I walked into the grocery store not particularly interested in buying groceries. I wasn't hungry. The pain of losing my husband of 7 years was still too raw. And this grocery store held so many sweet memories.
He often came with me and almost every time he'd pretend to go off and look for something special. I knew what he was up to. I'd always spot him walking down the aisle with the three yellow roses in his hands.
He knew I loved yellow roses.
With a heart filled with grief, I only wanted to buy my few items and leave, but even grocery shopping was different since he had passed on.
Shopping for one person took time, a little more thought than it had for two.
Standing by the meat, I searched for the perfect small steak and remembered how he had loved his steak.
Suddenly a woman came beside me. She was blonde, slim and lovely in a soft green pantsuit. I watched as she picked up a large package of T-bones, dropped them in her basket, hesitated, and then put them back. She turned to go and once again reached for the pack of steaks.
She saw me watching her and she smiled. "My husband loves T-bones, but honestly, at these prices, I don't know."
I swallowed the emotion down my throat and met her pale blue eyes.
"My husband passed away eight days ago," I told her. Glancing at the package in her hands, I fought to control the tremble in my voice. "Buy him the steaks. And cherish every moment you have together."
She shook her head and I saw the emotion in her eyes as she placed the package in her basket and wheeled away.
I turned and pushed my cart across the length of the store to the dairy products. There I stood, trying to decide which size milk I should buy. A quart, I finally decided and moved on to the ice cream. If nothing else, I could always fix myself an ice cream cone.
I placed the ice cream in my cart and looked down the aisle toward the front. I saw first, the green suit, then recognized the pretty lady coming towards me. In her arms she carried a package. On her face was the brightest smile I had ever seen. I would swear a soft halo encircled her blonde hair as she kept walking toward me, her eyes holding mine. As she came closer, I saw what she held and tears began misting in my eyes. "These are for you," she said, and placed three beautiful long stemmed yellow roses in my arms.
"When you go through the line, they will know these are paid for."
She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek, then smiled again. I wanted to tell her what she'd done, what the roses meant, but still unable to speak, I watched as she walked away as tears clouded my vision.
I looked down at the beautiful roses nestled in the green tissue wrapping and found it almost unreal. How did she know? Suddenly the answer seemed so clear. I wasn't alone.
Oh, you haven't forgotten me, have you? I whispered, with tears in my eyes. He was still with me, and she was his angel.
7 comments:
Oh my!
As soon as the tears quit flowing I'll think of a good comment.....
It touched my heart. How beautiful.
Angels are everywhere. Our own consciousness brings them in when we listen. A major reason I became a practitioner was at the mall a few yrs ago I was feeing sorry for myself about some stuff and a young boy came up to me at my table at the food court and started talking football. He had big thick glasses and at first I was just annoyed he was bothering me but the more he talked about who I liked that fall for the Superbowl and who was my favorite QB was (I was a quarterback and he liked Tom Brady because of the way he looked at his receivers and he could see in his eyes how he covered the field- and I'm thinking how can this kid see anything!) He was a gentle soul and softly touched my arm as he left and I realized in an instant this was an angel, things weren't so bad and that we can communicate on on a different level. I was quite shaken by this and as I became more aware of what was occurring it dawned on me what CS is all about. As a thank you I took an autographed football I had won in a sales contest and anonymously went to the eye doctor he was coming out of that day at the mall and gave it to the receptionist to give to him. She brightened and said he would love it as it was his birthday! I have had numerous encounters like this and am grateful for the peace that comes to our consciousness when we start to block out the noise of the everyday. Thanks for sharing that beautiful story.
Your story is beautiful! Thanks for sharing. I can imagine the look of glee and joy on that boy's face when he was handed that football. What a generous and unselfish act of kindness on your part!
This story is wonderful and comforting. It really lets us know that we are not alone. God is always with us watching out over us and his angels to send clear messages to ease our discomfort and sadness. A gentle reminder that our loved ones are always with us, as well! Thank you, Evan, for such a beautiful story!
Today is September 9, and I just called my mom in another city to check in with her. We've just arrived home from a long journey, and it had been about a week since I'd called. After a few words, I realized I'd totally forgotten her and my dad's wedding anniversary which was two days ago, Sunday. Yikes! I felt bad, but she said not to worry -- that something really special had happened that day, and she was still glowing with gratitude.
On Saturday she had stopped her car to ask a neighbor and his friend who were out walking what was the deal with all the water running down the street. It looked like a water main had burst. She only knew this man by sight, but he walked by her house every day carrying a golf club. After talking about the water for a while, the neighbor asked her, "And how's Sam?" Sam is my dad. Evidently he and this neighbor had met each other on their morning walks. A little over a year ago we found it best for the family to place Dad in a facility for memory-impaired patients. Mom told the neighbor this, that Dad was doing OK physically, but he just didn't remember who any of us are. Then she added that the next day would be their 61st wedding anniversary.
"Congratulations!" the two men exclaimed. They all parted in good spirits.
Early the next morning, the doorbell rang. "Who could that be this early on a Sunday morning?" Mom thought, and went to answer the door. There was her neighbor with one single long stemmed red rose -- one of the most beautiful Mom had ever seen.
"This is from Sam," her neighbor said. "He may not be able to remember, so I thought I'd do it for him. Happy anniversary!"
I'm so grateful for the constant evidence of God's love everywhere, all the time. "Oh, may you feel THIS touch," Mrs. Eddy writes in her article titled "Angels." Oh, let ME feel that touch. And, oh dear Father, let me also BE that touch.
Oh, this is a neat story. Thanks for sharing!
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