Praying for Ben

I happen to notice the button above on one of the blogs I follow Adorably Distracted and I clicked on it...It directed me to Ben & Katie which then took me on an hour long adventure through the journey of the last 7 moths of their lives.. They were involved in a serious car accident which has left Ben with the task of recovery from a brain injury...The blog was started at the point of the accident by and family member and is now updated by his wife Katie. Katie has got to be one of the strongest women I have come across...She has taken control of both her and he husbands life decisions with complete faith in God and his journey for them. It is amazing b/c I am the same age as her and could not imagine the obstacles that she has had to endure since their life was flipped upside down while on the way to dinner one night. It just makes me realize how much I have to be thankful for and how everything can change in the blink of an eye!!

As some of you know me personally - you know that I do not vocalize my spirituality out loud... I believe it is a private matter b/w God and me. However I feel strongly connected to this story b/c  my father was involved in a serious car accident when he was a youngster in college. He too was in the Army like Ben and he suffered a serious brain injury only to recovery and meet my mom years later and have me. My father is an amazing man!! Even to this day he always see the bright side of things and is always cracking a joke!! This last year was a trying one for me as well b/c we had to make a decision to place him in a long term care facility..he calls it the hotel... it was a tough decision for my mother and I but it was the best one I think we have made in a long time...he has tons of friends and has a little lady named Ida that sits at his table that will only allow him to open her milk carton -- she won't even allow her own daughter...shes says "no I want Charlie to do it" cracks me up!!! 

It's stories like Ben & Katie's and my dad's that make me realize there is a higher being...through it all both Katie and my dad have stayed faithful in their beliefs... beliefs that would be questioned in those type of circumstances ...my mom and I always joke that in the hierarchy it goes - God - Jesus - My dad ... anytime I go to her with problems she says "I'll have your dad pray for you...he's prayers always get answered"

If you happen to have time.... read their journey...if not all I ask is that you say a little prayer for them.

Is there an afterlife?

Hello fellow readers today I am going to discuss the topic of death. I know something that seems a little out of the ordinary but for me not so much. You see for some reason I find it so interesting... the way we just cease to exist and we have no idea what really happens after the fact.

I personally am not a highly religious person, don't get me wrong I do believe in God or at least a higher being other than myself. When I was little I would picture that you were greeted at a big gate w/ St.Peter (I think he's the one) checking your name off the list as you pass by as he stands at a wooden podium w/ a floor that consist of cloud like materiel. Other times I was even be too afraid to think about it b/c it just seemed the lights are out and then what...do you know? or have any ideas?

I was exposed to death at a young age. My three grandparents had all passed away before I was in the 2nd grade. My most memorable experience was with my grandmother in Cleveland (my mom's mom) My mother and I were up there for at least the last month or so of her life, while my dad and his sisters where here in Oklahoma as their mother passed away. Both passed w/i a month from each other. I recall having to walk to the bus station to go visit her in the hospital. I remember her coming home to my aunt's house and waking up to her vomiting blood. They then had me go for walk with my cousin Dave while the paramedics took her back to the hospital where she later passed on. I don't really remember her funeral as much as I remember her wake. I remember wearing a pink dress and seeing her in the casket and my mom and her sister saying that they were waiting for her to just wake up. I don't recall being scared or nervous or anything at all. It just was what it was.

Now working at the emergency room I again deal w/ death on regular bases. The first time I walked into a room where the patient had passed away I almost expected some sort spiritual feeling or maybe a presence of something. But there was nothing .... just nothingness. I don't think its like the movies... I don't think you hover above and watch the Dr's work on you. I think your just gone. I think and know most are gone before they even hit our door. I do believe that you have a spirit or soul that leaves your body but where it goes after that I don't know. I don't think that you necessarily go to "heaven" I think that you just go to a different plane of existence. But I do think your spirit/soul/presence can visit those that are still in the here and now. There are times that I have felt my grandmother Bradford (dad's mom) around me.

The story of her presence that stands out the most to me is about two years ago I was sleeping and my dog Casey had a bad seizure (he is epileptic). He was about 10yrs old at the time I was home alone and this was the worse one that I had seen him have in a really long time. I truly thought he was going to die that night. I had him in bed w/ me and he seemed to have a hard time breathing and I was crying -- if he was going to die I just wanted it over with you know -- I cried out to my grandma asking for help and I swear to you right after I did that Casey's breathing went normal and he turned and licked my nose like nothing was wrong. I honestly believe she was there!!

So what are your thoughts on the subject?? Do you think there is a such thing as heaven or do you believe in ghost or spirits? If so I would love to hear your stories!

Currently craving chocolate and watching Trauma: Life in the ER