Messages from Beyond

A funny thing happened not too long ago. I kept calling my daughter's coach "Kim." Now what's so funny about that, you might ask? Her name is not "Kim." It's actually another "K" name, but I'd rather not write it here since this is a public blog and she's kinda/sorta appeared in a T-ball pic or two on here.

Anyway! I thought it was very odd indeed that I kept calling her "Kim." It was completely by accident. And I kept trying to figure out, what's up with that??

But I kinda/sorta had a clue.

Before this started happening, I came across a book at the bookstore which I desperately wanted to buy: Animals and the Afterlife: True Stories of Our Best Friends' Journey Beyond Death by Kim Sheridan Ph.D. I have long been fascinated by animal ghosts and animals in the afterlife ever since my beloved dog Lukas, an Australian Shepherd, died and I started to hear (yes, HEAR!) a knocking at my door. Nobody was at the door, of course. Shortly afterward, I learned that there's a folktale about how our animal friends are known to come visit us in spirit, and make their presence known by knocking at your door. (One person who lost their dog often heard scratching at the back door and no one and nothing was there. The dog was buried in the back yard.) (Psst! You can read more stories like this in my Shadowlands article that's in the June issue!)

Sadly, I was not able to buy the book at the time I saw it, because I didn't have enough money. Then that whole business of accidentally calling my daughter's coach "Kim" happened. I started to think, is it because the author of that book is named Kim??

Well, I think maybe that's why, because after I bought the book (yay!), I stopped calling her "Kim." Yay! (I was starting to feel like I was my mother. She used to go through ALL seven names of us kids before she got to the right one, when she was talking to us. For the longest time, I could've sworn my name was Elizabeth-Jeanette-Troy-Melissa-Neal-Millie-Dawn. Just call me "Dawn" for short! LOL)

So I've been reading this book. It is VERY GOOD! My husband, being the eternal skeptic, would take one look at the stuff in here and declare all of it a lie. (I, personally, seriously DOUBT that, number one, the author would be so foolish as to ruin her good name/business by writing a book of lies and that, number two, all of the people who have given their real names in this book, along with their web site URLs, are telling tall tales.) I believe every word of it. And I am astounded by all of the stories in this book. Wow! It's definitely worth the price. Not only does it convince me that our animal friends do indeed exist on the Other Side (take THAT, you skeptics who say that animals have no souls!) but it is also a comfort to me. Even today, I still miss Lukas, as well as my other animal friends. (I have also had rats and cats as companions.) And sometimes I have dreamed of other pets who have moved on. So reading this book makes me feel comforted knowing that Lukas is still here, in some way, some form.

And I had to wonder, is THIS why I really needed to buy this book? Is this the reason why this book just HAD to be in my hands??

I kept pondering this. Why was it so important for me to read this book? What message was it supposed to give to me? Aside from the reassurance that animals DO exist on the Other Side, and that Lukas is still here.

I thought on this for many days, even as I kept reading the book.

Then I came across something in the book. A woman received a direct message from God. NOT that she saw God Himself. But the message was given to her from Him.

So I thought, maybe this is what I needed to see. This woman's message from the Lord.

But I will tell you, it is not the first time I have read about someone receiving a message from God. I myself had angels in my dreams telling me things, among them a message from God. And I have even heard God say things to me. (One of the things He commented on was His disapproval over greed being the driving force behind a writing career.) I look at these messages people have received, and I can recall reading Bible quotes that match them somehow or another.

Of course, I know we can't believe everything we read. We ALL could use a healthy dose of skepticism if we are going to expose ourselves to what people are saying/writing/publishing. But I do think that some of the things I have read about messages from God do make sense. I mean, especially since some Bible quotes back them up. And I don't see why people would say such lies, or something.

And I think, wow, this is really something important God wants us to know!

So, to sum up, here are messages from God which I have come across both in my dreams and in my readings:

1. God does not hate.

2. God loves ALL women.

3. Love and take care of the Earth.

4. Love and take care of the animals.

5. Love one another.

I guess all of that can be identified with one common saying about God: God is love.