Debra Basham

Living and Loving

Tag: metaphors for life

  • See the Blessings in Disguise

    Sacred Stories

    Her husband is in a facility after having had a major stroke almost two years ago. He is losing Medicaid coverage for physical therapy. The physical therapist expressed a willingness to volunteer her time to train the private-pay care team that was working to help him maintain physical strength they have been able to develop.

    Mere minutes before the training, the administration of the facility said their liability insurance prohibits anyone other than their licensed therapists doing therapy for him.

    She was so angry…. She went home frustrated and fuming.

    She got in the hot tub and was crying and crying.

    Finally some space opened up as she realized an option is to have the private-pay care team transport her husband to their home 4 to 5 days per week and do the therapy there.

    She cried even harder when she realized that this plan will likely make him much happier!

    What a blessing to be able to see the blessings in disguise….

  • Welcome Dad!

    Sacred Stories

    The small building out back had been her dad’s man cave. They called it willeyville.


    Her dad had passed, but she still loved the ambiance in that space.

    She writes:

    “I am out in willeyville lighting the fire and getting it warm because my sister is coming over and we are going to do a family craft project. While lighting the fire I heard a noise behind me and turned around and the door was open. I had shut that door. Welcome Dad!”

    Especially at this time of year, notice happenings that remind us our loved ones are still loving us and enjoying our enjoying our lives.

  • By Your Side

    Sacred Stories

    The two women had not previously met even though they had both lived in the same 55-and-over community for a few years. Their interaction at the mail station resulted in a conversation about their mothers having both passed.

    “My mom used to live in that blue house right there,” she pointed.

    That home was now owned by a dear friend of the other woman.

    “I know she is always with me,” she continued.

    “What evidence do you have that she continues to be with you?” the other woman asked.

    “She gave me this charm.” Her gloved hand held a charm with ‘I will always be by your side’ engraved on it.

    “It isn’t just the charm, though. I can feel her with me all the time,” she continued.

    The two woman hugged.

    What a wonderful chance meeting, and what an important reminder. Those who love us are never gone from us….

  • Love Makes the World Go Around

    Sacred Stories

    She was writing in her journal about ‘LOVE’ being four parts of speech: noun, verb, adjective, and adverb.

    She wanted to write a sentence using the word love as each of those. She wrote, “Noun: Love makes the world go around.”

    Then she could not think of how to use the other forms, so she did a Google search for ‘Is love an adverb?’

    Her Google search used her exact sentence: “OK, it’s not an usual adverb. Love is a noun and a verb. For example, “love makes the world go around.” …

    Lessons don’t always have to be earth shattering. Just notice the way things are. The way things are is plenty amazing!

  • Suicide

    Sacred Stories

    He was mulling the subject of suicide. Essentially about why suicide is seen as bad; he had regularly received guidance that every person chooses when, where, and how that person transitions.

    When he got home he had received an email message from Abraham Hicks.

    The subject of that message was suicide. Abraham used the exact same words, “Every death, no exception, is suicide because you create your own reality.”

  • Atlas

    Sacred Stories

    She had been talking to her friend about synchronicity at a time during which she was in the process of exploring options for relief from physical discomfort. Someone had suggested she try Atlas Physical Therapy. She was hesitant.

    Running some errands she saw not one, but two company vehicles with the name Atlas. These were not two vehicles promoting the same company, but two completely different companies with that name.

    Having fun telling her friend about the sightings, she recalled another friend had suggested she watch the film Cloud Atlas.

    While out driving, her friend saw yet a different ‘Atlas’ company van!

    Sometimes synchronicity is clearly pointing the way. Even when the way is not always clear, it is always delightful to notice and be willing to receive the meaning of the message.

  • Every Memory a Blessing

    Sacred Stories

    She was at the post office feeling so depressed having sold her late husband’s small sailboat.

    She looked across the room at a rack of greeting cards.

    A familiar image….

    A familiar message…. every memory a blessing.

    “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)

    The Dharma of Dogs: Our Best Friends as Spiritual Teachers, by Tami Simon

  • How are you and Ed doing?

    Sacred Stories

    She had been thinking about her friend. The last message from her friend had come in on March 22. That message was about her friend’s husband having been hospitalized in ICU.

    One month later, she received a message asking about a session for her friend’s daughter.

    She wrote back, asking about her friend’s husband.  “How are you and Ed doing?”

    The friend said, “I think I need a session, too.” They agreed to meet the following morning.

    Her friend showed her she had sent a text message with the news that her husband had passed.

    She grabbed her phone.

    Although it showed up in her friend’s phone as having been sent, they were both shocked to see that the message about him having passed was not in her string of text messages!

    (Note – Interference with technology is a commonly shared ‘happening’ by loved ones who have passed.)

    Grateful to know beyond a doubt, my friend AND her husband are both doing well….

     

     

     

     

  • You Say

    She had had yet another stressful interaction with her husband. Knowing she was not as skillful in her words as her whole being longed to be, she had a dream.

    In the dream, she heard words of reassurance and comfort. She could not see whom the words were coming from, but in her heart she knew these words were a message from God.

    Some days passed, and these words continued to resonate within her mind.

    When someone she was meeting for the first time pulled up on her iPhone a song this woman had found especially meaningful, the words of the song were THE WORDS from her dream.

    The words were Lauren Daigle’s single “You Say” from her album Look Up Child.

    You Say

    I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough
    Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up
    Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low
    Remind me once again just who I am because I need to know
    Ooh oh
    You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
    You say I am strong when I think I am weak
    And you say I am held when I am falling short
    And when I don’t belong, oh You say I am Yours
    And I believe (I)
    Oh I believe (I)
    What You say of me (I)
    I believe
    The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me
    In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity
    Ooh oh
    You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
    You say I am strong when I think I am weak
    And you say I am held when I am falling short
    And when I don’t belong, oh You say I am Yours
    And I believe (I)
    Oh, I believe (I)
    What You say of me (I)
    Oh, I believe
    Taking all I have and now I’m laying it at Your feet
    You have every failure, God, You have every victory
    Ooh oh
    You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
    You say I am strong when I think I am weak
    You say I am held when I am falling short
    When I don’t belong, oh You say I am Yours
    And I believe (I)
    Oh, I believe (I)
    What You say of me (I)
    I believe
    Oh, I believe (I)
    Yes I believe (I)
    What You say of me (I)
    I believe

    Source: Musixmatch
    Songwriters: Jason Ingram / Paul Mabury / Lauren Daigle
    You Say lyrics © Centricsongs, So Essential Tunes, SEE YOU AT THE PUB

  • Healing Touch

    The hospital she worked in as a nurse offered a 1-hour introduction to Healing Touch. The very next day after she attended the intro, a patient with brain cancer was having a lot of difficulty mitigating pain.

    The family was doing massage, they were playing soft music in the room, they were doing calming touching, and speaking lovingly. Nothing was helping.

    She kept calling the doctor, asking for more pain medication for the patient, although the increases offered no relief.

    Finally, the doctor said he could not increase the dosage any more.

    Speaking to the patient, she explained that while they could not administer any additional medication, if the patient was open, she would do some Healing Touch.

    She prayed. She knew so little. She hoped it would help.

    It was as though she was in an altered state. Her hands got hot. She was almost out-of-body. She only did it for about five minutes.

    She stopped and then opened her eyes. Her brow was sweaty and her hair was damp.

    As she regained her focus, a family member gasped.

    The patient was peacefully sleeping….

    (Debra is certified in Healing Touch. Janet Mentgen, the nurse who developed the Healing Touch training program would tell her students, “Just do the work.”)