Almost Halloween Story

On this day a long, long time ago, my life changed. For good I believe. Even though as that verse says,
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you."( Isa. 43:2)

As  I stand from this lookout, there were many times I look back and see the road and its twists and turns. I wanted to share this story, maybe a bit metaphysical.

In 1978 I was working in my Dad's grocery store. Since the place I worked was near to the cemetery where my Mom was living, and it was her birthday, like today. I wanted to go there and take her flowers. For some reason, now that I can't remember someone who was supposed to work had not showed up. I had asked my manager for a bit of time to run up there and visit. As so often happens, it was a day being super busy, we were short handed and I hadn't even been able to take a lunch hour.

I had decided that I didn't think I would be able to go that day. We had a lull in customers and my manager said, " Go ahead run to the cemetery and take your flowers but hurry right back." I got in my car and drove and parked next to the Rock of Ages. She is under a Mimosa tree. To my right are the mausoleums. It is a very peaceful place. The sun was still up, but starting to go down a bit. It has been completely still when I got there. I sat my flowers down and began to talk to her, you know how you do. When I felt the wind to begin blowing. I looked up and I didn't see anyone or anything, then low began a song. Not with words that I knew, but voices. I looked up and around again and I didn't see anything and I couldn't explain the song. It began to build and it was if the voices were coming from all over the graveyard.

I wanted to visit with my Mom but the voices were getting louder and the wind was blowing harder and it felt and seemed like the whole graveyard was singing a great chorus. I have never heard nor experienced anything like that before or since in my life. I turned and ran to my car, and drove back to work like a woman possessed.
The store was so busy when I got back that I just ran in and went to work. I didn't say anything to anyone about what I heard because it sounded then as I am sure it does to you, crazy.

The next day, I was back at work and when I walked in the door, my manager gave me a long searching look. He asked me, " Did you go to the cemetery last night?" " Yes, I answered, why?" He looked so long and so deeply at me, I felt kind of weird. I asked, " Why? What is wrong?" So I told him about the voices and the wind. He kept looking at me and then handed me the newspaper. There in the headlines was the story of a  the murder of a girl about my own age in the area I had been and her car was found next to the mausoleums. They had put the time of the murder close to the time I had been there.

He called the local law enforcement and they came to see me, I told them my story. You know they didn't treat me like I was crazy and they listened intently, but of course, I didn't see anything but the wind and I didn't hear anything but the voices. I was really no help. Even today, that crime has never been solved. I woke up thinking about it today. Was it real? Did I really hear that angelic chorus? The wind wasn't blowing when I got back to work. It was just a still and normal September day. I have thought, what if it had been me? Did the voices happen because it wasn't my time? I don't know.

So that is my story, as I still feel there are no accidents nor coincidences. I still wonder though, what were the voices? Has that ever happened to you?

~Kim~

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

(Deuteronomy 31:6)