When Heaven Whispers...

Yep...I'm late to the party again. But, Franchesca's blog hop is just too precious to resist. So, late or not...I'm joining in anyway. I love the idea of the little miracles, the ways God whispers His presence to our hearts...the ways He shows Himself specifically to us. When He does that in my life, I call it a Daddy's little girl moment. Special gifts, sent straight from Him to me...His little girl. Holly wrote about Godwinks in her post. I love that.

There are so many moments when God has whispered His love to my heart...times when I needed it most. There are also little gifts that remind me of some of heaven's residents most precious to me....Faith, Grace, Thomas, and my mom. I ache with missing for each of them. And, yet...there are moments when heaven doesn't seem so far away. It seems as close as a whisper, as near as a gentle breeze caressing my cheek on a warm summer day.

With each snowfall, I remember my Faith and Grace...and the first snowfall of the season on that November day in 1996, an uncharacteristically early snow...the day I met my daughters and drank in the beauty of their tiny faces. A sight that needed to last a lifetime. I especially love the snow with big fluffy snowflakes...just like they were that day...perfect and uniquely created by God...just like like my little girls.

Thomas is in the days with crisp blue skies and big fluffy white clouds. He is in the heaven shining through. Just like the day we stood by His grave. Light shining through darkness. Every time I lift my voice to sing "Oh Lord You're Beautiful", I remember the beauty of his face and glory that filled the room on the day Jesus came to carry my Thomas home while I sang those words and rocked my sweet boy. It is the closest I have come to Jesus....feeling Him whisper past me that day.

Tim, the boys, and I released balloons on Thomas' birthday in July...and the sky looked just like it did the day we placed his body to rest, twelve years ago.

This hand, holding this balloon, standing beside the grave of our babies....that's no small miracle....

Weeks after the balloon release, Tim came in with a deflated blue balloon, our message of love still attached. He said, "Look what I found in the yard. No coincidence there, huh?" Sweet Thomas loves his mommy and daddy, too....and so does our heavenly Father. We parents who don't get to see our little ones run and jump and live this life love to look for moments that remind us and reassure us that our babies live on in Heaven, and we will hold them again.

I miss my mom everyday. Every season reminds me of her. I love to ride my bike and feel the wind in my hair, like she did before the illnesses robbed her of strength. Every time we drive over the little hills and dips in the road she called belly getters, she is with us, smiling down on us. There are so many sweet memories that she lives in. Every time I send a Comfort Bear to a grieving mom, she is there. The day I looked up ...feeling helpless with her craft stuff scattered before me, clueless as to how to put the finishing touches on the bear...shouting to the heavens that I couldn't do this...that she should be here to do it. She was there. The day my sweet nephew Max was born and the room that he was born in just happened to be the hospital room donated in mom's memory...with her name on the door above scripture that God whispered to our hearts as she slipped from this world to the next. She was there. She loved her grandbabies...of course, she wouldn't miss that for the world! When I glance in the mirror, I often stop for a moment...seeing her eyes looking back at me. I have her eyes. And, I carry with me pieces of her.

I love when God whispers to our hearts that He is there. And, I love when heaven whispers to our hearts...a place so real...a place that waits for us...a place where part of our hearts will be waiting in longing until we meet again.
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Quick announcement: I just wanted to encourage any mamas who are missing their sweet babies...if you have not taken part in the Threads of Hope bible study, they will be starting another study soon at Anchored by Hope. This is a wonderful study! We covered it on Walking With You last year, and I found it to be a great encouragement.