The day my father died started off weird. I was determined to wake up before my husband went to work but as I stumbled to the kitchen, it was like a black fog shrouded my brain, and I couldn’t wake up. I mumbled, “I’ve got to go back to bed”. It was odd because I usually had no difficulty waking up.

A couple of hours later, I awoke refreshed and guessed I had just been tired. Wanting to run errands, I decided to dress up instead of throwing on my usual sweats. I even put on makeup, something I didn’t always do. Shopping list in hand, I set out to the local Walmart.

I’m a very organized shopper. When I go in the Supercenter, I have a floor plan for every item I’m to purchase. I start on one side of the store and work my way to the next. But something happened to me when I was about 2/3 of the way through my list. I couldn’t move! And worse, I just stared at the ceiling in the corner of the store! I tried to bring myself back to my list but it was like I was glued to the floor. I was immobilized by some supernatural force. People had to go around me and I would think, “You’ve got to move. People are going to think you’re crazy.” But I couldn’t.

Finally, I loosed myself from whatever had me in its grips, methodically located the remaining items on my list, and checked out. Next, I crossed the highway looking for a place to have lunch. As I was sitting in the parking lot, my cell phone rang. When I answered it, a female voice asked my name. Once I replied, she explained that she was a neighbor of my father’s. Continuing, she said: There’s no easy way to say this. Your dad fell and he didn’t make it.

I went through the usual denial, that he wasn’t really dead. As I made that hour long drive to his home I told myself there had been a mistake. But there was no mistake; he had died as a result of his fall.

And out of the many family members, I am the only one that had a visitation or whatever that was. Nothing weird or out of the ordinary happened to anyone else. What was it? Was it my dad saying goodbye on his way to heaven? Was it angels ministering to me and preparing me for the ordeal that was to come? I don’t know.