WE ARE NEVER ALONE!!!
This is a true story that occurred in 1994 and is told by Lloyd Glen:
Throughout our lives we are blessed with spiritual experiences, some of which are
very sacred and confidential, and others, although sacred, are meant to be shared. Last
summer my family had a spiritual experience that had a lasting and profound impact on us,
one we feel must be shared.
It's a message of love. It's a message of regaining perspective, and restoring proper
balance and renewing priorities. In humility, I pray that I might, in relating this
story, give you a gift my little son, Brian, gave our family one summer day last year.
On July 22nd I was enroute to Washington DC for a business trip. It was all so
very ordinary, until we landed in Denver for a plane change. As I collected my belongings
from the overhead bin, an announcement was made for Mr. Lloyd Glenn to see the United
Customer Service Representative immediately. I thought nothing of it until I reached the
door to leave the plane and I heard a gentleman asking every male if they were Mr. Glenn
At this point I knew something was wrong and my heart sunk. When I got of
the plane a solemn-faced young man came toward me and said, "Mr. Glenn, there is an
emergency at your home. I do not know what the emergency is or who is
involved, but I will take you to the phone so you can call the hospital." My heart
was now pounding, but the will to be calm took over. Woodenly, I followed this stranger to
the distant telephone where I called the number he gave me for the Mission Hospital.
My call was put through to the trauma center where I learned that my three-year-old son
had been trapped underneath the automatic garage door for several minutes, and that
when my wife had found him he was dead. CPR had been performed by a neighbor,
who is a doctor, and the paramedics had continued the treatment as Brian was
transported to the hospital. By the time of my call, Brian was revived and they believed
he would live, but they did not know how much damage had been done to his brain, nor to
his heart. They explained that the door had completely closed on his little sternum
right over his heart. He had been severely crushed. After speaking with the
medical staff, my wife sounded worried but not hysterical, and I took comfort in her
calmness.
The return flight seemed to last forever, but finally I arrived at the hospital six
hours after the garage door had come down. When I walked into the intensive care unit,
nothing could have prepared me to see little son laying so still on a great big bed with
tubes and monitors everywhere. He was on a respirator. I glanced at my wife
who stood and tried to give me a reassuring smile. It all seemed like a terrible
dream. I was filled-in with the details and given a guarded prognosis.
Brian was going to live, and the preliminary tests indicated that his heart was ok,
two miracles in and of themselves. But only time would tell if his brain received
any damage. Throughout the seemingly endless hours, my wife was calm. She felt that Brian
would eventually be all right. I hung on to her words and faith like a
lifeline.
All that night and the next day Brian remained unconscious. It seemed like
forever since I had left for my business trip the day before. Finally at two o'clock
that afternoon, our son regained consciousness and sat up uttering the most
beautiful words I have ever heard spoken. He said, "Daddy hold me" and he
reached for me with his little arms. [TEA BREAK...smile]
By the next day he was pronounced as having no neurological or physical deficits,
and the story of his miraculous survival spread throughout the hospital. You
cannot imagine our gratitude and joy. As we took Brian home we felt a unique
reverence for the life and love of our Heavenly Father that comes to those who
brush death so closely. In the days that followed there was a special spirit
about our home. Our two older children were much closer to their little brother. My
wife and I were much closer to each other, and all of us were very close as a whole
family. Life took on a less stressful pace. Perspective seemed to be more focused,
and balance much easier to gain and maintain. We felt deeply blessed. Our gratitude
was truly profound.
The story is not over (smile)!
Almost a month later to the day of the accident, Brian awoke from his Afternoon nap and
said," Sit down mommy. I have something to tell you."
At this time in his life, Brian usually spoke in small phrases, so to say a large
sentence surprised my wife. She sat down with him on his bed and he began his
sacred and remarkable story. "Do you remember when I got stuck under the
garage door? Well it was so heavy and it hurt really bad. I called to you, but you
couldn't hear me. I started to cry, but then it hurt too bad. And then
the 'birdies' came."
"The birdies?" my wife asked puzzled.
"Yes," he replied. "The birdies made a whooshing sound and
flew into the garage. They took care of me."
"They did?"
"Yes" he said. "One of the birdies came and got you. She
came to tell you I got stuck under the door." A sweet reverent feeling
filled the room. The spirit was so strong and yet lighter than air. My wife realized
that a three-year-old had no concept of death and spirits, so he was referring to the
beings who came to him from beyond as "birdies" because they were up in the air
like birds that fly.
"What did the birdies look like?" she asked.
Brian answered, "They were so beautiful. They were dressed in white, all
white. Some of them had green and white. But some of them had on just
white."
"Did they say anything?"
"Yes" he answered. "They told me the baby would be
alright."
"The baby?" my wife asked confused.
Brian answered. "The baby laying on the garage floor." He went on,
"You came out and opened the garage door and ran to the baby. You told the baby to
stay and not leave."
My wife nearly collapsed upon hearing this, for she had indeed gone and knelt
beside Brian's body and seeing his crushed chest and recognizable features, knowing
he was already dead, she looked up around her and whispered, "Don't leave us Brian,
please stay if you can. As she listened to Brian telling her the words she had spoken, she
realized that the spirit had left his body and was looking down from above on this little
lifeless form.
"Then what happened?" she asked.
"We went on a trip." He said, "far, far away." He grew
agitated trying to say the things he didn't seem to have the words for. My
wife tried to calm and comfort him, and let him know it would be okay. He struggled
with wanting to tell something that obviously was very important to him, but finding
the words was difficult.
"We flew so fast up in the air. They're so pretty Mommy." he
added. "And there is lots and lots of birdies." My wife was stunned.
Into her mind the sweet comforting spirit enveloped her more soundly, but with an
urgency she had never before known. Brian went on to tell her that the "birdies"
had told him that he had to come back and tell everyone about the
"birdies".
He said they brought him back to the house and that a big fire truck, and an
ambulance were there. A man was bringing the baby out on a white bed and he tried to
tell the man that the baby would be okay, but the man couldn't hear him. He
said the birdies told him he had to go with the ambulance, but they would be near
him. He said, they were so pretty and so peaceful, and he didn't want to come back. Then
the bright light came. He said that the light was so bright and so warm, and
he loved the bright light so much.
Someone was in the bright light and put their arms around him, and told him, "I
love you but you have to go back. You have to play baseball, and tell everyone about the
birdies."
Then the person in the bright light kissed him and waved bye-bye. Then
whoosh, the big sound came and they went into the clouds. The story went on for an
hour. He taught us that "birdies" were always with us, but we don't see
them because we look with our eyes and we don't hear them because we listen with our ears.
But they are always there, you can only see them in here (he put his hand over his
heart). They whisper the things to help us to do what is right because they love us so
much. Brian continued, stating, "I have a plan, Mommy. You have a plan.
Daddy has a plan. Everyone has a plan. We must all live our plan and
keep our promises. The birdies help us to do that cause they love us so
much."
In the weeks that followed, he often came to us and told all, or part of it again and
again. Always the story remained the same. The details were never changed or
out of order. A few times he added further bits of information and clarified the
message he had already delivered. It never ceased to amaze us how he could tell such
detail and speak beyond his ability when he spoke of his "birdies".
Everywhere he went, he told strangers about the "birdies".
Surprisingly, no one ever looked at him strangely when he did this. Rather, they always
got a softened look on their face and smiled. Needless to say, we have not been the same
ever since that day, and I pray we never will be.
