As I usually do, I sit on our front porch in the early morning hours just as the darkness of night begins to fade into the lightness of day. It is a special time for me, a time when my mind is clear and the quietness allows me to hear that quiet voice that lives within each of us, but which is often in competition with the world waking up around us.
Sometimes the voice appears in many different forms, this time in the presence of a redbird. It was unusual, in fact it had never happened with me before, but there it was, a bright, redbird standing very still on my driveway, facing me, and still as if it was frozen in time. It was staring at me as if it were trying to establish some form of communication between us. I don’t know that I have ever talked with a bird before, and certainly not a redbird. Was it trying to alert me to something … something I could not yet discern?
Over the next week I could not erase the image from my mind. Before going to sleep each night, the image of the redbird would linger in the background of my thoughts. Little did I know that it was an omen, or as some would say, a heads-up about some future event. I am not a follower of omens, but I do believe our minds have the capacity to travel across the dimensions of time, both the past and the future. How else does one explain such things as near-death experiences where one is declared clinically dead and then is resuscitated, able to recall past-life experiences. It is not unusual for one under hypnosis being able to recall events in a prior life which are later verified to be accurate. So what was the redbird trying, if anything, to tell me?
One week later, after several phone calls from both me and my wife to our oldest daughter with no response, SWMBO (she who must be obeyed) suggested I go to her apartment and see if she was all right. We knew she had fallen several times recently as evidenced by the bruises on her face. Knocking on her door elicited no response. We had a key to her apartment, but she had dead-bolted it from the inside so I couldn’t gain entry. I asked the apartment manager if he could let me in the apartment so I could see if anything was amiss. He said he couldn’t, but he could call the police department and ask them to assist us.
The police officer broke a window in the apartment to gain entry. In just a few moments he unlocked the deadbolt and came outside closing the door behind him. I knew then from the look on his face that it was not good news. In a kind and gentle voice he told me our daughter had passed away.
We later learned that a month earlier our daughter had visited her doctor and, during the visit, he informed her she had two very serious heart issues, either of which could be fatal. She chose not to tell anyone because she knew we would worry. For this, I admired her even more. She didn’t want mom and dad to endure the agony of what might happen.
Two weeks later, two of our daughters held a Celebration of Life, in which over eighty people attended. A box of butterflies was opened and, as they flew away, we remembered how she loved butterflies. Those attending had an opportunity to tell their favorite memories of their relationship with Vickie. It was truly a celebration of her life, not a sad viewing in a funeral home or church. Several persons said this experience was going to change the way they honored family members and others when they passed on to a better place.
I now think of the redbird. When my life comes to an end on this earth I think the redbird will call my name. In the meantime, I have posted a sign in my driveway saying, NO REDBIRDS ALLOWED.
