That day had seemed perfect to her in many ways. A warm glow from the late August sun held the chill from an early approaching autumn, at bay. Small chattering groups were gathering near her home on the hillside and excitement was rising in the flamboyant little beetle. She so loved to be surrounded by people, but as she gracefully flitted through leaves and around neatly arranged bouquets of fragrant blossoms it seemed rather odd to her that despite her brilliant scarlet and black ensemble, she went virtually unnoticed.
As the crowd quieted, the lovely little lady looked on. She noticed deep shadows falling despite a cloudless blue sky and as she paid closer attention she heard a lone saxophone lamenting in a rhythm meant to soothe broken hearts. One woman in particular seemed unbearably distraught. The ladybug had never felt this feeling before and suddenly wanted to escape until she heard a gentle voice on the breeze whispering through the nearby forest grove. "Please wait for her," it pleaded. "She'll return before the snow flies."
The little ladybug had heard about 'the Voice' before. Her elders told elaborate stories of the glory days when Ladybugs earned their time-honoured name. It was said that in the Middle Ages insects were destroying the crops and when the farmers prayed for help, Mary the Mother of Jesus called on the red and black ones to answer their prayers. In gratitude the farmers named these helpers, "The Beetles of Our Lady". Eventually 'Ladybug' was the name that stuck and now she had heard the call herself.
It was early afternoon when a car pulled tentatively into the hillside parking lot. The leaves were gone now and the spiky grey branches on barren trees made the place feel so desolate. As the driver opened the door, she pulled her coat tightly around herself. It wasn't the chill in the air so much, as the fact that she was there to see her husband's tombstone for the first time.
When she walked this pathway the last time, she was surrounded by loved ones. This time she took the journey alone, with only a camera in her pocket, so she could send a photo to those who lived on the other side of the country. She lingered a while with her face to the wind, allowing it to dry the salty tears that trickled down both cheeks and when her eyes cleared, she turned to admire the stone. "Everything he deserves," she thought as she snapped a photo and hurried away much quicker than when she arrived.
She couldn't face downloading the photos immediately. It was just a bit too much to bear for one day, but her courage returned early the next morning and with a few clicks of her mouse there it was, an elegant tribute to the man she loved so dearly.
Everything that happened in the past year came rushing back to her and she was flooded with emotion. She just couldn't stop missing him and longing for something to reconnect her to everything they shared. As she sat staring into her computer screen, focusing intently on the details of the stone, there seemed to be an odd marking beside the date. As she zoomed in closer and closer, the tiny little ladybug revealed herself.
"Are ladybugs good luck?" she Googled frantically. In an online article by Angel Therapist, Dr. Doreen Virtue Ph.D. she received her answer. "You can be sure that heaven's sending you a loving message whenever you find ladybugs in unusual locations...The angels say, 'Ladybugs, like hearts with wings, are our love-letter carriers from Heaven above.'"
We are energetically connected to all of Nature and cultures worldwide consider animals and insects messengers, bearing news from the etheric realms. If we take the time to watch and listen, Nature Spirits are always ready to deliver exactly what we need to hear and through them the Divine will provide guidance and reveal the wisdom of life's mysteries. (Ted Andrew's book Animal-Speak is a wonderful reference for what Nature's wonders are telling us when they show up in our lives.)
In loving memory of my 'favourite cousin' who left this plane for what I know in my heart is way cooler place :) on August, 22 2009. I miss you!
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Biography
