Last week, I met up with my girlfriend to have a pedicure. Barely breathing, we chat it up, cramming in the news of the previous five weeks. This week, we had an unanticipated audience. Little did I realize this was an answer to my prayer.

“I was listening and assume you believe in angels,” the woman beside me said. “Do you mind my sharing a story?” Surprised but always interested in angel stories, I eagerly encouraged her. She told me of her mother, who has Alzheimer’s and is in a nursing home. One afternoon, on a particular visit by her sister, her mother, unusually clear and excited to see her, said, “Laura was here. She wanted me to fly away with her. I told I wasn’t ready.” Laura, another daughter, had passed away a few years previously.

“That’s a lovely story,” I said. “I’m sure Laura visited her. There’s so much we don’t know about Alzheimer’s, but I’m certain that as hard as it is, it’s a different experience for our soul to carry out its journey.”

“I feel much better,” she responded. “Thank you for listening.”

When my mother was preparing to pass on, there was an afternoon before her passing when I was snuggled up with her on her bed. It was a quiet time, and I was as relaxed as possible. There was a moment when she looked directly into the corner of the room, and pointing her finger at it, she said, “I’m not ready to go yet. You’ll have to wait.” I was both amazed and curious. I chuckle because my mother was conservative, intuitive, and usually ruled the roost. So it was unsurprising to hear her essentially say she’d go when she was ready and not a minute sooner.

When caring for my cousin, she asked me several times, “When will I know it’s time to go?” I would reply, “You will know.” One day, she said, “I’ve decided that when I see my father’s helmet (he was a NYFD chief), I will know it’s time to go.” One afternoon, she said, “I can see my father’s helmet. It’s time.” She passed away less than 48 hours later.

The night before my pedicure, with a group of friends, I discussed “free will.” Do we have free will? It’s an ageless question aptly debated by philosophers and unbelievers. I am certain angels can only override our free will in an emergency. Our ancestors are always near and influential, but can they override our free will? I prayed for clarity. How do these stories answer my prayer?

The answer is that we always have two choices, even when dying. We make fear-based decisions or ask for guidance and possible outcomes. It’s the difference between responding frightened or responding informed. Either way, we choose whether to walk out into the path of a speeding car.

Do we have free will when it’s time to die? Our souls know when it’s time to let go. And off they fly.

Copy the Story Link

Comments are not available on this story.