I’ve taken comfort from the bluebirds that visit me frequently. They started showing up when I sat by Mr. Virgo’s grave. And I don’t mean flying around me. I mean, coming to rest, three at a time on the open car door with an extra one on the side view mirror. Each time I visited the cemetery, more and more bluebirds arrived and they made my heart sing. 

I still see them in West Virginia, but they are outnumbered by the bright red cardinals that visit me daily. Grandma always said when you see a cardinal, it’s a loved one in Heaven coming to tell you hello. The Bible says those who are in Heaven cannot see us. But God can do anything…even sending bluebirds and redbirds to remind you of loved ones passed.

The other day, the thought occurred to me…we are entering a new decade. One in which Mr. Virgo did not live. While I no longer actively grieve over losing him, I still have poignant moments that remind me of him. One of the hardest things about time passing after his death was the sense of losing him all over again. Losing the memory of the sound of his voice, or the touch of his hand, or the twinkle in his eye. 

Those memories are covered in a thick gauzy haze now, and every year away from that moment I lose more of him. Turning the page on a new decade kinda felt that way. I was sitting in the family room on New Year’s Eve, just contemplating the changes I have gone through over the last ten years, when something outside caught my eye.

It was a cardinal. 

And not just any cardinal. This little guy was trying to get my attention. He hopped back and forth, back and forth, stopping to look in the door at me. He’d go out of my line of vision and I thought he had given up…only to hop back in view. This went on for about twenty minutes. I smiled when I saw how insistent this little bird was. 

It was as if he were saying, “Hey! Look at me! Look! I’m here…I am always and forever here!!!”

I don’t know the answers to all of life’s mysteries, but I do know there are no coincidences. I gazed at the bird and I swear our eyes locked for a moment. I whispered a heartfelt “Thank You” and he was gone. A weight lifted and life moved on and I breathed just a little easier know Mr. Virgo is OK where he is. 

And so am I.

❤️

“Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever. to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever.”

Psalms 136:3-4 NIV