The Basket of flowers

[AzureLynn]

It was October of 1993 and I had my second son Caleb in May prior to all of this happening. He was four months old. As customary for the Navy – my (now ex) husband was out to sea. And I was preparing for a trip from Washington to Texas. A friend of mine had a little girl one week before my Caleb was born, and a friend of her’s called me. The friend had sad tidings. Little Diane had died during the night of SIDs, and they were planning a memorial and services for the baby. My heart sank at these happenings. After the ceremony I returned home and soon took my own four month old to the doctor. The doctor and I talked and based on what I shared with him – he assured me that my son, though at risk, was at a much lower risk than my friend’s baby had been. And he could empathize my feelings of dread.

 

A few weeks passed by and a few nights before I was to leave for Texas another friend called me. She asked me to sit down as she had something she needed to tell me. Instant dread filled my heart. She started by telling me that her 3yo daughter, whom was only 3 months older than my first son, had died. I cried. How dreadful! But my friend was not done in what she had to share.

 

She started telling me the events leading up to Amy’s last days. How Amy had fallen ill and they had taken her to the hospital. This was just days before her third birthday. They kept Amy at the hospital and never did find out what had caused her to get sick. But they sent her home after she had stabilized and her fever had passed.

 

Amy’s family celebrated her and her sister’s birthday during the days following that. Soon after they had celebrated the birthdays Amy got seriously sick again.

 

That is when everything changed. Amy never complained about headaches, or much of anything. That is the one night that Amy did complain, “Mommy, my head hurts.” As the doctors and nurses tended to Amy and tried to determine what was making this beautiful girl sick she seized and died. The doctors and nurses were unable to revive her.

 

The autopsy on this child revealed two very important things about this child. The first thing – and just as important at the second is she did not have the little sack around the heart that most people have. She apparently was born without it because she’d never had any type of surgery. With out that sack and without knowing she didn’t have it CPR is basically ineffective. The heart will just slip to the side out of the way of the compressions. The second is she had a spider like tumor – with a center and multiple legs covering her brain. She never gave any indication – no seizures, nothing at all to show that there was something wrong around her brain, until that fateful night when she seized and passed away.

 

I was heartbroken. Two young lives cut short. Sweet blessings gone in the blink of an eye.

 

Amy’s mother shared more with me. And this changed my perspective dramatically. Yes, it still hurts a great deal with a loved one dies. But this gave me so much comfort when she shared this with me.

 

Amy’s mom told me about a dream she had shortly after her baby girl died. She went to sleep and in her dream the whole family was going to Amy’s favorite place – to include little Amy. This place was a huge field where Amy loved to pick flowers, especially when the field was full of them. They had packed a picnic lunch and went early in the day. They played games and picked flowers all morning long. They had lunch on a big blanket in the field. After which they started picking flowers again. A short time into the afternoon Amy approached her mom and said, “Mommy, God said its time for me to come home. My basket of flowers is full.” Amy’s mom looked down and sure enough, Amy’s basket was teeming with flowers. She looked at her own basket she had in her hands and it was not full even though she’d been picking flowers with Amy. She knelt down and gave her daughter a kiss and hug and said, “Okay, sweetheart. You go to Him.” At which point Amy walked away out of the field and out of sight. Amy’s mom shared this story with me because it gave her peace to know her daughter was home and safe with the Lord.

 

And though I miss those that have gone on before me – my grandmothers and my grandfather. And sisters I never got to meet. And recently my mother in law. I know that they are all safe with the Lord.

  

I look forward to when my basket of flowers is full, and I get “called home”. I certainly do not look forward to HOW that may occur. For I have seen a human suffer greatly before leaving this earth bound body they were in.

 

If you liked this, and think you should share it then please vote it popular.