When the Mission Ends
This is probably one of the hardest weekly messages I’ve had to write. Last Monday, as I was leaving my favorite coffee shop a recurrent question again crossed my mind: What would happen to my daughter Danielle if her father should pass on? That question had come to me several times over the last week and each time I dismissed it as a conditioned response to too much loss.
It would only be hours before I learned the reason for that recurring thought. Danielle’s best friend Jay called to tell me that Rick, Danielle’s father had died. And he had passed away at around 12:30 … as I was pulling out of the coffee shop.
Fortunately Danielle was not alone when she found her father. She had returned home around 6pm and as was her custom, called his name to let him know she was home. But this time there was no answer. She looked in the kitchen, his bedroom and then out in the garage, where she had last seen him. There Rick lay, on his side, beside the front right tire of his car. He had been changing it because it was flat.
A flurry of calls ensued and soon the police arrived. From the state of his body, he had been dead for hours. In fact he had died within minutes after they had said goodbye as she walked out the garage door to her car.
Receiving the call that evening I was shocked. It was that kind of moment where the reality had yet to sink in and you were in state of well–shock. It couldn’t be real yet your heart knew it was.
How is she going to live without him? I asked myself. They were so close, like two peas in a pod. Not hearing his footsteps going down the hall to the kitchen. Not hearing him say, “Good mornin’ Daniellie!” Yes, it was going to be hard.
Driving home around 1am from Rick’s house I felt Rick’s presence. Why did you leave now? I yelled in anger and pain. She wasn’t ready! But no sooner did I ask than the answer was given.
“My part was done.” He replied. I wanted to argue but I knew it was futile; he was right.
If you read Mission Remembered then you are aware of the part that Rick and Danielle played in the mission. You know the sacrifices they both made. Danielle gave up her mother for nearly 10 years and had to work through the anger and pain, overcoming the desire to end her life, to eventually rise above it all and forgive. Per the mission contract, Rick had done most of the parenting during those years.
Also part of the mission contract, though he had turned away from his role (as we perceived it back then) Rick had reawakened 3 years ago, and Danielle had awakened shortly after. During those three years, as I was working through my grief, he had trained his daughter for her part.
Teaching her to develop her psychic abilities, Danielle had finally reached guides who could help her understand why her parents were apart, and why they had fought so bitterly. With the knowledge she received, she was able to rise above the anger and pain. That was her part and she accomplished it well.
As of the last week or so, our little family was in the best place it had ever been. I have finally emerged from the cocoon of grief and found my joy again. I’m now emotionally available to help her through the worst pain a girl can suffer: the loss of a beloved dad. Knowing that, at least on a soul level, Rick could move on and end the pain.
On that note, the autopsy report revealed that Rick was in a lot of pain during those last few years. He had advanced emphysema and the left side of his heart was dead; solid as a rock, as the attorney reading the report to Danielle, put it. The report also revealed that Rick had suffered multiple heart attacks, but not being one to complain, know one had known. All considered, the coroner said he did not see how Rick had survived as long as he did.
Personally, I feel he was just hanging on. In fact, when asked how he was doing, Rick would respond, “I’m just waiting to die.”
His response left us all baffled but now we understand. Rick knew what we didn’t know. He knew he was close to the end but was hanging on. Once our little family had reached a place of peace, his part of the mission was over and he was free to move on, putting an end to his suffering.
It’s been a week since Rick passed. Danielle is working to pick up the pieces and move on without him. If you feel guided to do so, please send her a note. I’ve included her email address. And instead of sending flowers, consider adding to her donation fund as Rick had no life insurance.