Today I met my friend, Patti, for lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Back in October of 2005, I wrote about Patti when her boyfriend, Roger, died unexpectedly.
At lunch awhile ago, Patti and I chatted about various things. Then Patti told me about the last Valentine’s Day she’d had with Roger. That would have been Valentine’s Day of 2005. He had taken her to a florist shop where he let her select a flower bouquet. He wanted her to have exactly the flowers she preferred. She selected a dozen roses. Later, he gave her a tender card and signed it, “Your Tiger.” “Tiger” was Patti’s nickname for Roger. He was a masculine man with a strong jaw. As a matter of fact, he felt his jaw was so prominent that he wore a beard to soften the look.Â
It has been a year and a half now since Roger died, and this past Valentine’s Day Patti was feeling quite down. She couldn’t get thoughts of her last Valentine’s Day with Roger out of her mind. She remembered the roses her “Tiger” had given her, and she kept looking at the card that was signed, “I love you.  Your Tiger.”Â
She wondered if people who’ve died are still aware of what’s going on with the ones they left behind. She wanted to know if Roger still thought of her like she still thought of him. She prayed to God to give her a sign - and a very definite sign - something so obvious she couldn’t miss it or dismiss it as a coincidence. Some sign - any sign - to let her know that Roger had not just stopped existing.
Of course she kept her prayer to herself. It was a prayer she had prayed often since Roger’s death. It is a very common prayer of people who are dealing with the death of a loved one. Death is such a mystery.
Valentine’s Day 2007 came and Patti was feeling especially blue. There would be no roses this year - and no tender card. That evening she went to a dance with other singles. She’s been a part of several dance groups for years. It was something she and Roger did together when he was alive. This particular dance group was new, though, and Patti was the new girl in the group. There was a door prize to be given out, and Patti filled out a ticket at the door as usual and promptly forgot about it.Â
The dance was mostly fun - a way to get out and be with other people. It didn’t get rid of the loneliness, but it made it more bearable for awhile - especially since it was Valentine’s Day.
During a lull in the dance, the emcee announced that it was time to award the door prize. When he drew the winning ticket from the bowl, Patti was surprised to hear her name called out. She went up to claim the prize - having no idea what it was.
The prize was a dozen roses.  She had roses for Valentine’s Day after all. But that wasn’t all. There was more to the door prize.
There was also a stuffed tiger - not a sweet babyish looking tiger, but one dressed in a leather jacket - one with a strong jaw covered with fur.
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March 20th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
What an interesting and wonderful story.
In answer to the question about receiving messages after the death of a loved one? Carol, you remember the dream (or vision) my mother had in the midst of her deep grief after the death of my father.
I certainly understand Patti’s grief and sheer loneliness in the loss of her “Tiger.” As you said, there is much mystery about death. The Bible is not clear about many things and I am not an authority on that or anything else. But I am sure of three things; God does answer prayer, in His own time and in His own way. God loves Patti and God does have a wonderful plan and purpose for Patti as well as for each one of us. Please give Patti my love and prayers and tell her I appreciate her letting you share this story.
TMS: Yes, I remember the story you told me. He came to her in a dream and told her that she would be all right - that she needed to rest, and then he sang the most beautiful song for her. When she woke up, she couldn’t remember the song, but she felt reassured and was able to finally rest amidst her grief.
March 20th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Wow.
March 20th, 2007 at 9:52 pm
I wouldn’t even begin to speculate on the meaning or lack thereof of such an event; but is is an interesting and touching story.
March 21st, 2007 at 5:16 am
That’s a lovely story! And I do believe that God had something to do with it - now the dozen roses are pretty common, but a stuffed tiger? That’s unusual.
I got a message from my mom a month or so after she died. In a dream that was incredibly real, she sat on the edge of my bed and told me not to worry, she was able to play on the beach, just like in Florida (her favorite vacation). She died very suddenly and it was unexpected and I was an absolute wreck. Her dream visit helped me tremendously.
March 21st, 2007 at 5:43 pm
What a wonderful story. It reminds me of the time after my mom died.
After she died, the weekend before I went back to work, I decided to do a project with a room in our house - just to feel like I accomplished something. So off to the Home Depot to get the stuff I needed to finish mudding the walls and all that. I was there in the middle of the day, in the midst of contractors and other men who were picking up stuff for their projects - not a woman around. All of a sudden, the strongest scent of women’s perfume - my mother’s perfume - was there. It was strong, as if she was right there. There was NO one around me, but that perfume scent lingered throughout my jaunt at the store. She died over 2 years ago. I’ll open a storage bin or something I haven’t looked in for awhile. Each time I do that, there’s her perfume, yet again. My kids have had it happen to them, too. What a great sign that she’s still with us. Much like your friend and her boyfriend. It’s so comforting, but it always takes my breath away when it happens.
March 31st, 2007 at 12:41 pm
Yes, I believe our loved ones can be with us after death. I’m not sure in what capacity, but I will share with you my story. January 1986 I found myself a widow with 2 small sons. My husband was killed in an automobile accident in the middle of the day. He was by himself when it occured. I was beside myself with grief and needed deperatly to know that everything would be alright for me and my children. I would go to bed praying for an answer and wake up praying for an answer. You may as well say I prayed unceasingly. Then about 2 weeks after his death I had a dream. In that dream my husband was holding me and making me feel secure. A that very time a voice spoke to me and told me that this feeling was not Greg, my late husband. I asked,”What are you talking about? It is Greg!” The voice spoke to me and said that they were going to prove it to me. At that moment I saw Greg in a transparent state. While when I looked at myself, I was in the flesh. Then Greg spoke to me and said,”I love you and will ALWAYS be with you in the Spirit.” I awoke from the dream with the relief I had been looking for. I thought the Spirit he referred to was the Holy Spirit of God (the Comforter), because of our both being Christians. I do believe that was part of it, but in the last 21 years I feel as though I have felt Greg’s presence when I needed an anchor in life’s storms. I’ve had the times when I have found myself laying in bed and for some unknown reason I have had an inpulse to hold my arms in the air as if to reach for someone. Yes I believe he will be with me always in the Spirit. In whatever capacity that may be. I’m happily married again, but that still doesn’t stop me from missing him or wanting him to stay close by. Love is a strong bond and there is so much we as human beings do not know and understand. All I know is I feel God in His Wisdom provided me with that dream, and who is to say what lies ahead for us?
October 9th, 2007 at 12:28 am
My beloved Mom passed away on 4/18/97. A week after she passed, I returned to my job as a nursing assistant on a maternity ward. About an hour into my shift, I had the most overwhelming scent of roses surround me. Now, I know what you’re thinking–roses on a maternity ward isn’t unusual, but the scent was in the surgical area, AWAY from the patient area, and the scent was extremely strong. I thought I was “losing it”, so I asked a co-worker to come to the surgical area to see if she smelled anything funny. She sniffed the air, and said nope, I don’t smell anything. Meanwhile I could still smell roses. I didn’t realize for several hours that this was a gift from Mom, telling me she was okay. Incidently, my mother passed away in this same hospital, one floor below where I work.