A Whisper That Saved a Life

Listen to them. They Could Save a Life for You, Too.

We've all had what I call, whispers. They're those little voices that pop into our consciousness from time to time with seemingly no rhyme or reason. They're so subtle, we wonder whether we've heard them at all.

What are they? What do they mean? Are they a warning, or maybe a premonition of something that might happen? I’ve always had them, even as a child, and they can be a premonition, a warning, 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 with a whisper that involved my youngest daughter, Heather, when she was five.

During summer vacation, my three girls and I left New Hampshire to visit family in Columbus, Ohio, for a week. While we were there, we were invited to go out 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 seven children would be tubing.

One by one, the kids each took their turn, after first donning a bright orange life jacket. It had a heavy duty zipper and three plastic snap tight buckles that snapped together on top of the zipper for added protection. There were also four small “O” rings, two at the top and two at the bottom on the front, that didn’t have a purpose, other than for looks.

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 feeling slightly airborne, they giggled with excitement.

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

When it was my 5-year-old Heather's turn, like with the other children, I buckled and zipped her securely into the orange life jacket. But as I was lowering her onto the tube, I heard a whisper, loud and insistent.

“Stop! Something is wrong with the life jacket.”

I pulled Heather back up into the boat, wondering what I should do about what I heard. I told Tim 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 gave in and turned over her shoelaces.

I tied one shoelace through two circular 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 being over-protective, but the whisper that had been so insistent was gone and I felt reassured that the danger was gone, too.

Again I lowered Heather onto the huge inner tube, giving her the same caution I gave to the others: "Hold the handles real tight and have fun".

Her ride on the tube, like the others, lasted about ten minutes. Back and forth across the wake as the boat turned left and then right, I watched as she bounced and giggled. Then once more, we slowed the boat and circled around to pick up our happy tuber.

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

Did we experience a miracle? Some say that’s what it was. I credit the whisper I got from my guidance on the other side. Something saved her life.

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

Namaste.

Poet/Writer/Author of 5 books.
Quora Top Writer 2018.
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