P is for Prophetic

“I just had a prophetic dream.”

My Mom had just woken. She didn’t seem drowsy from the medications. In fact, it was quite the opposite- she seemed grounded and self-assured. Her words surprised me.

“Prophetic? Mom, did you mean to use that word?” I asked, because I’d never heard her use it before.

With gentle certainty, “Yes, Sarah, it was a prophetic dream.”

“Would you like to tell me about it?”

Mom and I had been stuck in the emergency room for two days waiting for a bed in the compromised immune system unit to open up. Having been diagnosed with acute leukemia, it was our third trip to the ER in as many months. We were becoming regulars.

“What happened in the dream?”

“I was lying in a bed and you and Evie were there. And I was dying.”

“Were you frightened?”

“No, not at all. I felt very peaceful.”

She seemed peaceful. In fact, this was the calmest and most centered I’d seen her in a long time. She shared how in the dream, she knew she was dying… and it was all ok.

Wow.

Mom was released from the hospital two and a half weeks later and after lots of back and forth, agreed it was time to stop treatments and allow her body to follow its’ natural course. A few days later, Mom became unresponsive. My older sister, Evie, was recovering from knee surgery, but jumped on a plane from the East Coast.

And hours later, my husband, Evie and I sat around Mom’s bed as she took her last breath.

Mom’s transition happened exactly as she prophesied.

I think about this a lot. I mean, it was a miracle Evie made it out to California so quickly, hobbling through airports on last minute flights. My other siblings did their best, but weren’t able to get to Mom’s bedside in time.

And what about Mom’s use of the word, “prophetic?” When I look it up I find that prophetic means “foretelling events as if by divine inspiration.”

Had Mom’s physical decline somehow opened her to a kind of divine inspiration, giving her a peek into how she would experience her own death? And is that available to all of us all of the time?

There are moments in between wake and sleep where I experience a kind of calm and peace- an understanding that everything is completely as it is meant to be. This happened recently. It was four in the morning and I couldn’t sleep (Ah, aging- isn’t she fun?!), so I decided to go into my morning meditation. I was in a wonderful state of peace when suddenly thoughts started pouring through me. All sorts of ideas on how I can move forward in my life. Reassurances, reminders and words of encouragement. I began to fill with confidence as I was offered wonderful ideas in how I’d like to move forward embracing my worth and value.

So can we prophesies our lives? Where do those moments of inspiration come from? What’s the source of those whispers that seem to rise from somewhere beyond what we know?

I don’t have the answers, but it comforts me to know that somehow whatever Mom experienced that day, allowed her to move toward her transition with peace. And as for me, I sure feel better when I’m in that flow of inspiration- wherever it comes from. In those moments, it feels like I’m remembering something true.

Maybe that’s what prophesy really is- not predicting the future, but staying present and listening for the quiet guidance- those gentle, encouraging whispers.

And for right now, especially in these very uncertain times, maybe that’s enough. By showing up with an open heart, choosing kindness, trust and faith, and being grateful for the simple, ordinary moments- I share my light and… just maybe… create my own prophesy.

And so it is.

In loving,

Sarah

PS- Spelling prophesy in its many tenses was definitely challenging! It's one of those words that doesn't look the way it sounds. I probably got one or two wrong, but you get the gist!