A Gift from Above

 Stories  7 Responses »
Mar 052012
 

Gifts can come to us in different ways and forms. Some refer to gifts as presents, some “awards”, or even recognition for a job well done can be considered a form of gift. Then there’s the “just because” gift, whatever form, my definition is a little different, and after reading this perhaps you’ll agree! Let’s just say I received a “gift” from a higher source… A gift from above!

Back in October, we had lost our little boy, Chewey, our 14 year of Shih Tzu. He was my very first long term pet, one that was always by my side. My grief was unusually heavy, I had suffered a few losses within the last year and his death really hit home hard. My husband and I were barely able to function the first few days afterwards. All I could envision was my little boy, closing his eyes and taking his last breath. I had made him a promise from the first day I had set my heart to his, that I would never let him suffer.

As this memory set in, I turned and suddenly blurted out, “Brad, we’re getting another dog”. Brad, shocked at what I had just said replied, “We are?” and laughed nervously. He really didn’t know what I was thinking, all he could see were the tears streaming down, like a dam that had finally let go, and all I could do was sob as I said it.

Things seemed to fall back into place as we were getting used to our new routine of “no Chewey” in the morning, afternoon, evening, just no Chewey. We had started accepting the fact that this was indeed the best thing for him as there would be no more suffering. Recalling our conversation, Brad started asking about the comment I had made a few days earlier, referring to the fact that we were going to get a little heartbeat in our house… another Shih Tzu.

In discussing it, we started getting excited about the potential of another family pet, after all, our cat was also grieving the loss of Chewey and we thought that it could potential benefit him as well. It was just sad to see him walking around, looking for his little “brother”, howling like we had never heard before.

Reality set in when we started to think it had only been a few weeks since our little boy was gone… we couldn’t possibly ever replace him, no other dog really could! Talking our way out of this altogether, we agreed that it was just a great fantasy, however, in all due respect to our family pet, we would just leave well enough alone.

Besides, I really didn’t want to start training a pup.. I just had a strange feeling about it and thought to myself that if I ever did get another pet, he would have to be at least 18 to 24 months old. Was I feeling this or was I receiving this message from somewhere or someone? I left it as a wishful thought!

A few days had gone by when we received a call from Sara, the lady at the “doggy dressers” who groomed our Chewey. She had called after learning that Chewey had gone over to Rainbow Bridge, offering her condolences. I thanked her telling her that the dog she had bred was indeed the most amazing dog I had ever owned, and started to tear up. She didn’t say much until I started apologizing for my emotions; I still found it difficult to talk about him and asked her how she knew.

With a bit of nervousness, Sara said “Listen, I really need to say this, but I don’t know how Jay, so I’m just going to say it. My mother and I have a dog that we’re unable to show or breed and because he has a bit of a anxiety problem, we thought that perhaps you might be interested in taking him as a family pet. He’s amazing and I’m sure you’re going to fall in love with him! We know you just lost your little Chewey, the vet mentioned it when we were there yesterday. We know it’s a little soon, but we think you’d be the perfect family for him.”

I wasn’t surprised and felt there was a reason for this, and repeated what Sara had just said to Brad, who gave me the greatest little smirk! We immediately made arrangements to see the dog the next week. I think it was the longest wait we had ever experienced!

There he was, 10 lbs soak and wet, sauntering over to where we had been standing outside. As Sara approached us, she called out to us, “Jay, Brad, this is Sgt. Carter.” Leashed and by her side, he was the cutest little dog we’d ever seen, half the size of our Chewey, with a great big attitude and heart to match. You couldn’t help but fall in love with him. Tough looking perhaps, but you could tell there wasn’t a tough bone in his body… he was just so full of love, that’s what he was!

We immediately knew that we would have a big decision to make, because we had already fallen in love with him, but wanting to be fair to Sgt. Carter, we wanted to make sure that we didn’t adopt him just to fill a void or to have false expectations of him. After all, he deserved a good and loving family. We left with an agreement to call her back within a week to give her our decision.

The week was filled with fantasies, and questions of all kinds entered our minds; the thought of having another little one around us, depending on us for every single thing was something we took very seriously. But the writing was on the wall and the decision had been made. We were adopting Sgt. Carter!

We called Sara and made arrangements to pick him up a week later.

The day had finally come and we were ready, like expectant parents! We had thought of everything; from bedding, bowls, food, right down to a Toronto Maple Leaf Sweatshirt for cold winter days. Sgt. Carter was visibly happy to see us when we arrived, and Sara was armed with papers, photos, bags of food and loads of toys.

She took me aside as Brad socialized with Carter, going over his documents and discussing his diet. She assured me that if things didn’t work out, I was to call her and she would make sure to take care of the matter. Going over the documents, I started reading Carter’s birth certificate. It was quite different from the one’s we were accustomed to, so Sara immediately offered to go over it, outlining specifics in lamens terms so that I could get a better grasp of “breeder’s” terminology.

As I glanced down, there it was, right in front of me… three very specific things!! Tears of joy streamed down my face, and I waived to get Brad’s attention. Accompanied by Carter, Brad walked over to the back of the room where I had been going over the papers with Sara. We immediately locked eyes after I pointed out 3 specific dates…

  1. Carter’s birthday matched my father’s birthday;
  2. Carter’s registration date matched the date of my mother and father’s wedding anniversary;
  3. Carter’s last award was won on my son’s date of birth… with an inscription “In It to Win It”.. an affirmation I had repeated to Brad only a few days earlier in reference to some goals that I had set!

It was evident and clear…. this dog was indeed a gift, the influence of my family in spirit who had a passion for smaller dogs and a desire to heal my heart. They had sent Carter into our lives…

I believe that gifts can come to us in different ways and forms, and I can assure you that ours certainly did!  We just love and treasure our little GIFT… A GIFT FROM ABOVE!

GIFT: G od’s I nfluence F lows T hrough

Ice Castle Believers

 Stories  No Responses »
Feb 012012
 

It seems like it was just yesterday when I met Maureen, a woman who didn’t trust a soul. Regardless of this, I knew I was up for the challenge, as I had the direct-line to someone that was waiting who had so much to offer her. Let me share the story.

It was a beautiful spring day when three women arrived after a long drive from Toronto. I was overwhelmed by the simple fact that these women hired a driver to take them on this day-long adventure just to see me for a reading, so many hours from their homes in Toronto. My energy levels were high, and I was very excited by the prospect of giving them a great reading.

My readings throughout the day were simply amazing, and my last appointment felt that it would change all that. As Maureen walked in, I sensed her skepticism, and at the same time felt tremendously excited about the presence I felt lingering around her. Maureen didn’t know it, but she brought a new visitor that I hadn’t encountered in my last two readings with her travel-mates. The energy of this presence was very clear; a very strong male presence.

As I always do, I offered Maureen tea, to which she replied, “No, thank-you.” I continued with my introduction as preparation for the reading, feeling it might relieve her of her nervous tension. I handed her an angel card deck and asked her to shuffle.

Immediately, I received a message, an intuitive vision which I began sharing as she shuffled.

“I see a late model 80′s Chevy 1/2 ton pick-up truck, dark blue in color. It has a beautiful red bow wrapped around it, and the other side of the truck is old and rusted.”

She seemed completely uninterested in my statement, and I had her spread the Angel Cards out, instructing her to pick seven cards that she felt an attraction toward. As she handed over the seven cards, she blurted out, “I don’t know anyone with a truck.”

I repeated to her that this energy, male was showing me an 80′s model 1/2 ton pick-up truck with a bow, and just as suddenly I received another vision. Sharing this, I explained that I was seeing the man standing on a bed of ice, like a castle. Next, his name in the paper and his picture on the front page. This male energy sharing this information and vision was insistent so I kept repeating everything.

Following this, I continued with the Angel Card Reading, but Maureen was now very disconnected and frustrated. After her reading, I asked if I could answer any questions or elaborate further on anything I’d already shared with her. She got up, looked at me, and said she was very disappointed with the reading.

“I don’t know anyone with a truck, let alone an ice castle!” and was visibly upset. “I don’t know where you’re getting this from, but it is not for me, and I’m very unhappy with the reading!”

She bent over, put her shoes on, and left. It was a very uncomfortable few moments.

Later that evening, speaking with my biggest fan and supporter, my husband Brad, I told him of the experience and how uncomfortable I felt. The phone rang. Answering it, the friend that referred these three ladies to me greeted me saying, “Jay, we need to talk.”

“The lady you saw today just called me and she wants to apologize to you,” he said.

“I can’t share any of the details of the reading and conversation with you,” I told him. “My code of ethics won’t allow that.”

“Jay, I don’t want or need you to say anything, I just want you to listen,” and he continued. “Today, you saw some of my relatives. The last lady you saw, well, she just called to tell me that she saw you today and was upset with your reading.”

He went on saying, “You don’t understand Jay. When they left your place, the first two ladies you read for were really excited and happy about their readings. They were comparing notes on the drive back, and really happy with the things you shared with them. When they got to Parry Sound, they stopped for a bite to eat. Maureen had been quiet during the 2 1/2 hour drive there, listening to the other two talk and keeping her own experience with you to herself. The driver they hired even turned and said, ‘you’re pretty quiet. Didn’t like your reading?’ Maureen told the driver you were way off and that the reading was terrible.”

“The driver asked her why, so Maureen recounted the story about the 1/2 ton pick-up truck, the ice castle, and newspaper clipping. She continued on and said you weren’t very good. The driver pulled off to the side of the road, turned, and asked Maureen, ‘can you tell me again what you just said?’ This really surprised Maureen, but she told her again all the details of the reading. The driver was visibly shaken – shocked even. The driver said to Maureen, ‘I guess I owe you some money for that reading then, don’t I?’

Carrying on with the story my friend said, “Maureen asked the driver why, and the driver told her story.”

“My husband was an auto-body man. He loved to fix up cars, trucks, paint them, and all that stuff. He had bought an old truck, late 80′s model Chevy 1/2 ton pick-up truck for our son as a gift. He had fixed the body and had painted half of it. It was intended that way so my son could finish it. In part, a joke, and in part, a project the two of them could do together. Two weeks later, my husband went to a convention out of town. After a few drinks and dinner, he and some his colleagues were out for a walk. It was a beautiful evening, and the Carnival events were in full swing. They ended up at the ice sculptures. He and his friends went up an ice castle, and as they reached the top, it collapsed. My husband was killed instantly. It was all over the news and in the papers. Thank-you so much for sharing this with me,” said the driver, weeping joyfully.

“Wow! What a story, and thank-you so much for calling to let me know all the details,” I said to my friend who had called with all this news.

Of course, what a relief this was for me. I knew I hadn’t imaged all of this, but a question did remain: Why did this energy come to visit me that day? Why did he choose Maureen, a skeptic, to bring a message to his loved one?

Perhaps we’ll never know, yet this was a validation for the driver that day. One that she needed to hear; to know that her husband had made it through and was okay. And she knew it too, perhaps more since Maureen was such the skeptic. It was a sure sign, and one also for Maureen, who is now a believer!