There is an image pressed into my thoughts today. It is of a little girl, age five, in a knee-length red dress and black patent Mary Janes. She has sandy-blonde hair. The curls bounce from her shoulders as she emerges from the subway onto a New York City sidewalk. The September sunlight envelops her bright forward movement, kissing her cheeks and twinkling her steps. She is carrying a single crimson poppy.

Immediately, I become transfixed. I recognize, somehow, that she is visiting. She was in Heaven. I am overcome with fulfillment and a deep regard for the blessing of our own free will. This little girl re-entered. She died in the attack that took place on September 11, 2001.

But she longed to return to her home away from Home. And so, she chose to be reborn. Her mother holds her hand as they cross the street, vanishing from my momentary miracle. I become distinctly aware that she is not the only one. Every child’s laughter amid bus rumbles and sidewalk chatter calls to my heart. And I wonder, how many are passing through — returning, for another visit, to their beloved NYC?

When I bowed my head in silence, praying for a miracle, I did not see the crimson poppy. Five years ago, I beseeched God to use me for a purpose under Heaven. And God heard every word. I was told that I would be witnessing to the spirits of those passed on from earthly life. And with One Accord, through God’s blessing, they could either choose to return and live again or to stay eternally in perfection. And I now recall the little girl’s glance toward me becoming a knowing of me, and a thank you.

She remembered me. Not enough to know where she had seen me before; the city is a big place. Her spirit carries such deeply recollected love. It is indescribable. Heaven fancied her; the angels didn’t want to see her go. But because God answered my prayer, she has her entire life ahead of her.

…

Today’s Prayer to Passage will be from the daybook ‘Meditations From Conversations With God’ by Neale Donald Walsch.

Today I pray, “Gracious God, What is to know amid deep, deep sadness? What guides us Home when we fear it and see it as the end? Is anything truly lost? Bid Your Heavenly Grace and comfort to us on this day of mourning. All my devotion, Amen.”

September 11:

“Judge not that about which you feel passionate. Simply notice it, then see if it serves you, given who and what you wish to be.”

Religion. Orthodox. Ontology. Distress. Promise.

These are the words that flooded any other response. I am being prompted to look up these words, respectively, and type the definitions. I do what God asks of me.

Religion: noun 1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.

Orthodox: adjective 1. of, relating to, or conforming to the approved form of any doctrine, philosophy, ideology, etc.
2. of, relating to, or conforming to beliefs, attitudes, or modes of conduct that are generally approved.

Ontology: noun 1. the branch of physics that studies the nature of existence or being as such.
2. (loosely) metaphysics.

Distress: noun 1. great pain, anxiety, or sorrow; acute physical or mental suffering; affliction; trouble
2. a state of extreme necessity or misfortune.

Promise: noun 1. a declaration that something will or will not be done, given, etc., by one: unkept political promises.
2. an express assurance on which expectation is to be based: promises that an enemy will not win.

I believe that I am called to love God. And my adversaries are only that, adversaries. I believe that I am called to honor God and in doing so, there is a purpose. I believe the nature of existence transcends all religion, and if the goal is to have others believe what I believe, I am missing the point entirely. I believe that time on earth is short because eternity does not believe in the word time. And I believe, with all my heart, that we will all gather together again, nothing lost, Home at last.