After retiring, my mom and dad settled in Florida to escape the winter cold. Of my parents, my mother had always seemed to be less robust. However, it was my father who succumbed to acute leukemia in October 1998. Before he passed, he had made it clear that he wished his body to be cremated, and so we honored his wishes as we planned his memorial service. The service was scheduled on a Saturday 12 days after his passing so that the choir in which he sang for so many years could be present and participate.
I wanted to honor my father with a bouquet at his memorial service. It was clear in my mind that I wanted bird of paradise flowers as the focal point of the bouquet. These beautiful orange flowers with blue tongues truly resemble birds. They grow abundantly in Florida, and my dad had often said how much he admired them during our strolls together. I felt they would aptly represent our time together, as well as my father’s love of birds and all living things.
I called a florist to order this special bouquet that incorporated bird of paradise flowers. I was surprised and very disappointed when the florist denied my request with a rather emphatic “No!” before suggesting another arrangement. Perhaps I should have insisted or phoned another florist, but my grief seemed to sap my desire to fight him on this. I pushed down my disappointment and simply agreed to the bouquet that he suggested.
On the morning of the memorial service, I arrived early to arrange the family photo display. I looked up when I heard someone approaching and was stunned and delighted to see a florist carrying a whole bouquet of bird of paradise flowers! The bouquet had been sent by a friend who wasn’t able to attend the service, so I couldn’t thank her right away. However, when I returned home, I called her and said, “You know, the bird of paradise bouquet that you sent was such a blessing to me. I placed it right on the altar in honor of my dad. I’m curious, though. What inspired you to choose bird of paradise flowers?”
She replied that all she did was request “something tropical”. After I explained the significance of birds of paradise to her, we both marveled at the extraordinary coincidence. That small miracle was like a secret hug that comforted me in the middle of a time of great sadness. Each February on the Sunday nearest my dad’s birthday, I place a bouquet with a bird of paradise flower as its centerpiece on the altar at my church. That gives me the opportunity to share the story once again.
Have you had an extraordinary coincidence like this? If you are interested in sharing your story and having it appear in this column, please send an email to OneVoiceLifted@gmail.com You can contribute anonymously if you wish and can either write your own story or we will arrange for you to share it with us orally; we will write it in your words and publish it after your approval.
There is a thought-provoking beauty in these stories. In sharing them perhaps we will find power in the realization that they happen more often than one person may think.
This monthly column is inspired by the members of Pilgrim Covenant Church