The Last Farewell...Revisited 6-15-12 - Random Journal Day #12

6/15/12:  I was just thinking about this story this morning and thinking about how wonderful God's mercies and blessings are to us during times of need, grief, anxiety, etc.  The following stories are true examples of the fingerprints of God on my life...and how He chose to bless me through His creation...
I am going to post this as my Random Journal Day post for this week...it comes from my online journal written just a little over a year ago, following the passing of my father from this life to heaven...the event that took place at the very moment he was entering heaven's gates...A definite "God-wink" especially directed to comfort my heart...Read on....


A couple of weeks ago I wrote a story for "GoodBlogs.com" entitled "The Owls Whoooo Came to Comfort Me".  (See link below)  If you haven't read it yet, please read it now before you read the following story. (I have also posted a copy of the story at the end of this story in case you can't connect to this link)
 (UPDATE 11-24-15...THIS LINK IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE SO PLEASE GO DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE AND READ "The Owls Whoooo-Came to Comfort Me"  first...and then come back here and read the rest of the story.  I am removing the original link that was here since it leads to nowhere.  Pam)

And now I would like to share with you the most miraculous and amazing sequel to this story...

First of all, let me explain that I am not superstitious, nor am I an animalist, or one who believes that animals have a soul in the spiritual sense...but I DO believe that God can choose any way He pleases to comfort and show us His love and power...and that He alone knows the best way to reach into our hearts when we need it the most.  So, that being said, let me proceed with my tale.

Earlier this week I walked through the valley of the shadow of death with my dear sweet father, and had the sacred privilege of witnessing his spirit leaving his earthly body and being joined with Our Heavenly Father as he breathed his last breath. Not that I physically saw any visible manifestation of his soul departing his body, but I was there, along with my sister, holding his hands as the angels came to carry him away from our presence. Even though we knew he was more than ready to go after his 92 -plus long years on this old earth, it still hurt to let him go.  He was a wonderful father and a dear, dear Christian...but it was time to say good-bye. 

When the morticians arrived to take his body away from us I could not bear to stay in the house and watch them cover and carry him out of that door forever from our presence.  As I fled out to the back yard that had long ago been my childhood sanctuary, I cried out to God for some kind of sign that my Daddy was with Him and that he was okay.  At the very moment those words departed from my lips, there was a sudden swoosh of wings escaping up out of the thicket of bushes to my left and I was extremely startled to see the very familiar blur of brown spotted feathers emerge and fly up to the trees above me. I could hardly believe my eyes as there, staring right back down at me with his enormous brown eyes, stood a most beautiful Barred Owl...just like the ones that I often watched in my own back yard some thirty miles away.  (Again I refer you to the story mentioned above) 

Now I was really crying, "Oh Lord Jesus! How amazing! How marvelous! How wonderful You are! How so like You to do something so exactly perfect for me at this very moment!"  Only God could do something this miraculous.  You see, even though others had heard these owls calling in the night in this area, no one had ever actually seen one in my dad's yard before. God knew even before I called out in my grief to Him that He already had the perfect response to my cries.  It was as if this owl was sent directly to me as God's messenger of comfort for that special moment.  Thankfully my sister happened to have her camera nearby so we could capture this event to share with others.

As we stood there watching, the owl kept looking back at us, as if he was giving us a message of hope from another world.  I found myself rejoicing instead of crying, knowing that my father was truly with the Lord...and that even at that precise moment he was entering heaven's gates and being welcomed by my mother, his other loved ones who had gone on before, and most of all, by Jesus Himself. 

After a few minutes passed, the owl became a bit restless, as though he was anxious to be on his way.  We, too, realized it was time for us to move on as we had much to do to begin the work of notifying loved ones, and making arrangements for a funeral service.  Reluctantly we started to move away from this place of peace, and the owl flew ahead of us a little way and landed on another tree, and looked back at us as if to say, "Have no fear...I'm okay...I'm finally home..."

This was the last farewell as he flew away from our presence and departed to his other world...

Not once, but twice in the past several weeks, God used these beautiful creatures to bring me comfort and messages of hope and love when I needed it most.  You can call it coincidence if you wish, and you may even think I'm a little bit "touched"...and I will say, "Yes, I'm touched alright...touched by God's holy presence and His wonderfully, mysterious ways.  If that is being "touched', then I say, Thank you, dear Jesus, for touching me."  Amen.

Postscript:  I am adding a copy here of the original blog written prior to this on "Goodblogs" in case that link becomes broken in the future:

The Owls WhOOOO Came to Comfort Me

By Pamela M. Steiner | Apr 9, 2011 | 7

Lately I've been feeling a little blue.  You see, my Daddy is in the last stages of his life, and each day we know we are getting closer to his departure from this earth.  Even though my Dad is almost 93 years old and has lived a long and happy life, I am still reluctant to let him go.   There is a plethora of emotions running through my mind as I think about just what it truly means to say goodbye to my last living parent.  Oh, there is no doubt in my mind as to where he will spend eternity...and I believe with all my heart I will join him there someday. 
I guess the fact that is bothering me is that soon the home I grew up in will no longer exist as I once knew it.  Once my father is gone from this earth, his earthly home will be dismantled piece by piece and scattered to the four winds...(that being the homes of my three siblings and myself and our progeny...and anyone else who wants a memento of what once was the family estate).   The place where we have gathered as a family for the past fifty four years for holidays, birthdays and special celebrations will be sold to strangers who will quickly put their own personal stamp of character and design on a home that housed all my childhood memories and treasures, and what we once called home will cease to exist.  I find myself wondering if my siblings and our extended families will ever be together again once that silver cord is broken.
So it was with these kinds of feelings running through my mind tonight that I wandered out into my own yard to walk around and touch base with my true feelings. Suddenly I heard the familiar "Who who cooks for you?" call of our resident Barred Owl...calling to his mate to let her know he had come 'home' and was looking for her.  I looked up into the trees through the dusky light filtering through the leaves and saw the first owl land on a high branch...and then a few seconds later the other glided onto a tree nearby.  They both looked toward each other, but then they also looked down at me and sat there very still, pretending that they were hidden from my view.  So I sat down on my patio and waited to see what would happen next.  Once they felt comfortable enough with my presence there, the one owl flew over to the other, and sat right down beside her just as close as two fully grown owls could get to one another, and then they proceeded to snuggle right up to each other, with what appeared to me to be kissing and hugging and greeting each other as if they had been away for a long time. This went on for several minutes, and I stood there in awe as I witnessed their obvious joyous homecoming and sweet love for each other.  I found myself saying over and over again to myself, "How sweet! How marvelous!  How beautiful!"

Then the tears started to roll down my cheeks as I thought to myself..."That's just like 'Bill and Dorothea' (my parents' names)...and how happy they are going to be when Daddy finally enters heaven's gates.  My sweet mother has been waiting there patiently for him for five long years, and when he arrives with a hoot and a call, she will be waiting there with open arms and lots of kisses to welcome him...finally...home! 

And then an astounding thing happened... as I watched them continue to bill and coo with each other, suddenly they both opened their massive wings and silently flew off together to the big trees across the street from my house and out of my view.  But I was no longer feeling blue.  I felt such a sense of peace and joy and comfort, for I knew that my Dad was going "home" and his reunion with my mother would be so joyful...and one day, we too will have such a happy reunion ourselves. 

Lord, I thank you for the owls YOU sent to comfort me tonight.  It was a picture I will never forget...and when my Daddy finally gets his angel's wings and flies out of our sight, I know he will finally be at peace and at home with YOU and Mama. And I also know You will take care of the rest of us left behind...no need to worry about that anymore.  Thank you...and Amen.

I hope you enjoyed reading these true stories of how God ministered to my heart during that time of grief.  A few months ago we moved away from that home where our Barred Owl friends lived, and I have really missed my daily 'conversations' with them.  However, it helps me realize all the more that this was a special gift from God for a particular time of need in my life.  My current home has already blessed me with some new and interesting manifestations of God's grace and love...time will tell what other lessons He has in store for me there.  Oh, and by the way, we do occasionally hear some Barred Owls in the woods surrounding our new home...they just haven't allowed us to see them yet. 

Some of my other blogging friends are sharing their stories from the past on the Random Journal Day linkup.  Go to Beneath the Surface:Breath of Faith and check out the other stories for this week. You will be blessed I am certain!

Thanks for stopping by!

Where Do the Years Go?

More Steiner Family Adventures from the past...continued from the Giant Leaps of Faith Saga...circa 1980...

One of the joys of this time, while we were off in the cold north attending seminary, was that our church provided a sense of family for us as well as a place to minister. We were blessed with many young families close to our age, which was a welcome change after our previous ministry to mostly elderly folks. Our boys enjoyed having other kids to play with, and we greatly appreciated the much-needed fellowship. It was wonderful having people with whom we could share the fun times as well as the spiritual times. I will always remember this as one of the happiest times in our lives.


Someone I remember most from this time was my friend Cindy. Cindy had a remarkable talent for playing the piano, with a unique ability to play some of the more difficult newer (at that time) contemporary and Gospel Christian artists such as Keith Green, The Gaithers, and others. Since I couldn’t play the piano (only “Chopsticks” and “Mary Had a Little Lamb”) I truly admired and appreciated her gift. The highlight of my week came on Thursdays. John usually worked at the church office on Thursday mornings, so I would drop him off and our then two-year old son Scotty and I would go visit Cindy for a morning of sipping cups of hot tea and making music together! She played, and I sang. Cindy’s little girl Heather kept Scotty entertained while we had fun at the piano. Those were very happy days for both of us. She was working through a difficult marriage and this was good therapy for her. I was just happy for the fellowship and friendship, since we were so far away from home and family.

Cindy also had a son named Jeremy, who was the same age as our two older boys, so we often got our whole families together whenever possible. Jeremy was a very outgoing, fun-loving boy. He had a super personality and such a sweet attitude.

Flash forward about nine years after this time, when Jeremy was a senior in high school with about three weeks to go before graduation. Very tragically, Jeremy was instantly killed in an auto accident on his way to school. We had moved away from there many years before this, but we had kept in touch with the family, and this really hit us hard. He was all set to enter the Air Force upon graduation and had a great future ahead. In reading his obituary I saw that Jeremy had accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior on July 3, 1981, at the age of 10, at youth camp, (shortly after we had left that area) and “on May 5, 1989, the day of his death, he met Jesus face to face.” It was a painful reminder to us of the fragility of this life, and how our children really do not belong to us. They are only loaned to us for a little while to love, teach, and hopefully introduce to Jesus at a young age…because we never know what the future may hold.  The following is an excerpt from a little story that was in the bulletin for Jeremy's memorial service:

"I'm not yet ready, Father. I haven't had time to say good-bye....Where did the years go, Father? It seems only yesterday that I held the precious blue bundle close to me, gazing into that small sweet face.....I don't understand it, Father. Only a short while ago our house was full of tricycles, baseballs, shouts, and clatter....
'I'll be OK, Mom,' he tells me.  And, suddenly, I know he will...  "It's time, isn't it, Father? It's time to say good-bye." (from "Time to Say Good-Bye" by Joan Wester Anderson)

Hold your children close while you can...tell them you love them every opportunity you have, because we never know when it will be our last chance to say good-bye.

In Loving Memory of our friend Jeremy...a life taken too soon...but we will see him again someday.

Thank you, Jesus.

Postscript 6/2/2018:  Little did we know that some 25 years later (and four years after I wrote this post) our son Matthew would join Jeremy in heaven, after a four year battle with cancer.  I expect these "boys" are whooping it up in heaven, going fishing, or doing whatever Jesus tells them to do to get things ready for the rest of us to join them someday.  They may be gone from our presence here, but they are never forgotten.