Hugs From Joel

First let me say for the record that I am a pretty skeptical person and do not see signs everywhere nor believe in ghostly apparations. My general view is that when you die you have no further contact with this world.

That being said there are times when we can draw comfort and encouragement from things around us, and it may be that God in his infinite wisdom is placing those things there for just that purpose. I have a friend who sees humming birds and penny's and see's conformation of his Mother's well-being, I have another friend who repeatedly see's a pair of crows and reads that as an affirmation that his parents are all right.

My comfort and encouragement has come in the form of hugs from unexpected sources. My son was a great hugger, big and burley with the strength of two he would embrace you and squeeze you with a warmth and comfort that few can match. Over the last couple of weeks I have received two very special hugs.

On the first occasion I was waiting outside my church for a meeting with my pastor; standing about twenty feet away was two mothers who had just picked up their children. One of the children who appeared to be about two years old was waving to me and struggling to get down from her mother's arms. When the mother finally put her down she ran straight to me and raised her arms for me to pick her up. I did so and hugged her after which she struggled down and ran back to her mother, who shrugged her shoulders in such a way that I felt certain this was out of character for her daughter.

The second occasion happened in the check-out line at Wal-Mart. I had struck up a conversation with a three year old boy standing in the shopping cart in front of us in line, asking him questions about the dog he was buying food and biscuits for, asking him his name and his age, when suddenly unbidden he walked across the shopping cart and put his arms around me and laid his head on my chest. It was a brief moment but it brought back many memories of my son doing the same thing.

I don't really believe that Joel had a hand in sending these hugs my way, but if we accept that God is our Father and that he cares for us as a father would, it seems well within the realm of possibility that he would see my pain and communicate to me that all is well.

So to my Father in Heaven I want to say, thank you, message received, All is Truly Well. And if by chance this communication can go both ways would you mind giving Joel a hug for me, and squeeze him extra tight, that's the way he likes it.