The Warning

We Can Save a Life

The Warning
We Can Save a Life

We all get what I call, whispers. They’re little voices that pop into our consciousness at times. They’re so subtle, we wonder whether we’ve really heard anything.

What are they? What do they mean?

I’ve always had them, even as a child. They can be a premonition of something that might happen; a warning to take immediate action; or just a simple tweak from your guidance on the other side to be aware of something important.

I feel confident in saying, we all get whispers. The important thing is, when we do get one, listen, because there is always a reason for it.

I want to share an experience that involved my youngest daughter, Heather, when she was five.

During summer vacation, my three daughters and I left New Hampshire to visit family in Columbus, Ohio, for a week. While there, we were invited to go on a boat for the day on the Scioto River with my brother, Tim, his wife, MaryAnn, and their four children. The adults would water ski, the children would be tubing.

One by one, before taking their turn, a child was helped into a bright orange life jacket. It had a heavy duty zipper and three plastic buckles that snapped together over the zipper for added protection. There were also two small metal “O” rings at the top of the zipper and two at the bottom. They didn’t seem to have a purpose.

Once lowered onto the huge air-filled tube, the child gripped the handles on either side and held on tightly. With each turn of the boat, the child flew across the wake, bounced on the waves, and being slightly airborne, they giggled with excitement.

Tim was a good, safe driver, adjusting the speed and turns of the boat to the age and ability of the child. Still, MaryAnn and I were like two mother hens, watching over our chicks as each of them took a turn on the tube.

When it was my 5-year-old, Heather’s, turn, she was also zipped and buckled securely into the orange life jacket. But as I was lowering her onto the tube, I heard a loud and insistent whisper:

“Warning! Danger with the life jacket.”

I pulled Heather back into the boat, wondering what to do about what I heard. I told Tim we had to find something for me to tie with. He searched the boat, but found nothing. Then I noticed MaryAnn was wearing sneakers, unlike the rest of us who were either barefoot or wearing sandals.

I asked for the laces from her sneakers. She balked at first, but after hearing my argument for securing the life jacket, based on a very strong feeling, she turned over her shoelaces.

I tied one shoelace through the two metal “O” rings at the top of the life jacket and the other through the two rings on the bottom. There was a lot of grumbling about me being over-protective, but the whisper that had been so insistent was gone. I felt reassured the danger was gone, too.

Again Heather was lowered onto the huge inner tube. I gave her the same caution I gave the others: “Hold the handles real tight and have fun”.

Her ride on the tube also lasted about ten minutes. We watched her bounce back and forth across the wake giggling as the boat turned left and then right. Then Tim slowed the boat and circled around to pick up another happy tuber.

I think I was the only one who wasn’t surprised when Tim pulled her into the boat. The life jacket zipper was blown apart and the buckles had splintered and were gone. The only thing holding the life jacket together on Heather were the shoelaces tied through the rings at the top and bottom.

Did we experience a miracle? Some have said that’s what it was. I credit the warning I got from my guidance on the other side. That whispered warning was what kept her safe.

Whenever you hear a whisper, always listen and follow through. You can always trust your guidance.

Namaste.