saw another fox squirrel by our house.
The morning following the passing of my dad, a lone Jake turkey visited our house. It was suddenly right outside the window while I was eating breakfast. Only the second time I’ve seen a turkey since we moved to this house. Then I remembered this visit by the fox squirrel when his own father had passed. This is the first time I have shared about that childhood happening. I am so grateful for the absolute knowing I had then and now.
A squirrel’s quick and agile movements symbolize the ability to navigate complex, changing situations with grace and confidence.
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A Special Guy Passed on Maundy Thursday
She received a text from a friend early on Good Friday morning. “Dad passed away yesterday. We were all there with him. He was such a special guy. Extremely glad I got to spend so much time with him the last few years.”
Maundy Thursday, falling in Holy Week before Good Friday, commemorates the Last Supper, where Jesus instituted Holy Communion (Eucharist) and washed his disciples’ feet to model service. It marks the new commandment for us to “love one another.”
She expressed appreciation for having received the news. “We also feel so honored we share your view that he really was a special guy. The other side of the veil just gained one of the best. I am imagining one heck of a welcome party!!!!”
Right after she sent that text message it came to her mind to share Thích Nhất Hạnh, No Death, No Fear, about his mother having died.
The day my mother died I wrote in my journal, “A serious misfortune of my life has arrived.” I suffered for more than one year after the passing away of my mother. But one night, in the highlands of Vietnam, I was sleeping in the hut in my hermitage. I dreamed of my mother. I saw myself sitting with her, and we were having a wonderful talk. She looked young and beautiful, her hair flowing down. It was so pleasant to sit there and talk to her as if she had never died. When I woke up it was about two in the morning, and I felt very strongly that I had never lost my mother. The impression that my mother was still with me was very clear. I understood then that the idea of having lost my mother was just an idea. It was obvious in that moment that my mother is always alive in me.
I opened the door and went outside. The entire hillside was bathed in moonlight. It was a hill covered with tea plants, and my hut was set behind the temple halfway up. Walking slowly in the moonlight through the rows of tea plants, I noticed my mother was still with me. She was the moonlight caressing me as she had done so often, very tender, very sweet… wonderful! Each time my feet touched the earth I knew my mother was there with me. I knew this body was not mine but a living continuation of my mother and my father and my grandparents and great-grandparents. Of all my ancestors. Those feet that I saw as “my” feet were actually “our” feet. Together my mother and I were leaving footprints in the damp soil.
From that moment on, the idea that I had lost my mother no longer existed. All I had to do was look at the palm of my hand, feel the breeze on my face or the earth under my feet to remember that my mother is always with me, available at any time.
Her friend wrote back, “I guess I’m lucky, because I felt he was in me as soon as he was gone. I looked at his body and it almost meant nothing to me. One thing I did do: The hospice nurse asked what clothes I wanted put on him. I went to my house and got his deer hunting clothes. He left dressed the way he was when he was happiest.”
A bit later, she also received this news from her friend: “A lone Jake turkey visited our house this morning. It was suddenly right outside the window while I was eating breakfast. Only the second time I’ve seen a turkey since we moved to this house.”
Adapted from AI: Loved one, including pets and human family, may appear as animals after death. These experiences are often considered spiritual visits or symbols of the afterlife. Some believe because animals are “high vibrational beings,” they can navigate between realms, allowing the spirits of our loved ones to visit through them. These visits are viewed as a way for deceased loved ones to show they are still part of the family’s journey, bringing peace and confirming that they have not truly left.
Holy God, source of all love,
on the night of his betrayal,
Jesus gave us a new commandment,
to love one another as he loves us.