The Birdies

WE ARE NEVER ALONE!!!


This is a true story that occurred in 1994 and is told by Lloyd
Glenn: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 off 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
My little son lying 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. [TEAR...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' 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 woosh, 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
pray we never will be.