Admittedly, after observing the number of comments that my better half (Grits) has racked up after writing her first post, I (Wits) have been a little apprehensive about writing something new. I’ve discovered that having to nurse one’s pride can lead to paralyzing writer’s block. However, always being down but never out, I’ve decided to act upon some recent inspiration.
Last weekend I had four dear friends from my college days visit me here in Saint Louie. One of them won’t be able to come to the wedding, so they all decided to all come and experience a little Demon Deacon reunion a few weeks early. It was so great to hang with them. Not only did they treat me and Grits like royalty, but my side still hurts from laughing. It was a very special weekend.
As part of that time, I had to suck it up and join my four friends for a trip to the Saint Louis Arch. Visiting the Arch is something that every tourist (understandably) wants to do and every local (who is entertaining them) dreads doing. It was out of pure brotherly love that I decided to accompany them.
Part of the dread arises from having to go to the top of the Arch in these cramped pods, which on a cool day and the right kind of breeze, might be as big as five large industrial sized washing machines. With little light, no air circulation, and five guys in the pod, a four minute trip seemed like half an hour.
Now I’m a little strange. I recognize that. I’m the kind of guy that when driving over a bridge, wonders what it would be like if it collapsed and we all fell into the water. Would I scream? What would be the best way to get out of the car? Would my power locks work?
So naturally, as we were ascending up to partake of the glory of Saint Louis, I shared some thoughts with the fellas. “Can you imagine what it would be like if the power went out and we got stuck up here? It would be pitch black and no air. I wonder if we could pry the doors open? What if I had to go to the bathroom?” You can imagine the banter that followed that last question.
What’s strange is that five hours later, people riding to the top of the Arch didn’t have to imagine any of these things happening to them because the power went out and they all got stuck up there! Was this just a coincidence?
Sure, when riding in such a cramped space, thoughts like mine are not that unique. But on the same day and on the same northern tram? Isn’t that a little odd? Isn’t it strange that just one side of the Arch lost power? I can’t remember that ever happening before.
If you find yourself doubting, consider a few excerpts from my history:
-One time while playing poker with high school buddies, I exclaimed (while my friend was dealing seven card stud): “This is the kind of night I could get dealt four aces and still lose!” Although there were five or six of us playing, I was dealt all four aces! No, I didn’t lose, but do you realize the odds of that?
-I have an uncanny knack for predicting home runs while watching baseball games on TV.
-Many times, I’ll be singing a song as I get in my car and that song will be played on the radio a very short time later.
-I predicted that my friend would go to a certain school to get his doctorate before he had even decided to get his doctorate.
Now these are a little more creepy…
-I was having a conversation with a friend about politics and out of the blue I asked him: “You know, whatever happened to that guy in Uganda… Idi Amin? Is he still alive?” He died the next day.
-One summer, I was working at the lab where my mom is employed. While in her office I mentioned that I hadn’t seen a particular scientist in a long time and wondered how she was doing. That afternoon, while running an errand for my boss, I ran into that same scientist and had a wonderful conversation with her. A day or two later, she passed away.
-More recently, I was at work and thought to myself: “I wonder how many First Ladies are still alive? Which one is the oldest? I bet it’s Lady Bird Johnson.” I went on the web to confirm my hunch and thought nothing of it. A day or two later, Lady Bird was no longer with us.
Consider some family examples,
-My father claimed that there were many times when he dreamt something and it came to pass. As a kid, he dreamt about an advertisement (with a photo of an Indian) that would appear in the local newspaper on a certain day and on a certain page. He told his parents about the dream and sure enough, when that day arrived and they bought the paper, there was the ad… on the exact page and just as he had described it!
-Another time, my father was sitting in the den and had this “vision” of me falling down the stairs. He jumped up and ran to the stairs, just in time to slip his hand under my three year old head and keep it from hitting the bottom stair. I was shaken up a bit from the fall, but okay.
-Because of experiences like this, my father never flew on an airplane… he had dreamt that he had flown on a plane and it had crashed.
-My brother will sometimes dream about having conversations with people that lead to major arguments. When the same conversation takes place in real life, he is sure to not say what he said in the dream to cause the argument… thus avoiding the conflict.
The list goes on and on…
How do we explain things like this? Are they just coincidences? Are they brief brushes with the spiritual realm? Are they just glitches in the matrix?
What do you think? Have you had any experiences like this?
Tom,
I, also, have similar situations happen to me. I’m drawing a blank on thinking of any specific examples, but many times it happens with people. I’ll be thinking about a friend who I haven’t talked to in a while and the phone rings a second later and it is that person calling me. My Mom is the same way. I’ve always considered it to be intuition, but I believe that it is a gift from the Lord. Oh, I just thought of a specific example! One night last January, I was in NC, driving at night with my Mom, my grandad, and my kids as passengers. We were on a desolate 2-lane highway and I started to have a really bad feeling that something was going to happen. My stomach was in knots and I was fearful, but I had no clue why. So, I started praying silently (didn’t want to freak my family out) and just asked the Lord to protect us and keep His shield of angels around us and to divert any harm that may come our way. About 1 minute later, I found myself clinching the steering wheel and fighting my instinct to swerve into the other lane (there was a car coming) because there were 2 wooden blocks strategically placed in our lane exactly where our tires were headed. There was nothing I could do but hang on, and amazingly we never heard a sound. Our tires completely missed it all and it made no sense. Amazing.
Well, I’m adding your blog to my list of daily reads b/c I love it! I told Jared to do the same. We want to hang out soon, but understand if it can’t happen until after the wedding. We’re so excited for you guys!
Here’s what I know: Please don’t ever wonder what’s up with me or anyone in my family. We’re easily accessible anyway (if you’d come over, that is…).
Weird.
Gosh! No wonder Grits gets more feedback! That’s pretty deep! But, I do believe you have a gift. You know, Joseph had that gift. And my sister has had many dreams that have come to pass. The one I remember best of hers was the time she dreamed that I was expecting along with her. She was early in her pregnancy and within a few days I discovered that I, too, was expecting our 1st!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
my wife has some clairvoyant kind of stuff like this, i think we can make too much of it, some are coincidences and some are brushes with the spiritual as you put it, i think, as you know, the bible doesn’t tell us much about this kind of stuff, so i don’t worry myself too much about it
Gday mate
I’ve just dropped Shannon [from DTS] at the airport after having her stay with us here in Adelaide, South Australia for the last 6 weeks. She’s on her way back to the UK [Wales to be precise].
The feedback you’ve got from the others is interesting to me. I agree with Hans on the point that ’some are coincidences’, but his comment that the bible doesn’t tell us much about it is amazing. The scriptures are fuller than a fat man’s pants of dreams and visions. Are we really to be surprised that the spiritual realm breaks into both our conscious and subconscious minds?
Regarding ‘not worrying too much about it’, how bout asking Jesus each time whether He is talking to you, and if you have a responsibility to do something with what you ’see’ or not.
Be free from the fear of consequences. Have courage. If it is a coincidence, ask Him to reassure you. He will. If it isn’t Jesus but another spirit, ask Jesus to remove it. He will. If it is Jesus speaking, ask Him to show you what He wants you to do with it. He will.
It’s pretty straightforward.
I’m so glad to be back in touch with you.
Write soon.
Mark
Hey Tom,
Ive just got to get my two cents in here. You either don’t know or have forgotten the most strange of all the family psychic events. I can’t absolutely confirm the validity of this story, I really want to believe someone made it up, but here’s what I was told: Your Great Grandma on Daddy’s side had a relative who passed away. Shortly after the funeral she started to dream about this person. In the dream her relative kept asking her to help him because he was drowning. Finally when she couldn’t deal with the dreams any more she had the grave opened. Water had gotten into the grave and the casket was covered with water! Believe or not -the choice is yours.
And remember the time, shortly after my Mom died, when I was standing at my desk at work and just knew that she was standing beside me. It was so real that I turned my head expecting to see her. Just a few seconds and the feeling was gone. But it sure was a good feeling.
And I seem to have the ability to “call things up”. By that I mean I can look at a faucet for example and think to myself gee that repair is really holding up well and two days later it breaks again. Or think about someone I haven’t seen in a long time and run into them. Or, like you, what if the car breaks down and something goes wrong with it. So now if I think about something unpleasant I just tell myself not to go there.
See you in a few days in Birmingham!
Love,
Mom