The message from Ivy Furlong.
A Summer Sunday evening service. Yes, unusual for me. I have taken to randomly attending church, mainly in an effort to join in and take the opportunity to experience all the different mediums who are serving at St. Cecilia’s Church.
Ivy Furlong gave a beautiful address. Ivy did say that she wasn’t in a trance as she was talking, and the talk was ‘only’ inspired. I cannot recall all the words that Ivy spoke, but I know they were delivered in a tone that felt as if the words were weighted with wisdom. A higher understanding of why we are here on earth. A spiritual tone enveloped the hall and a hushed silence fell on a congregation of between 50-60 people, broken only by the snoring of Toby (the resident dog). The church was absolutely packed.
Just before the service, on my way to church, I found myself strolling along behind a young couple who were dressed up and looked as if they were off to one of the local pubs. I tried to overtake them on the narrow path. It was 6.29pm, Church was due to begin at 6.30pm. I was cutting it fine (well, technically, I was going to be late)
‘Sorry, to rush you, but I am going to be late for Church’ I said as I overtook them.
‘So are we’ the young lady explained
‘oh good, you can be more late than me!’
I laughed with them as I did indeed make it to the door of the church ahead of them. Forcing them to be the last ones in.
Well, they may have been the final people to take their places, but they were offered the first message of the evening. Yes, it was pertinent to them, yes the information meant something.
Mentally I told myself that already having an interaction with this couple and sitting adjacent to them, but across the aisle of the church, probably meant that the medium wouldn’t be coming to me. You know how mediums like to spread the messages around the church. Some of them do it intentionally, some of them just give the messages wherever they are directed. But sitting so close to this young couple, I decided that I probably wasn’t going to be getting a message.
‘Who here has been to a funeral recently?’ Ivy Furlong looked expectantly out at her audience.
That would be me. I raise my hand from where I am sitting at the back of the church. I fully expected at least a few people to have been to a funeral recently. But no. Just me.
‘The coffin was carried up the aisle?’ Ivy enquires, attempting to establish that she is making the link with the right person.
I nod and say ‘yes’
‘recently?’
I nod, ‘yes’, it was two weeks ago to be exact, the death of my next door neighbour, dying at the age of 50 after a long battle against cancer, but this is not the place for conversation with the medium. Ivy is standing on the podium addressing a packed church. There are so many people waiting for messages and so little time to spend with each person.
‘there is someone who had lost their faith?’ Ivy said
I agreed. Although I didn’t actually know this, because I haven’t spoken to my next door neighbours about it.
‘would you know this?’ Ivy wants to know
I say ‘I would’. But actually I wouldn’t. It is as if she is reading my mind.
‘the person in the box’ Ivy waves a finger at the imaginary coffin we are all picturing being carried up the aisle of the church ‘says “Gone to Heaven”, she also says you were sending healing thoughts’
I agree, I have been sending healing thoughts for months, when I stood in my kitchen I visualised a rainbow of light from my kitchen window arching over to next door’s bungalow.
‘she says not to worry about it and to keep doing it, keep sending healing’
Yes, I do send healing to try and ease the pain of the grief of the two young ladies and their Dad who were left behind.
Ivy gives me a hankie with a pretty pattern on. Not literally, but from spirit. I thank her and leave her to move on to her next message.
The rest of the service is lovely. Lots of hymns, some prayers, a congregation all pulling together to help the medium bringing messages from loved ones.
This particular spiritualist church also gives recorded tapes of the messages and as the collection plate goes round I am handed a little cassette tape which goes safely into the pocket of my handbag. My little handbag that was a Mother’s Day present from my son. Well, I bought it, and he paid me back. Works for us. But every time I use it I am reminded of how fortunate I have been with my son, to be able to see him grow up and flourish, independently of me and manage his little world really well. I am very proud of my own son and I can only begin to imagine the anguish my neighbour must have felt at having to leave her own two girls and her granddaughter behind too soon.
It is still so raw, the grief is still full blown, I don’t even know if they are at the belief stage yet, you know, the denial and disbelief can last for months after the loss of a fifty year old Mum to cancer. While there is chemo there is hope. Once the chemo was cancelled, there was no hope.
Because I don’t want to intrude on their grief, I hang onto the tape until the right time. See, this is something I have learnt over the years. At one time I am pretty sure I would have raced round with a message. But not now. Now, I have learnt that Spirit will guide me to know when the time is right.
A couple of weeks later I am due to go round and visit a friend who lives a half hour’s walk away. I am due to be with her by 11.30am. Which means leaving at 11.00am. Just before 11, by friend’s daughter sends me a message on facebook (fortunate that I have the computer on and facebook is up and running). Did I want her Mum to pick me up and drive me round to hers? Lovely, that would be great. I will stand outside at 11.15am. Well, 11.10am a car alarm went off outside. I peered out of the kitchen window. Guess who is standing outside on the pavement? Yes, my newly widowed next door neighbour and his teenage daughter, who is having driving lessons and has recently purchased an old banger to learn in. The old banger is determined to make itself heard and the alarm is intent on going off just because the boot isn’t locked.
Yes, the tape cassette is now burning a hole in my bag and there is a five minute window for me to hand it over to neighbours who are very rarely seen out the front.
Trotting downstairs and appearing on the pavement next to my neighbours, I explain to daughter number two (the youngest one) about the message and how the words I remember are ‘gone to heaven’. She put her hand to her mouth. That is what we say to Grace (the granddaughter). Nanny has gone to heaven.
Oh, lovely. I tell her that I haven’t listened to the tape so I don’t know what has come out on it and off I go on my daily jaunt. Amazed that my plans being altered at the last minute have led me to be able to deliver a message, I am happy that I am being used by Spirit to deliver the tape.
Later on the following week, I have Avon to deliver next door, and both daughters are at home. They thank me for the tape, they enjoyed listening to it. They tell me that their Mum always had hankies/tissues by her bed and they had a little pattern on them. She always made a point of having these special hankies! Lovely.
I asked them if they heard the part of the tape where Ivy asked if I would know if someone had lost their faith? I don’t know why I asked them that, there was no reason for me to think it hadn’t come out on the tape. The elder of the two girls said it was the younger one. The younger one said ‘no, it didn’t come out on the tape’, the older one said ‘she did. Lose her faith’. I am surprised, I thought it must have been the Dad, you know ‘how could a caring God take away the Mother of my two daughters at their young age, for them to lose a Mum’, okay so they are not babies but they are still younger than they should be to be suffering the loss of their Mum.
So, yes, Ivy Furlong was right, there was someone who had questioned their faith. It wasn’t who I thought it was, but the irony is, Ivy giving this accurate state of affairs, the loss of faith, has gone some way to help restore the faith of the teenager who could so easily have spent too much time without the benefit of her belief.
Lots of love and light to everyone who needs it.
Tamasin x
No comments:
Post a Comment