A Phone Call, A Visit, and A Blue Butterfly

This story is quite different from any other story I have ever written. One of the events leading up to this story, has stayed with me for almost twenty-two years, while the other two happened just recently.  What I am about to tell you brings a smile to my face and fills my heart to the brim.

Question: Did you ever have a dream that stayed long after your night’s sleep?  I am not talking about a day or two, but years, months, and weeks.  A dream that you can recall with one-hundred percent accuracy.  A dream you wished would never end.

This is where my story starts. I hope this journey will bring you hope in knowing that our loved ones are only a dream away.

                                                                                                             Cynthia

 A Phone Call, A Visit, and A Blue Butterfly………

Twenty – two years ago, my first husband died from a massive heart attack. He was fifty-one.  I was devastated when he passed.  My children and I went through all the motions and emotions; the viewing, funeral, luncheon, and an ocean of tears.  I remember taking his comb and smelling it.  His scent was still there comforting me.  I would stand in our bedroom closet hugging his shirts, just like I always hugged him yearning for his closeness.  I sat in his favorite chair and drank my coffee from his cup desperately wanting to feel his warmth. I needed him to be there with me to stop the hurt and the tears.  My heart felt so black and empty.  I wished there was a stairway to Heaven. I would have gladly climbed it, to bring him home to our family. I didn’t know how to stop the hurt for our four grown children.

  I often stood in the dark and cried out to him not knowing if I could make it through another day. I found myself begging, pleading with God to let me hear his voice one more time. I wanted to tell him everything I felt in my heart but, most of all I wanted to say a loving goodbye. I wanted to let him know that I would take care of our family and somehow carry on. I waited and prayed every day for a sign that he had made it to his new home in Heaven. Then one month, to the day of his death, I received an answer to my prayer.

  I had a dream that connected me to my husband. In my dream, I was looking out my living room window  waiting for him to pull his car into the driveway, when all of a sudden, the phone rang. I picked up the receiver and heard a familiar voice; the voice of my dear husband.  The conversation went like this, ” Where are you?  I miss you. When are you coming home?”  He said, ” I can’t come home. I can’t come home anymore.”  I continued, ” But why can’t you?  I love you so much.”    I am crying when he said, ” I can’t come home.  I love you. Now don’t you cry.”   I quickly said goodbye as I heard a click; he was gone.   Although the dream was sad, and only lasted a minute or two, I believed it was the message I was waiting for.  I knew he made it home; his new home in Heaven.  When I woke up the next morning, I had such a beautiful sense of peace.  A peace that started  the healing of my heart.

 About a month ago, I dreamed that I was sleeping in my bed with my left hand hanging straight out over the edge.  I felt a familiar hand, holding my hand. I looked up and saw my mother looking down at me. She smiled. Her soft blue eyes looked right at me as she said, ” Everything will be alright.”  Just then, my father walked into my bedroom,  dressed like he used to in his green pants, tan tee-shirt, and suspenders.  As he stood by Mom, he echoed her sediments, “Yes, everything will be alright.”  Then, poof like magic, they were both gone.  I loved that dream! It gave a chance to  hear their voices, to see their faces, and to feel my mother’s hand. Although I know they are in Heaven with their family, I miss them both so very much.  My heart is overflowing with love that continues to grow for my parents who molded me into the woman I am today, who shared my hopes and dreams, and who always believed in me. Although my dream was short, the peace it brought me will last a very long time.

This dream has me scratching my head. Maybe you can help me figure it out. I was sitting in my brown recliner watching television when a blue butterfly flew by my head and landed on top of the curtain that covers my sliding glass door. It was the most beautiful shade of blue I had ever seen.  The blue beauty then flew over and attached itself to the center of my forehead.  I felt its wings fluttering on my skin. Each time its wings touched my forehead, I felt a relaxing sense of peace. I was not afraid.

I can still see the blue butterfly when I close my eyes. I can still feel the softness of its wings that fluttered many times. I compare the softness to comfort, a comfort that dwells in my heart.  The funny thing is that now blue butterflies are showing up everywhere; in magazines, on facebook, and on my rotating screen saver. Every time I see a blue butterfly, the same  comfort I felt in my dream, meanders up and again fills my heart with peace.

My heartfelt thoughts…….

 Some may say that God sends messages to us through dreams, to bring comfort at a time  when we  feel lost, or perhaps to learn a valuabale lesson.  Some may say that our daily activities can activate dreams.  And then, some may even say that because we think about our deceased loved ones so often, the chances of dreaming of them increase.  For me, I believe the first choice.  I believe that through my grief of losing my husband, and helping my grown children to grieve,  I had lost my peace. When I dreamt of Mom and Dad, I believe that God wanted me to know that everything was going to be okay. Since my parents reside in Heaven, I believe the peace I felt was a lesson  to help me understand that I cannot help everyone who needs me but He can. Although the blue butterfly has me a little stumped, I do believe the over whelming peace I felt from his wings and feel to this day, was the ribbon so to speak, that tied the three dreams together.   So dear readers, whether you find peace through a dream, or your family, friends, or nature, grasp it with your heart and never let it go.  The peace you feel will shine through like the gentle breeze reaching all those you love and those you have yet to meet.   Spread the peace and see what happens!