When people and things leave us, do you think they are actually really gone? I know. I know. It’s a weird question because logically, most of us know they are gone. Science tells us that when there is no longer a heart beat or brain activity or blood flow present, that that person or thing is gone. Sure, for a few days their body may be there, but they are not. And after that, we can no longer touch them so they seem even more gone than they did the day before and the day before that. But what if this is the point where logic & science fails us? Where God steps in & reminds us that seeing isn’t necessarily believing. Where something so powerful takes place & it kind builds a bridge or a portal between Heaven & Earth, even just for a split second, and reminds us that gone from your grasp doesn’t mean gone from your life or memory. How cool would that be?

Many of us have seen the cardinals that show up on our window sills at the most perfect time when we needed to talk to our Dad or Mom or loved ones most. We have seen the subtle “Hello’s” that appear to us on our way home from work some nights or the ones that just kind of show up in pictures in the most heart filling ways. I mean heck, I literally do not have a left leg but I can feel it just as much now as I did 5 years ago. I know it’s not there. I know you’re probably thinking “it’s just phantom pain Josie”. But this feeling is more than just my nerves hitting a dead end which, in turn, causes the throbbing pain. This feeling allows me to cheer on other runners despite my jealousy. This feeling reminds me that my leg was a part of me emotionally & not just physically. And even though it’s gone, it doesn’t mean I have to forget about it. God made our memories strong for many, many reasons and one of those reasons is for us to push logic aside sometimes & see what’s right in front of us. It might not be literally seeing with our eyes, but more with our heart or our guts. With our faith. We develop a feeling of attachment to the things that help make us who we are and to the people who we love. This feeling is not tangible but IT IS strong. We can just sense the people & things that are gone when they do pop in for a quick hello. We just somehow know that the white butterfly was our husband who passed away or the rainbow in a cloudless sky is our baby who we hold in our hearts now instead of in our hands. We just know it is. We can feel it.

I’m not going to say that this extra gut feeling isn’t painful. I know that it will remind us of hard times & losses we would rather not have had. But the idea of our loved one popping in to say Hello has to be good. And I really hope that this simple gut feeling outweighs the pain we feel with these sensations. They say that a simple Hello or act of kindness from a complete stranger can make a persons day. So imagine how much your day would be made if you got a quick hello in the most random of ways from your Grandpa or loved one who you thought were gone forever?! So today I challenge you to look for the little Hellos that are brought to you from Heaven. To push logic aside and think, just maybe, that that little frog who happened to hop up to your patio is an old classmate or best friend (the one who absolutely adored amphibians) is coming to say hello. To realize that even though they might not look the same, those unexpected things might be them. And to know that gone doesn’t mean forever.

P. S. Tell me about your visits from your loved ones below! I want to be filled with aw!

#TheOneLeggedMommy #Amputee #SheGone #Leg #NecrotizingFasciitis #BeautifulButterfly #HipDisarticulation #Hello