LOVE NOTES FROM GOD

This weekend I was blessed to co-lead another Rachel's Hope healing retreat.  I look forward to each and every one as I see the healing hands of our Father at work within the hearts of each and every woman, but this time it was different....

I shared a story not too long ago about my dad going to the beach and passing out my mom's beanie babies to children. My mom and dad have always supported me in my Rachel's Hope ministry, so my dad asked me to bring some to the retreat, as well. (My mom had around 700).  On Friday night, before beginning the program, I gave each woman a beanie baby and shared about my mom's recent passing and how my dad wanted them to have part of her beloved collection.

We were nearing the last healing exercise yesterday, and I had told Leslie, my friend and retreat leader, that I had gotten the urge to pick up the phone and call my mom. (I always checked in with her during retreats to let her know how things were going) ...Once again I was faced with the reality she was gone and the grief overwhelmed me.

We had reached a sharing point on the schedule and one of the women revealed to the group she decided to name her lost child "____" and proceeded to explain her inspiration. Throughout the retreat, we had all randomly selected "love notes from God" from a stack of bible verse cards.  She had received one which happened to be one of her favorites from the book of "____".  She then looked at me and said, "and Patti, thank you for giving me this beanie baby ... the tag on mine has a name and year of release...his name is "____" (the same as the book in the bible) and the year released was the year my baby would have been born."

To quote Leslie, "God is very creative when sending us messages".  He used that beautiful woman and little stuffed dog to send me a special one. He wanted me to know my mom was there watching over all of us and she will always be with me. I no longer need a phone to talk to her...she hears me through my heart.

Thank you God for not only placing your healing hands on the women attending the retreat but on me as well.

HAVE A BLESSED DAY