{"id":166,"date":"2013-02-23T18:29:29","date_gmt":"2013-02-23T18:29:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/2eb0a8bc-1e70-40a6-becd-4666908855e1"},"modified":"2013-02-23T18:29:29","modified_gmt":"2013-02-23T18:29:29","slug":"the-choice-a-story-for-anyone-who-has-ever-lost-a-loved-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/?p=166","title":{"rendered":"The Choice, A Story for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost A Loved One"},"content":{"rendered":"

I originally wrote this story almost two years ago for my friend Jean Raffa<\/a>.  For some reason I never published it.  Recently I heard about a new friend who lost a beloved pet and is moving through her grief, and I remembered this story.  So I decided now is a good time. This story isn’t just about the loss of a pet, but about anyone–human or animal that has passed to the other world. It is a story about choices.  And while it doesn’t completely describe my spiritual beliefs about the afterlife, it is a story of possibilities.  It gives a glimpse of a possible answer as to why certain tragic things happen.  Perhaps it is naive, that’s OK.  I don’t profess to have any answers. It is really meant to bring a little comfort for anyone grieving.  It is also meant to stir the imagination and the heart and to help anyone struggling with loss to gradually blossom into healing.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

The Choice<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The child
\nwalked through the field of light weeping, looking for his dog.  He called its name as he brushed his hands
\nover the tops of the radiant wheat.  Suddenly
\nhe heard the soft beating of wings and when he turned towards the sound, an
\nangel had alighted at his side.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

For a long
\ntime they said nothing.  She walked beside
\nhim with her hands cupped at her belly, looking straight ahead.  He swiped a stick at the ground.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI miss
\nhim,\u201d he said.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe is your
\nfriend,\u201d she said.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut I
\nthought friends never left you. That\u2019s what the other angel said.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t leave
\nyou.  But they\u2019re spirits, just like you
\nand I, and so sometimes–well, sometimes when the unexpected happens, they get
\nlost for awhile, just like us.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

The boy was
\nquiet a moment. He knew what she meant by unexpected, for here he was walking the
\nilluminated fields of heaven with an angel.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo Bear\u2019s
\nlost?\u201d He asked.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn a manner
\nof speaking.  But he\u2019s looking for
\nyou.  And he\u2019ll find you, you can count
\non that.  He\u2019s a clever dog.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDo I have
\nto just wait for him to find me? Couldn\u2019t I look for him too?\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d
\nsaid the angel, \u201cin fact, your love for him acts as a beacon.  Through the hazy distances of memory and
\nthrough the corridors of his love for you\u2014he will find you.  He will come.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

The angel
\nplaced her hand around his shoulder and pulled him closer.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKeep
\ncalling him,\u201d she said, \u201che\u2019s listening. 
\nAnd keep being yourself\u2014for it is when you are being yourself the most that
\nyou attract your beloved.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDo you
\nsuppose he\u2019s upset that I left him?\u201d asked the boy, his voice catching in his
\nthroat.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTry to stop
\nthinking about it like that,\u201d the angel answered.  \u201cYou didn\u2019t leave him.  You made a choice.  After the accident, when the Great Light
\nasked if you wanted to remain here, you said yes, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut I
\nshould have never said yes.  I was being
\nselfish.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSelfish?\u201d
\nsaid the angel, \u201cSo you had the opportunity to stay here, in heaven, away from
\nthe sickness that surrounded you, and you call that selfish?\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s<\/i> there though.  I left him there and you know how daddy
\ntreated him.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYour daddy
\nis a different man after the accident. 
\nYour choice to stay here has changed him.  His heart broke in just the perfect way as to
\nlet the Light in.  He will never mistreat
\nanyone or anything again.  He is a new
\ncreation.  And if you would have gone
\nback, he would still be steeped in his disease, so no more talk of being selfish.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut what
\nabout mom?\u201d said the boy.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t
\nthink she\u2019s been born again watching your father be born again?  You don\u2019t think she\u2019s a better person
\ntoo?  Your choice to stay here has
\nchanged them both.  There\u2019s hope for them
\nnow.  They are helping thousands of
\nfamilies with their project.  Many, many
\nlives will be saved as a result of their<\/i>
\nchoice to build upon your <\/i>choice.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOK, OK,\u201d so
\nI\u2019m not selfish, but I still want Bear.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d
\nsaid the angel.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t
\nstop calling for him until he finds me,\u201d said the boy.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOr you find
\nhim,\u201d said the angel.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll keep
\npraying too,\u201d said the boy.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou are
\npraying,\u201d she said, \u201cwith every step and tear and word you are praying; by just
\nbeing yourself\u2014living the way you are living here in this world of Light and
\nUse\u2014you are praying.  Don\u2019t ever worry
\nabout not praying.  Everything you do is
\na prayer, Dear Brave Heart.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

And with an unfurling
\nof wings she was gone.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

He stood in
\nthe river of white shining grass and started calling again for Bear.  All day he called and walked in the bright field–calling,
\ncalling for his beloved Bear.  He walked
\npast ponds and fields of wild flowers dappled with bees and butterflies.  He walked past palaces and through forests of
\nredwoods that towered into the sky of heaven.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

And just as
\nhe was going to give up for the day, he heard angels singing.  He spun around.  When the angels sing that<\/i> song\u2014the welcoming song\u2014there is a new arrival.  The last time he heard it his great Aunt Ivy
\nappeared.  He ran towards the sound, for
\nwhen heaven rejoices at a homecoming, the sound is indescribably wonderful, and
\neveryone drops what they\u2019re doing and comes running to be a part of the
\nwelcoming of another soul home.  As he
\nran he forgot about Bear and instead thought about how happy whoever it is will
\nbe to have returned to their dearest, truest loves.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

When he reached
\nthe center of heaven he stopped.  He
\nshook his head.  He was stunned.  The hosts of heaven, the Great Light, and every
\nsoul from every part of the celestial world had gathered around something
\nsitting in their midst.  <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

It was a
\nblack and white shaggy dog.  <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBear!\u201d He shouted.  And at the sound of his name, Bear took off
\nrunning–fairly galloping over the snowy white grass.  He leapt into the boy\u2019s embrace knocking them
\nboth into a tumble of fur and laughter.  <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

The boy held
\nhim, weeping on his neck.  Bear panted
\nhappily, licking the boy\u2019s face with big, sloppy kisses.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

His angel
\nmoved towards them, smiling, singing.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t
\nknow they sang the welcoming song for animals too,\u201d laughed the boy with his
\narms still around Bear.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll souls,\u201d
\nshe said, \u201cwe sing for all souls.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen will I
\nlearn the welcoming song?\u201d He asked, sniffling and rubbing Bear behind the
\nears.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNow that
\nBear\u2019s with you,\u201d she said, \u201cyou are complete. The welcoming song is within you
\nnow\u2014part of your own voice.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s
\nwhen he felt his shoulder blades change their shape.  They extended out and upwards, back and open;
\nand a certain, splendid heaviness sprouted painlessly in two directions. He
\nopened and closed his newly sprouted wings as he stood, keeping his hand on
\nBear\u2019s head. He smiled at Bear and at the angel and began laughing the laugh of
\neternal joy.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

****<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Kneeling by
\nthe side of the road, the police officer put his hand on the side of the dog\u2019s bleeding
\nhead.  \u201cHe\u2019s gone,\u201d he said.  \u201cThere was nothing you could do.  Don\u2019t blame yourself.  It\u2019s dark. 
\nHard to see.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe just
\njumped across the road,\u201d the woman said, sniffling and throwing her hands up in
\ndespair.  \u201cHe was running like he was looking
\nfor something. I didn\u2019t see him until it was too late.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI
\nunderstand,\u201d said the policeman, \u201care you sure you\u2019re alright?\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d she
\nsaid, and then she slowly tilted her head and looked up at the stars.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDo you hear
\nthat?\u201d she asked.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nasked the policeman.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSinging,\u201d
\nshe said, \u201cI hear singing.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Copyright Joseph Anthony of the Wonder Child Blog<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I originally wrote this story almost two years ago for my friend Jean Raffa.  For some reason I never published it.  Recently I heard about a new friend who lost a beloved pet and is moving through her grief, and I remembered this story.  So I decided now is a good time. This story isn’t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}