This is a true story that occurred in 1994
and was told by Lloyd Glen.
Throughout our lives we are blessed with spiritual experiences,
some of which are very sacred and confidential, and others,
although sacred, are meant to be shared. Last summer my family
had a spiritual experience that had a lasting and profound impact on
us, one we feel must be shared. It's a message of love. It's a
message of regaining perspective, and restoring proper balance and
renewing priorities. In humility. I pray that I might, in relating
this story, give you a gift my little son, Brian gave our family one
summer day last year.
On July 22nd I was in route to Washington DC for a business trip.
It was all so very ordinary, until we landed in Denver for a plane
change. As I collected my belongings from the overhead bin, an
announcement was made for Mr. Lloyd Glenn to see the United
Customer Service Representative immediately. I thought nothing of
it until I reached the door to leave the plane and I heard a
gentleman asking every male if they were Mr. Glenn. At this point I
knew something was wrong and my heart sunk. When I got off the
plane a solemn-faced young man came toward me and said, "Mr. Glenn
there is an emergency at your home. I do not know what the emergency
is, or who is involved, but I will take you to the phone so you can
call the hospital.
My heart was now pounding, but the will to be calm took over.
Woodenly, I followed this stranger to the distant telephone where I
called the number he gave me for the Mission Hospital. My call was
put through to the trauma center where I learned that my
three-year-old son had been trapped underneath the automatic garage
door for several minutes, and that when my wife had found him he was
dead. CPR had been performed by a neighbor, who is a doctor, and
the paramedics had continued the treatment as Brian was transported
to the hospital. By the time of my call, Brian was revived and they
believed he would live, but they did not know how much damage had
been done to his brain, nor to his heart. They explained that the
door had completely closed on his little sternum right over his
heart. He had been severely crushed.
After speaking with the medical staff, my wife sounded worried but
not hysterical, and I took comfort in her calmness. The return
flight seemed to last forever, but finally I arrived at the hospital
six hours after the garage door had come down. When I walked into
the intensive care unit, nothing could have prepared me to see my
little son laying so still on a great big bed with tubes and
monitors everywhere.
He was on a respirator. I glanced at my wife who stood and
tried to give me a reassuring smile. It all seemed like a terrible
dream. I was filled in with the details and given a guarded
prognosis. Brian was going to live, and the preliminary tests
indicated that his heart was ok-two miracles, in and of themselves.
But only time would tell if his brain received any damage.
Throughout the seemingly endless hours, my wife was calm. She
felt that Brian would eventually be all right. I hung on to her
words and faith like a lifeline. All that night and the next day
Brian remained unconscious. It seemed like forever since I had left
for my business trip the day before. Finally at two o'clock that
afternoon, our son regained consciousness and sat up uttering the
most beautiful words I have ever heard spoken, He said, "Daddy hold
me," and he reached for me with his little arms. [TEAR BREAK...smile]
By the next day he was pronounced as having no neurological or
physical deficits, and the story of his miraculous survival spread
throughout the hospital. You cannot imagine our gratitude and
joy.
As we took Brian home we felt a unique reverence for the life
and love Of our Heavenly Father that comes to those who brush death
so closely. In the days that followed there was a special spirit
about ourhome.
Our two older children were much closer to their little
brother.
My wife and I were much closer to each other, and all of us were very
close as a whole family. Life took on a less stressful pace.
Perspective seemed to be more focused, and balance much easier
to gain and maintain. We felt deeply blessed. Our gratitude was
truly profound.
[The story is not over] (smile)
Almost a month later to the day of the accident, Brian awoke
from
his afternoon nap and said, "Sit down mommy. I have something to tell
you."
At this time in his life, Brian usually spoke in small
phrases,
so to say a large sentence surprised my wife. She sat down with him
on his bed and he began his sacred and remarkable story.
"Do you remember when I got stuck under the garage door? Well
it was so heavy and it hurt really bad. I called to you, but you
couldn't hear me. I started to cry, but then it hurt too bad. And
then the "birdies" came "The birdies?" my wife asked puzzled. "Yes," he replied. "The birdies" made a whooshing sound and flew into the
garage.
They took care of me." "They did?" "Yes, he said." "One of the
birdies" came and got you. She came to tell you I got stuck under
the door."
A sweet reverent feeling filled the room. The spirit was so
strong and yet lighter than air. My wife realized that a
three-year-old had no concept of death and spirits, so he was
referring to the beings who came to him from beyond as "birdies"
because they were up in the air like birds that fly. "What did the
birdies look like?" she asked.
Brian answered. "They were so beautiful. They were dressed in
white all white. Some of them had green and white. But some of them
had on just white."
"Did they say anything?" "Yes" he answered. They told me the
baby would be alright." "The baby?" my wife asked confused. And
Brian answered.
"The baby laying on the garage floor." He went on, "You came
out and opened the garage door and ran to the baby. You told the baby to stay and not leave."
My wife nearly collapsed upon hearing this, for she had indeed
gone and knelt beside Brian's body and seeing his crushed chest and
unrecognizable features, knowing he was already dead, she looked
up around her and whispered, "Don't leave us Brian, please stay if
you can.
As she listened to Brian telling her the words she had spoken,
she realized that the spirit had left his body and was looking down
from above on this little lifeless form. "Then what happened?" she
asked.
"We went on a trip." he said, "far, far away.." He grew
agitated trying to say the things he didn't seem to have the words for.
My wife tried to calm and comfort him, and let him know it would be
okay.
He struggled with wanting to tell something that obviously was
very important to him, but finding the words was difficult.
"We flew so fast up in the air." "They're so pretty Mommy." he
added. "And there is lots and lots of "birdies". My wife was
stunned.
Into her mind the sweet comforting spirit enveloped her more soundly,
but with an urgency she had never before known.
Brian went on to tell her that the 'birdies' had told him that
he had to come back and tell everyone about the "birdies". He said they
brought him back to the house and that a big fire truck, and an
ambulance were there. A man was bringing the baby out on a white
bed and he tried to tell the man the baby would be okay, but the man
couldn't hear him. He said, "birdies told him he had to go with
the ambulance, but they would be near him. He said, they were so
pretty and so peaceful, and he didn't want to come back. And then the bright light came. He said that the light was so bright and so warm, and he loved the bright light so much. Someone was in the bright light and
put their arms around him, and told him, "I love you but you have to go
back.
You have to play baseball, and tell everyone about the
birdies."
Then the person in the bright light kissed him and waved bye-bye.
Then whoosh, the big sound came and they went into the clouds."
The story went on for an hour. He taught us that "birdies"
were always with us, but we don't see them because we look with our
eyes and we don't hear them because we listen with our ears. But
they are always there, you can only see them in here (he put his
hand over his heart). They whisper the things to help us to do what
is right because they love us so much. Brian continued, stating,
"I have a plan, Mommy. You have a plan.
Daddy has a plan. Everyone has a plan. We must all live our plan
and keep our promises.
The "birdies help us to do that cause they love us so much."
In the weeks that followed, he often came to us and told all, or part of
it again and again.
Always the story remained the same. The details were never
changed or out of order. A few times he added further bits of
information and clarified the message he had already delivered. It
never ceased to amaze us how he could tell such detail and speak
beyond his ability when he spoke of his "birdies."
Everywhere he went, he told strangers about the "birdies".
Surprisingly, no one ever looked at him strangely when he did this.
Rather, they always get a softened look on their face and
smiled.
Needless to say, we have not been the same ever since that day,
and I pray we never will be.
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