BLOG: A Message from Laura: Live, Love and Laugh!

April 2019: Many of my clients ask me how to go about determining a special sign from their loved Ones, so I’m raising this personal story from 2013 to the top once again. I’ll be adding some photos to the end of the post over the next week to show some of the unique ways in which my sister Laura has shown me that she’s listening.

December 2013: Many of you knew my sister, Laura. She was the one with the ready smile, a big hearty laugh, and a zest for life. Always ready for an adventure with a mischievous look in her eye, and a “let’s do it” attitude.

I haven’t written much about Laura here on my blog. Why? I’m not sure. Perhaps her passing is still too fresh, too personal, too heart-wrenching to commit to writing. But it’s time, and the story I have to tell is a good one, so I hope you enjoy it.

Laura lived in Minnesota, where I grew up and where most of my family still resides. Sometimes Laura and I would speak several times in a day on the phone, and then there were times when we’d get busy with our lives, and not get around to checking in for several weeks. So, it’s fair to say she wasn’t a constant in my daily life, and as a result, when Laura passed into Spirit suddenly in July 2011, it took a long time for it to truly sink in that she was no longer a phone call away. Perhaps you’ve experienced it: something exciting happens in your life and you want to share it with your sister, your brother, your parents, your friend. You pull out your phone to call them and suddenly you remember…oh, that’s right. She’s gone. He’s gone. They’re gone. And you feel that rush of hurt and surprise tinged with grief, all over again. That’s how it’s been with Laura and me until recently, really.

This story is actually an addendum to The Story of Bobby and Gail, a post from last month. I delivered the Story of Bobby and Gail as a lecture at my church the Sunday before the post went up. As I expected, it was received with love and compassion by the congregation. Afterward, a number of people approached me about helping them find a system to work with their Loved Ones in Spirit and I realized how powerfully important that message of a personal communication system with Spirit really is.

That very night, as I was reflecting on the amazing string of communications from Bobby to me and then to Gail, I started thinking about all the various systems or forms of communications that have come through from my Loved Ones in Spirit as well—many of which I’ve outlined in various of my posts: Marbles from Merle, The Story of Susie, Hi Honey!, The Gift of Christmas Past, to name a few.

That’s when it occurred to me: I did not yet have a specific sign or system of communication with Laura! I knew she was around me and I had received messages from her through other mediums, but I decided that we needed something special, something just between us, like Bobby and Gail had. So I spent a few minutes tracing back through songs, poems, sayings, flowers, colors, etc., anything that might be significant and meaningful for us both.

And then it came to me.

The last time I was in New Ulm, Minnesota, where Laura lived, was in September of 2012. I was staying in a hotel  for a few days with my sister, Connie. For the first time since childhood, we no longer had a home there – our parents had passed a few years prior. Laura had been the last remaining family link to a town that I

have considered my hometown for over 40 years.  Laura’s house would fall to new owners the following week. I had an hour by myself before it was time to leave for the airport, so I did two things: I paid a final visit to the family graves, and then drove back across town to see Laura’s house one last time. The house was empty, and all of her material possessions gone, but there on the front steps were the three rocks that Laura had placed there years prior. On them were the words: Live, Love and Laugh.  How often had I seen these rocks and never considered their relevance in Laura’s life?  Now, however, I reflected on how accurately they represented the intent and values by which my sister lived. These words, I decided, would be our system—the sign that Laura was around and working with me, reminding me to live, love and laugh. So, I said aloud, “Okay Laura, I’ll be looking for Live, Love, Laugh from you. It’s not that easy, but I’m sure you can pull it off.”  Laura was, I should have mentioned, exceptionally psychic ever since childhood, so I was confident in our new system. I just wasn’t ready for the speed with which she would respond…

The very next morning, the contractor overseeing exterior renovations on my house alerted me to the fact that we were going to be short a few lengths of window molding and “would I have time to go to Lowe’s and get more?” Well, to be honest, I wasn’t particularly pleased about this request. Lowe’s was about 30 minutes drive in each direction, so there goes my morning, but what was I gonna do? Stop the construction? Uh…no. So, off I went.

I quickly found the molding and was heading to checkout when I recalled that I still needed a metal floor strip, the kind that seals the floor between two types of flooring. So, I headed over to the nearest sales person and described what I was looking for. He led me across the warehouse and left me to select what I needed from an array of products.  I found what I needed, added it to my cart, and as I turned around to head back to checkout, the display of mirrors caught my eye. Not just because I love to linger over home decor items…but because of what was on the frame of the mirror that had been hanging up directly behind me: Live, Love, Laugh.

Whoa!  It was less than 12 hours since my request to Laura, and there she was, delivering. It was a very powerful moment for me to see the evidence of our pact so clearly and swiftly presented. An audible gasp fell from my lips and then I felt Laura’s love fill my heart, and the tears flowed, and flowed, and flowed…

I hid out there in the far corner of the Lowe’s warehouse for a little while, taking in the power of the moment and literally trying to pull myself together!

I thought about all the things that needed to happen for such a synchronous event…moving forward and backward in time, trying to figure out how it could have unfolded in the way it did. It’s frankly mind-boggling. I keep coming back to the realization that we’re barely tapping the potential for Spirit Communication; I believe we still have much to learn in this area.

All that really matters though, is that we simply relax into the knowing that our Loved Ones hear us, see us, and will do all that’s in their power to demonstrate to us that they walk beside us when we ask them to.

Sarah’s birthday message

Last week was the birthday of Laura’s only daughter, Sarah, who is also quite spiritually “connected.” I knew that Sarah had set up her own system with her mother after reading The Story of Bobby and Gail, so I checked in to see what might have happened on her birthday.

“Oh, it was wonderful!” Sarah began. “I had determined that 3 would be our number, and I’ve noticed a lot of threes lately, but one special moment occurred on my birthday when I was cooking macaroni and cheese, like Mom used to make. When I looked up at the clock on the stove, it was exactly 3:33. I smiled to myself and said, ‘Hi Mom! Thanks for being here with me.'”

It was a perfect, really. Laura had a degree in culinary arts and loved to cook. So coming through to Sarah while she was cooking drew on the energetic connection they shared. Laura also worked at Kraft foods most of her career, and macaroni and cheese was, well,  an obvious tie-in!

As I write this, I can see Laura’s bright smile, hear her laughter ring in my ears and feel her warm sisterly love surround me.

“Live, Love, and Laugh!” she says to me.  With the holidays upon us, and preparations demanding more and more of us every year, Laura’s message is a timely reminder to us all of the truly important things in life: live your life to the fullest, love with all your heart, and let laughter be your healing balm.

Happy Holidays and much love to you all!

~In love and light, Renee

 

 

ADDENDUM / APRIL 1, 2019

i make it a game now with Laura. When I’m really missing her, I simply say aloud, “Okay Laura – I’d love to hear from you. You have a week!” And then I just let it go and don’t give it another thought.  Laura is still very quick about it and generally delivers within 1-2 days. Here are some examples:

A mug…from Laura! The same day I’d put out my request, I was putting away my dishes and held this mug in my hand, thinking about the day I got it. I was in Marblehead, Massachusetts poking around the tourist shops with Laura who was visiting from Minnesota.  We were in a little gift boutique and I heard her exclaim in the next aisle, “Oh look, Nene. What a sweet mug!” She brought it over to show me and read it aloud, “Sisters are Friends Forever,” and then quickly announced, “I’m buying it for you!” Who could argue? I loved the mug and it made Laura so happy to buy gifts

for others.  And now of course, the “Forever” has a very different meaning. 

 

And so, as I held the mug in my hands and appreciated how sturdy and well made it was, I wondered for the first time ever where it was made, so I looked at the bottom. And there it was…a slight variation on the theme, but never more appropriate. “Give. Love. Laugh.”  Crazy, right? It was there all along…

 

 

 

 

 

Wall Decor: I saw this while shopping. I was rounding an aisle end and there it was. I didn’t buy it; it was enough to know she heard me.

MORE TO COME! (I just have to find my photos.)