My January Cemetery Trip And Another Message

On the Morning of January 17th of this year, I had not planned on making
a trip to the cemetery where Jimmy's Grandmother, and my dear friend
Antoinette's husband Larry is buried, but I had a ~nudge~ to GET THERE. 

The weather was in the 20's and a small amount of snow was on the ground.

I did not think about the snow and wonder IF it was covering the grave stones.
Looking back, I am glad it did not cross my mind, I might have decided not to
go thinking I could not locate the grave of Jimmy's Grandmother.
The reason I thought that Larry and Grandma J might be close to one another
was that they had passed less than 6 months of each other in 2006.

As I got into my car, I had the nudge to turn the radio on.   This was more than just my routine of always turning on the radio, I felt there would be a message in a song.    During the drive to the cemetery, I kept flipping radio stations. I was about 2 minutes from the cemetery when I flipped to a channel that was playing the song..........'How Far Is Heaven?" by the Lost Lonely Boys !!!

THAT WAS IT.......... that was the song I was meant to hear.  :))

 

All Saints Cemetery is set on a beautiful piece of property.   There are softly rolling hills and a small pond.    Upon turning in the driveway, I was blasted with
a message......  The Pond - The Pond - The Pond.    There are graves around the
pond, and for a second I thought about stopping there to look around.   With the
snow covering, I decided to head right to Larry's grave.    I parked my car, closed
the door and took 2 steps.   I then decided to turn back and grab my camera.
I brought the camera to snap some shots of Grandma J's grave to send to Jimmy.

Larry died in November of 2006.    The day of his burial was a sunny, crisply cool November day.   Antoinette and Larry had their 25th wedding anniversary in October of 2006.   Although their union was not blessed with children, they had a wonderful blessed marriage.    That November day, the priest was at the head of the grave saying prayers.    Near the end of the grave service, a huge flock of Canadian Geese flew overhead.   You could softly hear the honking as they approached, and then as they were right over head, the honking was so loud it drowned out the priest's voice, to the point where he had to stop talking.

A round of light laughter could be heard from the gathering of family and friends.
Larry was not Catholic, but Antoinette is.... looking back I've often thought it was
Larry's way of saying....... OKAY wrap it UP !!!!    It will always be a very fond memory
for all who were there that day.

Most of the grave stones are level with the ground, but there are thin wooden crosses on many of the graves.    As I walked the short distance to Larry's grave, I glanced down at this name on the stone, and then grabbed ahold of the corner of the wooden cross with my right hand.   

INSTANTLY.............. I felt this surge that rose up from the bottom of my feet.
It almost took my breath away and then I heard.........
"Antoinette needs to know EVERYTHING IS OKAY".  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I burst into tears and thought........  I will tell her. My mind was racing, but I thought Larry's message must have meant he was okay with Antoinette and a fella that she has been dating. 

Just then, I heard a faint sound of geese.   I instinctively I grabbed my camera
from my pocket.    Looking up, I saw geese flying in formation right towards me.
I started snapping right away.    I only had time to get 2 pictures, when the geese
flew directly overhead and then immediately off to my right.

AS IF I was not crying enough..... the geese just blew me away.   "OKAY LARRY, I'll be SURE and let her know". !!!!!!!!!!!!!!      'Thank You' .. 'Thank You'   I quietly thought.

I walked ahead to the next row where Antoinette's Mom and Dad are buried and
said a prayer.   I then started to walk around and  glance down at the grave stones
hopeful that I would locate Jimmy's Grandmother.   The wind was whipping over
the open area, and within a distance of 20 feet or so, I was not finding it.

OKAY.......... I need to go back to my car and call Jimmy. 

Thankfully, I was able to get through to Jimmy.   I let him know where I was.
He was SHOCKED to say the least that I was at All Saints Cemetery.   I said,
I had to go there for him, because he could not.   

Jimmy directed me back towards the entrance.   Again I had to pass by the pond, and felt such a HUGE feeling, but her grave was not near there.  He got me to a location and I parked my car.   He said 3 rows up, and a certain distance from the street.   He was guessing from only having been to the grave a few times.     I walked a distance of about 20 graves to my left and I spotted her name.........

"I see it Jimmy, I see it"  --- again I burst into tears.... AS did Jimmy.

I bent down and touched the corner.   I said to him, I am touching the corner
of her stone.    Through his tears Jimmy said.......... 'THANK YOU DEB"....
"THANK YOU DEB"..... I let him know I was taking some pictures. 
We talked about his Grandma for just a few minutes and he said to me....

"You know........... My Dad is buried there too...   He's across from the pond"

ZING --------- ZING.......... The Pond  The Pond.....   No WONDER I felt such a draw to that area.    He directed me to his Dad's grave too.   

Well, the day did not end right there.    Even though I felt such a huge peaceful
feeling, for Jimmy and also from having the message from Larry.

I got home, uploaded the photos sent an email of them to Antoinette and
then called her at work.    I said......... Ann, I was at the cemetery today.
She said........ "Larry's grave?"   And I said yes............   She said....
"Ohhhhhhhh Deb, and then she burst into tears".   

I said....... 'Ohhh honey, let me tell you what happened at the cemetery I told her the story of his message.........

"Antoinette needs to know EVERYTHING IS OKAY"

Through on going tears she told me that just that morning, she had heard back from the  loan department of the bank she works at.   She was attempting to take out a home  equity loan to redo her basement.   They contacted her to say there was a snag.   Larry's name was still on the title.    They faxed her a copy of the title.   She told me looking at the title a feeling of great sadness came over her.   

Ohhhhhhhhhh MY...... did Larry's message to her EVER take on a new meaning.
He was coming through to let her know, going ahead and doing what she had
to do, (removing his name from the title) was OKAY. 

IF you've made it all the way down here........... Thanks for sticking around and reading. 

I would like to share some pictures from that day.........

The Pond

Walking Away From Jimmy's Dad's Grave

The Geese - Close up shot  ~ 8 of them for 2008  !!!

The same shot of the geese, but a little wider

I share these message to relate....   ~ hope ~
A knowing that we can hear from those who are crossed over.
They are with us, and love never dies.