Copyright Deborah S. Kauflin, Ph.D.
4-18-24
Have you ever seen an animal appear right as you were missing a loved one who had crossed over? Was there a time when you desperately needed a sign to show you that you were on the right path, and an unusual animal showed up?
These are not coincidences. The animals are spirit messengers. They come to help us in our times of need, just at the right moment. As people grieve for those who they have lost, animals (particularly birds and butterflies) will appear.
I know a woman who lost her daughter in an accident. She was absolutely despondent until something wonderful happened. Every time she went outdoors in her yard and thought about her daughter, two butterflies would show up. Not only would they come in her yard, but they would fly around her head. Both butterflies did this. She wondered if this could be a sign from her daughter.
One day, she got the courage to ask if this was actually her daughter.She said out loud “If this is you Jennifer, please make the butterflies land on my hand.” She sat down by her garden and waited with her hands on her lap, feeling a bit silly for making such a request. To her surprise, the butterflies complied right away, and each one sat on her hands at the same time. The butterflies stayed there for a long time. It was as if they did not want to leave. She cried as she recognized that her daughter was letting know that she was okay and right there with her. To this day she said that butterflies follow her whenever she goes outside.
A man I know was so depressed after losing his mother. He had lost his job and his mother in the same week. He had been very close to his mother who he talked to every day. This man loved birds, and so did his mother. She even had a bird clock which made the sound of bird calls at the top of each hour. They both particularly loved blue jays and cardinals. It was the middle of winter, and the birds were rarely seen at that time. Even in summer, it wasn’t that common to see the blue jays in his yard. As he was doing dishes one evening, he looked out the window and asked his mom for a sign. He felt he couldn’t go on if he didn’t get a sign. He pleaded and cried and told his mother he couldn’t do this without her.
Very quickly, two blue jays and a red cardinal came and sat on his windowsill right in front of him. All three of these birds came at the same time and sat there together. This was not something that happened before or since. He knew this absolutely was a sign from his mother. He cried and smiled at the same time. A sense of peace washed over him. His whole demeanor changed. The next week he got a new and better job, and he is certain his mother played a role in that. He said the birds saved him because he was at the bottom. The sign from his mother lifted his spirit and allowed him to move on. It may seem like such a small thing, but it meant the world to him.
Sometimes animal spirit messengers will show up when danger is around. This next incident happened in the 1980’s. There was a fourteen-year-old girl who lived in rural Iowa on a farm. The farmhouse was surrounded by corn fields. Her parents were away for the weekend. Late in the afternoon, she heard growling. It wasn’t the elderly family dog who was asleep on the floor right next to her. He was very old and slept most of the time. He was also hard of hearing.
The growling went on and on, and it scared her. She peeked outside and saw a coyote circling her house. As it went around her yard, it kept growling and looking back. At one point it stopped and stared at her. Then it went back to circling and growling. The girl became worried and decided to go lock the doors and windows.
Shortly after, she heard loud bangs. It wasn’t long before she realized that someone was trying to break in the front door. At first, she panicked. After all, she was home alone and very young. But then, she got herself together and called the police. As she was on the phone, a man was going around the house trying every door and window to get in. As luck would have it, a neighbor happened to stop by at this time and scared the burglar away before the police got there. The family rarely locked their doors and windows since they lived so far out in the country. If the coyote had not come by and alerted her to danger, the man would have simply walked right in, and who knows what would have happened. Her father had always gotten rid of the coyotes when he saw them. After this incident, he figured as long as they weren’t killing his livestock, he would let them be.
I could go on and on with this topic as animals have played many roles as spirit communicators and protectors. Rare birds will often appear to me when I’m going through a rough time. I have a friend who sees dragonflies whenever she misses her mother. These beautiful creatures let us know that we are not alone. There is more to this world than we can see and touch. Spirits are around us all the time. Often, they want to ease our suffering and show us the way. We must pay attention and listen when we see the animal messengers. They are appearing for a reason. Let yourself open to spirit. They are waiting to talk to you.
Contact deborahkauflin @ gmail.com
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