Living and Loving
Sacred Stories
Out on a bike ride, she had the SECOND pileated woodpecker sighting in one week’s time. This after having not seen a pileated woodpecker for two seasons (since their habitat had begun being cleared to build homes).
Moments later a text message popped in from their daughter: “Keep me posted on your rehab eval today.” Following open-heart surgery, he was starting cardiac rehab.
Their daughter had been riding with her for the first pileated woodpecker sighting. This time she had been able to stop and get this photo.
She responded to their daughter’s text message by sending the photo, along with this reply: “Will do. Perhaps seeing this guy just now on my ride might be a good omen.”
Sacred Stories
Bike riding, she pointed out yet another lot which had recently been cleared.
“This was home to a pair of pileated woodpeckers,” she bemoaned.
“Where do they take them when they clear the land?” her daughter asked.
“They don’t take them anywhere. They just destroy the habitat. If the pair survives, they do. If they don’t, they don’t,” she responded critically.
Turning the corner and joining the main road, as they crossed the street an unusual flight pattern of a bird caught their attention before landing on a nearby utility pole.
The bird was a pileated woodpecker!
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:25-27)
Sacred Stories
Driving the hour-plus to their seasonal home, no toll lanes were manned when she came over the bridge!!!
She later learned since Covid the bridge does not have toll attendants. Drivers must either have a transponder for auto-pay or wait for an invoice to be sent.
She logged on to SunPass and saw the “pay toll by license plate number with no invoice” feature. Her license plate was not there but it said plates might not update for 10 days. Day after day after day she logged on and checked, hoping to avoid the service fee associated with processing of an invoice. Weeks later she wrote to customer service explaining the situation and received an email saying the case was closed.
There was nothing to do but wait. She finally received an in the mail — $2 toll plus a $3 service fee!
She called customer service to dispute the service fee.
“I do not live in Florida, I am just wintering here. I crossed the bridge on the way back from the hospital after my husband had a surprise open-heart surgery. I had no idea there would not be an attendant. I logged on to the website and it said there would be an option to pay without an invoice but that never happened. I filed a complaint but received an email saying the case was closed.”
“What website did you log on to?” he asked.
Somewhat indignant, she said she had no idea that bridge was operated by a local entity!
“You were driving and you noticed the one name but not the other. Please don’t call yourself ignorant. And you were under a lot of stress. How is your husband doing? That is the most important thing.” His voice was so kind.
“He is doing well, thank you.” She choked back tears.
“I am so glad for that. My father also had surprise open-heart surgery but he did not make it….”
He went on to tell her how she could come to the toll service office and they could wave the fee. She said it was not practical to drive that far to save such a small amount of money.
Suddenly recognizing that the error was never about money, tears came as compassion welled up in her heart for this man and his family.
Her husband who had overheard the phone conversation, commenting, “You paid $3 for a sacred story,” as they shared a few tears over this tender toll tale.
Knowing they were so very fortunate, with a grateful heart she wrote out the check.
Sacred Stories
She was attending a mindfulness meditation class. This particular evening the teacher was leading them in a guided meditation.
Imagine yourself in a large, flower-strewn meadow. There thousands of wonderful flowers growing, with beautiful scent. On one side of you there’s a bubbling stream, about 70 feet wide moving over rocks. Across the way, on the other side is a dark woods. Here, a nice expanse – 70 yards or so – of meadow, sloping down to the water, and beyond the meadow, a steep hill rising up, pockmarked with caves. You live in these caves. You are comfortable there. Now, you are sitting in the meadow, the scent of the flowers filling your nostrils. The sun is warming your body.
The following morning as she booted up her computer to transcribe the meditation for the group the “random” screen saver that appeared depicted the very idyllic scene the teacher had guided them to the previous evening!
Perhaps the best verse that exemplifies Synchronicity in the Bible is found in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good…”
Sacred Stories
The online prayer group had been praying for a young healthcare worker who had been airlifted from the local hospital to a University Hospital a few hours away.
An update and request popped in: The young healthcare worker is doing well with the new machine, the only slight issue, which they have already helped, is getting her blood pressure right on it.
Today, asking prayers for her husband who is (understandably) feeling worn out with the stress.
At the moment she heard the message pop in, she was reading from Jean Houston about the ONE SOUL life view:
“What would change if you felt the presence of souls surrounding you?
Imagine what it means to step into the dynamic flow of energy that can be simultaneously experienced as your individual consciousness and as a living body of souls.
What insights would become available and how would your actions add to this energetic field that moves in and through all life?”
Sacred Stories
That afternoon she had watched a seminar with Kyle Gray about the importance of our asking angels for help. During dinner with friends, a string of text messages revealed amplification with the friend’s granddaughter.
“Ask the angels for help,” she encouraged her friend, as she received such a strong sense that the maternal grandmother was there helping.
Boom!
“I need a hug,” wrote the granddaughter.
The following morning more encouraging news came from the household.
You will likely agree we have nothing to lose by asking the angels for help. We all have loved ones in spirit. And, after all, isn’t Jesus an angel? Buddha? Thich Nhat Hanh?
Kyle says, “It’s not how big the miracle is, it is simply how much room you make for it.”
