Articles by Barbara Glanz, C.S.P. - Speaker, Author, Consultant

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AN AFFIRMATION OF HEAVEN!

Barbara A. Glanz, CSP

Praise the Lord for new beginnings! My dear friend, Clyde, died of cancer on December 18. He had been such an anchor in my life this past year especially--I could call him any hour of the day or night when the pain was too great, and he was a wonderful listener and truth-teller. Then Caroline Fendley, another precious friend, died December 20 after a most valiant struggle with a stem cell transplant. And our little son, Gavin, died on December 22 (years ago). As a result, that week before Christmas was a terribly difficult one for me, as I struggled with even more "goodbyes."

Several times in the weeks before he died, Clyde told me that when he got to Heaven, he would send me a butterfly to let me know he was O.K. Each day since, I had been looking and looking for a butterfly. On New Year's Eve, I had decided not to walk on the beach as I usually do in the late afternoon but to take a nap instead as I had worked really late the night before. At the last minute, however, I just felt compelled to walk because that is always the time that I feel closest to the Lord.

After I had walked about a mile, I glanced up into the sky and there, covering nearly half the sky, was a PERFECT silhouette of a butterfly. Oh, how my heart rejoiced! Not only were the tears running down my cheeks, but I had a huge smile in my heart -- Clyde was always a bit of a contrarian, and while I had been looking for a butterfly with its wings outstretched, he chose to send me something completely different, a silhouette! ........And how very precious that he chose to send it on New Year's Eve, a time for all of us of new beginnings.

I could not wait to get home and call his children and Caroline's husband and my children and tell them that WITHOUT A DOUBT there IS a Heaven, and that Clyde and Caroline and Charlie and Gavin are just fine -- and so are all the loved ones of each one of you. I have had several signs from loved ones in the past, but somehow this message from the Lord came at a time I desperately needed the affirmation that God IS there, He is watching over us each moment, and He will take us lovingly home when our time on earth is finished.

BARBARA GLANZ BIO

For free articles you can use in your company newsletters and an archive of dozens of immediately applicable "Ideas of the Month," go to www.barbaraglanz.com. Barbara Glanz, CSP, works with organizations that want to improve morale, retention, and service and with people who want to rediscover the joy in their work and in their lives. She is the author of CARE Packages for Your Customers: An Idea a Week for Customer Service (McGraw-Hill 2007), The Simple Truths of Appreciation: How Each of Us Can Choose to Make a Difference (Simple Truths 2007), What Can I Do? Ideas to Help Those Who Have Experienced Loss (Augsburg Fortress 2007), The Simple Truths of Service -- Inspired by Johnny the Bagger by Ken Blanchard and Barbara Glanz. (Simple Truths 2005) , Balancing Acts -- More than 250 Guiltfree, Creative Ideas to Blend your Work and your Life (Dearborn 2003), Handle with CARE -- Motivating and Retaining Employees (McGraw-Hill 2002), CARE Packages for the Workplace -- Dozens of Little Things You Can Do to Regenerate Spirit at Work (McGraw-Hill 1996), The Creative Communicator (McGraw-Hill 1998), CARE Packages for the Home (Andrews McMeel 1998), and Building Customer Loyalty (McGraw-Hill 1994). As an internationally known speaker, trainer, and business consultant who has a Master's degree in Adult Education, Barbara lives and breathes her personal motto: "Spreading Contagious Enthusiasm^TM." She has presented on all seven continents and in all 50 states since 1995. For more information, she can be reached directly at 941-312-9169; Fax 941-349-8209; email: bglanz@barbaraglanz.com; website: www.barbaraglanz.com.