A story I shared recently with a dear friend!!!

I have a very special friend that was hurting and I told her the story of my Grandmother.   She enjoyed it and it gave her great comfort.

 My Great grandmother always told me that she did not wish to live beyond her years, old and helpless and ill. She would pray to God for him to take her home when it was time. We alwayes told each other we loved on another, I can remember sitting with her just talking about her past and she gave me a treasured pearl necklace that had belonged to her mother. As we talked I heard a snap and heard the pearls begin to slip from the string bouncing to the floor. We gathered them carefully and had them restrung and I did not think another thing of it.
 
About a year later I got the call that she had passed away in her sleep quickly and they assured me without pain. She was close to 101 and had lived a full life. She was a pironeer in womens rights. She was one of the first licensed nurses in the state of Illinois and had a drivers license when most women did not. She also cut her hair short when women did not cut thier hair. She lived her life well but still we all were stunned.
 
As I sat in the church waiting for the funeral I stood by the casket and wept, my Grandma had left me. I told her goodbye as people came into pay respects before funeral. As they closed the casket and the preacher stood before us doing a fire and brimstone speech on the virtues of living, I heard a snap and the pearls that I had worn before started to spill to the floor, rolling forward towards the front of the church. Everyone began to laugh and cry as we listened to them ticking the ground. The preacher continued and then looked down and stopped suddenly asking to whom the pearls belong. I stood up and cleared my throat and said "they are mine". He walked around the casket and the pearls and took my hands in his and led me to the front. The pearls had formed a heart shape under the casket.

That to me was a sign that Grandma had agreed it was her time and that she sent a very special sign that she loved me.  I have discovered that we need to be open and truely aware in our grief.  Sometime soon you will be encompassed by a overwelming peace, and should not feel guilty for feeling it. You will never be happy about losing someone.  You should know in your heart that our loved ones that have crossed are together and happy. Young again and with no pain or worry, the time to worry for them is over. They are probably sitting at a large table playing cards or spending time flying with angels wings.
 
You all are so loved and I hope you know just how much!  I may not say it much but I love everyone and truely appreciate Gather as it has given me so many special people to add to my heart.

Yours always

Kat