Do You Believe? In Ghosts? In Spirits?

I recently read the book, The Sweet By and By. The book was about afterlife, believers and non-believers, spirits, ghosts, spiritualists and frauds. I wasn't sure I wanted to read about all of that, but am now glad that I did. It actually turned out to be a book about love, loss, death and grief. A really good book. It made me think of 4 stories that I would like to tell. So here they are:

Story #1 - My ex-husbands Grandmother: She was very old and we knew her time was near. She was still living in her own home, with a daughter living next door who checked on her regularly. One morning she told her daughter that John had come to see her that night and they had talked. John was her husband who had passed away many years before. The next morning she told her daughter that the night before she had seen Elder outside her window, looking in. Elder was her son who had passed over several years before. A few days later grandmother passed too. It made me wonder if her loved ones were really there waiting to greet her when her time came.

Story #2 - My Dad: He passed away in 1982. In 1987 we moved into the house that he and my Mom had bought when I was 5 years old. He had died in his bed, in his room, in that house. One day I was standing at the kitchen sink which had a window above it. Out of the corner of my eye I saw someone standing outside. I quickly turned my face so I could see who was there. But they were gone. A feeling filled my body that said it was my Dad. I saw that same figure several more times in the next few months. It always put a smile on my face as I thought he was watching over me.

Story #3 - My Brother Glenn: Glenn was a great brother. I always thought he had the perfect life. He was very handsome, had a great job, a lovely wife and 2 sons. He seemed to do everything right. He ran 5 miles a day, didn't drink or smoke, didn't over eat, etc. He started feeling bad and was soon diagnosed with cancer. He didn't last long after surgery and chemo treatments. He knew his cancer was fatal, so he made all the funeral plans so his family wouldn't have to. He wanted a closed casket at his service. While I was sitting in the church, listening to the preacher, I suddenly saw Glenn. He had on his jogging suit and running shoes. He had a smile on his face and was running through the air in front of me. Later the family met at his house to visit. I told my sister-in-law what I had seen. She told me that one of Glenn's requests while planning his funeral was that he not be buried in a suit. He wanted to be wearing his running clothes. I knew then that I really had seen him.

Story #4 - Jesse's Mother: His mother died after a long fight with breast cancer. The night after her funeral Jesse stayed at her house, in her room, in her bed. In the middle of the night he woke up to see his Mom standing at the foot of the bed. She picked up the covers and placed them over Jesse, and then she was gone. He felt that she was still taking care of him.

I don't know if these were hallucinations or wishful thinking. Maybe we really saw our loved ones. I guess we'll never know till our time comes to pass over. I do know that death is not the end for us. Its the new beginning.