She thought she was in good health, and, she is

Greetings!

One Sunday, a woman walked to the front of the chapel.  She pointed at me and asked the pastor about my name in a quiet voice.  I was surprised.  She looked somewhat familiar, but I did not know her name.  She then told the congregation I had healed her of a serious illness in a recent healing service at church.  She mentioned the medical term of her disease which was long and difficult to remember.  I regarded myself as a conduit.  I never thought I healed anybody, and all credits went to the Loving Divine.  I did not expect this to happen (i.e. she thanked me in public), and the human I was embarrassed.

However, looking back at it from where I am now*, I see the good in her sharing of the healing experience.  (*After many lessons of discernment, I learned to look at what happened around me impersonally and objectively.)

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She told the congregation she had completely forgotten about her illness as she sat down on the chair in front of me.  She thought she was in good health.  Since there was nothing she needed healing for, she began sending me love and blessings.

According to my recollection, this was what happened on the day of the healing service.

After she sat down, the Energy guided me to work on her.  As I had mentioned, I did not ask people what they wanted to heal.  I had participated in healing services at church for a few years.  I had faith in the Source of healing.  Though it might not be what the recipient had hoped, the Healing Energy knew exactly what the recipient needed most at the time of the healing. 

When the healing was finished, I lightly tapped on her shoulder.  I usually did this to let the recipient know that the session was over.  She seemed to be in a joyful state, and was not ready to come out.  I waited patiently by her side. After quite a while, I gently patted her shoulder again.  With her eyes closed, she remained sitting in her state of peace.  I let her be.  I moved to send healing energy to the congregation. 

When the service was over, she came to talk to me.  She said she knew the session was over when I tapped on her shoulder.  "But, I just want to stay there (i.e. in that state of being).  I take up all the time sitting there while others probably want to sit on the chair too.  I am being selfish.  I am so sorry," she said apologetically.  I believed she was the third person and the last who sat on the chair.  I told her it was quite all right for there were other wonderful healers in the service.  She said she rarely cried.  She was surprised she cried during the healing.  I saw tears filled her eyes again.  She told me she still felt like crying because she remembered the love and bliss during the session

Back to the Sunday during which she told the congregation about her story.  She said her sister called her a couple of days after the healing service.  She told her sister that she decided to send the healer (i.e. me) love and blessings instead of asking for healing because she was in good health.  Hearing that, her sister exclaimed, "What are you talking about!  We (her family) have been so worried about you since you have the illness!  We worry that you may fall down and get seriously hurt during the night.  That is why we often call you to see if you are all right.  And, you think you do not need healing!"  It was then she remembered she had an illness.  (For your information, she has been well since the healing service.)

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Her story reminded me of a similar incident which happened a few years earlier.  A brother said the same thing (i.e. he is in very good health) when he asked to experience the healing energy.  As time went by, he realized a condition that had troubled him on and off throughout the years had disappeared.  Both of them were very loving.  Their love and good will towards others must have helped them to align to the Source of being that restored their natural healthy state.

When we were not well, sometimes we focused too much on the illness.  We wanted healing, yet we could be holding tight onto the illness without noticing that we were.   For example, someone had painful headache from time to time.  One day, he took some new medicine.  Afterward, his felt well, and his headache did not return for weeks.  Instead of feeling good about it, he subconsciously waited / expected the pain to return.  When the headache came back, he was 'glad' he was right.

The sister at church was in a different state of mind when she sat on the chair for healing.  She thought she was in good health.  It came to her naturally.  For most of us, it might be unlikely to forget a dis-ease as she did.  The result might not be the same if we forced ourselves to forget about a disease.  However, in any situation, we could choose positive thoughts and do small things that brought us joy, e.g. sing songs that we love, enjoy the golden sunshine, pay attention to other's kind words, and see the beauty around us.  We did not have to let an illness consume our life.  No matter what happened, we should have faith that "all is well" in the Loving Divine.

She thought she was in good health, and she is.  Sister, thank you for sharing with us your experience.  I received the blessings and love you sent me too.  Thank you.

Many Blessings,
Q of D

A Conversation Between Two Grandmothers

Greetings!

My husband and I went to our grandson's school for an event in the morning.  After we were home, I went for a walk.  My friend happened to come out for a walk too. She was surprised to see me for she knew I normally took a walk in the late afternoon.  I told her I had just come home after going to our grandson's school.

My friend said, "You seem to spend quite some time with your grandchildren.  You know, when they grow up, they will hang out with their friends.  They will not care to spend time with the grandparents anymore."

I smiled and said, "I love them.  It is a joy to see them.  I will be there for them if I can. I know what you say may be true, but for now, I will enjoy my time with them.  Some of my friends feel sad and empty when their children go to college (the empty nest syndrome), but I never feel that way.  Of course, I thought of my sons when they were away from home.  I prayed for them.  However, on the whole, I was happy for them."

My friend said, "When my grandchildren were small, I had not spent much time with them.  I was a waitress.  I did not want to lose a day's pay.  My children never asked me to babysit for them.  While my own children were growing up, I did not have time for them too.  At that time, I owned a small laundry.  My children stayed in the back of the store while I attended to the customers in the front of the store.  When they were babies, I kept them in cardboard boxes.  I washed and ironed clothes from day to night.  When my children were hungry, I fed them, and then went back to do what I had to do.  I took care of the laundry by myself.  My husband worked in a restaurant, and came home late at night.  We did not have a house.  We slept in the laundry.  I gave birth to four children one after another.  I knew nothing about birth control until many years later.  When my husband passed away, I sold the laundry.  After that, I never use an iron or iron my clothes.  The thought of ironing makes me sick.  None of my children could speak Chinese.  I only had an elementary school education (not from USA), but all my children talked to me in English."

My friend and her husband lived in USA much earlier than we did.  Life was very different in the older days.  People worked longer hours than we did today.  It was hard to earn a living.  Some of my relatives had lived in the USA for a long time.  It was not the first time I heard children grew up in cardboard boxes at the back of a store while their parents attended to the business in the front of the store.  Some families lived in the place of a business just like my friend.  In those days, this kind of living condition was not that rare among some Chinese as well as other cultures.

My friend had indeed gone through many twists and turns in life.  She was born in USA.  When she was about 3 years old, her mother in great sadness brought her children back to where she came from (which was where I grew up).  Her mother had three daughters.  My friend was the middle child.  She never talked about her father. (As I wrote, I chose to listen, and was not one who liked to ask questions.)  From what she said, I believed it was another tragic story of prejudice over the gender of the offspring.  Her mother died young leaving the responsibility of raising the two younger daughters to her oldest daughter.  The death of her mother was a big blow to my friend's young tender heart.  In life's mystical way, the three sisters eventually got married and returned to the country where they were born.

My friend told me her in-laws disliked her because she was small in status.  When she asked her husband to open a laundry*, many people thought she was bound to fail.  *Other than restaurants, small laundry was the business some Chinese entered into in older days.  People looked down on her because she was short and thin.  She said she worked extra hard to prove that people were wrong to judge her based on her appearance.  In time, her business grew.  She was quite a fighter.  I told her I admired her courage and determination.

We continued on our walk.

My friend said, "Your grandchildren are lucky to have a loving grandmother like you."

I said, "I am happy to be their grandmother.  Like you say, one of these days they may not visit me much or think of me.  That is all right.  What matters is I do love them.  You are a good mother too.  You have raised your children the best you know how, and your children love you."

I heard my friend let out a very unnoticeable sigh.

She said, "It seems you get to see your younger son and his family every now and then.  Besides, your older son lives with you.  Some of my children had moved to other states.  We seldom talk on the phone.  When the children grow up, they care about their wives (or husbands) and children.  They do not think much about their parents anymore.  Even those that live near, I do not get to see them as often as you do."

I said, "I believe you children love you.  Sometimes our younger generations may not realize we love to hear from them.  If they do not call you, why don't you call them? When I lived in another state, we maintained our communication over the phone. Sometimes my younger son called me.  At other times, I called him.  Later we video chatted when I bought a new computer and subscribed to the Internet."

My friend said, "It costs a lot of money to talk on the phone."

I said, "It doesn't.  We have to pay for the Internet, but it is worth it.  After we move back, we invite our loved ones over for dinner every now and then.  It is a joy to sit down and eat with them.  Sometimes they invite us over for dinner too.  That's how we get to see each other.  The new generations do not live like us.  They plan what to do weeks ahead.  My daughter-in-law and my son seem to be very busy too.  Our grandchildren have after-school classes and activities.  I suppose that is the American way of life.  Therefore, I always let them know days ahead if I want them to come over for dinner."

I continued, "You are lucky too.  You have a daughter who calls you every night to make sure you are fine, and she visits you every weekend."

My friend said, "Yes...in a way it is.  I live on my own.  I bought the place I live in.  I pay all the bills by myself.  My children do not give me any money.  I worked very hard to raise them.  I am all by myself from Monday to Friday.  The day seems to be longer than it is."

I looked at my friend for a while.  I said, "You should be proud that you made it on your own.  Your children do not give you money because you do not need their money.  I am sure if there is a need, they will help you.  Indeed, it is amazing you handled everything in the laundry by yourself.  That must be why you look healthy and young."

My friend said, "Ah, my daughter said the same thing you said.  She said she did not give me money because she knew I could afford it myself.  She said they (the children) would have given me money if they knew I needed it."

I smiled and said, "Your children love you.  Sometimes we have to take the first step to reach out to them.  Call your loved ones.  It doesn't cost much.  You are in good health, and your daughter visits you every week.  Didn't she go on a vacation with you a couple of months ago?  What a blessing it is that you have a daughter who goes to places with you!"

My friend smiled.  We finished our walk and talk.

Although my friend sometimes said her life was a sad story, I also heard in her voice the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.  She might have some regrets that she did not spend more time with her children.  However, at that time, she handled her life the best she knew how.  Others thought that she could not handle the laundry, and she was determined to show that she could.  She came out of her experience feeling strong and confident.  Even though she used the word sad to describe her life, she was not pessimistic about life.  She walked twice a day, and was quite disciplined in what she ate.

It you are reading this post, it is my hope that you will give a call to your grandparent, parent, uncle, aunt, brother, sister, cousin, teacher, or friend that you have not talked to for quite some time.  Let love guide us in all that we do.  Amen.

Have a good night.

Many blessings,
Q of D