A Rose and a Lily… a Story of Divine Intervention

Sometimes there are moments in your life that can touch your soul on a very profound and deep level.  This is the story of such a moment.  This is my good friend Dee’s story, this is her moment…

My friends Dee and Chris’s daughter passed away suddenly and without warning when she was only two years old.  She would be twelve today. This kind of loss and heartache is inconceivable and unimaginable to most, whether you are a parent or not. Dee has said that “You never get over losing a child, you get through it.” Unless you have lived “through it,” most cannot fathom the level of anguish, your “darkest hour” as Dee has described it.

She is now a successful realtor with three sons.  She was having a particularly hectic day with appointments, after-school meetings and children’s events. To add to the laundry list of things on the agenda for the day, she had to take her oldest son to shop for a dress shirt and tie for a school dance.  Being a typical teenager, he was taking an extraordinary amount of time making his selections and Dee’s patience was wearing thin. 

A man approached them in the store and inquired as to her son’s shirt size because they appeared to be about the same size.  Looking quite lost with a very blank stare, he asks, “What do I wear to a funeral?”  “Black or dark colors,” Dee answers. The man adds, “I want to match my daughter.” She then noticed that tears were streaming down his face. He was holding a small pink and white dress in his unsteady hands. Her mind immediately went to the worst case scenario, hoping and praying this wasn’t the case, he then confirms her fears, “My two year old daughter died yesterday.” Her heart sank. That all too familiar feeling of pain rushing in, the kind of pain that only a parent that has lost a child can experience. She looks at her son and he is as overwhelmed and stunned as her.

"Of all the people in all the places…”

She knew at that second she was supposed to be there, at that very spot, at that very moment.

The man was so distraught that she and her son helped him look for a shirt and tie to match his daughter’s lovely dress.

They shared stories about their daughters. The similarities where uncanny. They were exactly the same age.  His daughter’s name was Lilyahna (Lily).  Dee chimes in, “two flowers in heaven as my daughter’s name was Rosie (Roseanna).”

The man’s wife now approaches, her face flushed from crying and there was barely any white left in her sad and swollen eyes. As she got closer, Dee noticed a very large butterfly tattoo on her neck. The lump in Dee’s throat has now grown, her hands were shaking and the tears were flowing.  Butterflies, another connection. With little Rosie, everything was butterflies; book bags, purses, her room, everything had butterflies.  Ornamental butterflies were hung from the ceiling at the funeral home for Rosie’s services and the “dash” on her headstone is symbolized with a butterfly.  The woman also tells them “my husband never talks to people in the store, never.” She was stunned that he spoke to Dee and her son.

They exchanged numbers and Dee reassures them that she will check on them in a couple months when everyone else around them returns to their daily lives and the dust settles. Dee knows from experience, that’s when they will need to talk the most.

At this point Dee felt like she was having an out of body experience.  Her mind and heart were racing, “I truly believe that things happen for a reason. I was supposed to meet them. A decade ago my daughter passed and this couple is experiencing it now. I know undeniably that this was a sign.  Whether it was God’s doing or whether these two little girls, together in heaven, prompted this chance meeting so we can be a support for each other, I’m going to do everything possible to help another family whose has gone through the same tragedy.” 

What a miraculous story.  Dee, thank you my friend for sharing it and allowing others to be touched by your Angel in Heaven and by her new friend, Lily.

In the grand scheme of things, the trials and tribulations many of us have gone through are trivial and insignificant. Experiencing or hearing stories like this can have a positive effect, be a catalyst to make a change, put things in perspective, give you hope, or strengthen your faith.

In honor and memory of Rosie and Lily, let’s make a concerted effort to make at least one change in our life, even if it is a just a small thing …

… Say a prayer for this family grieving the loss of their beloved daughter

… Hug your children extra tight today

… Smile at a stranger

… Don’t sweat the small stuff

… Be more grateful

… Appreciate life just a little more

Remarkably, after hearing this story and in the process of writing this, a saw a beautiful butterfly, an orange and black one fluttering through my yard. This is certainly not a common occurrence where I live.

Thank you for my butterfly "message," Rosie! I hope I have done justice to your incredible and divine intervention.

May God Bless these two angels and their families.