Spiritual Experience in 1985

Evelyn was a non believer, agnostic really, negative about anything ever getting better in her life, until something changed all that and two days after her funeral, she came to see me!

It was 1985, living in a small town in Northeast Texas, away from the sububurbs of Dallas. We moved there in 1981, right after my husband had become a fire fighter, we decided that we could move away from the big city and raise our only son, 3 at the time and my husband would travel 80 miles a day to work and paint houses part time and I could quit working and stay home. We found a small old frame house in a very small town with a population of 800. The house was about 70 years old and in need of a few small repairs. Only after couple of days of moving in and getting utilities turned on and mail delivery set up, I had a daily welcoming, curiosity committee of Senior citizens coming and going to our house to find out who we were. To make a long story short, next door to us, about 50 feet away, lived a family, elderly in their middle to late 70's ,Evelyn and her husband Elmo and their mentally and physically challenged 30 year old daughter Elaine. They had another daughter, Evangeline, in her 40's, living in Austin as a school teacher, single and came home to see her family once a month.

Evelyn and Elmo had the prettiest yard in town! Evenlyn had a gift for growing flowers and Elmo had a garden in the backyard that could grow anything! They didn't have much money at all, but didn't worry and got by the best they could under their circumstances with the 24/7 nursing of Elaine.

I was married to a very controlling man, that insisted that I stay home and take care of our kids and forget about going to college or working in the outside world. I was so lonely and bored, so I babysat at home and had 8 kids all day and after school and made a little extra money for my own spending.

In 1985 I had a son 7, another son 2 and a new born baby girl. I was still babysitting, going on 4 years and had elderly neighbors who adored my children and thought that having a young woman my age who was stuck at home most of the time, was the best thing that ever happened to them. They met me for daily gossip at the mailbox, came over without calling, walked in the house without knocking and loved to share old wives tales and recipes with me.

Evelyn and Elmo adored my kids more than anyone and even though they didn't have much money and never asked for anything, we were very close and I did whatever I could to help them be happy. I baked cookies, played their piano at their house while they sang old gospel tunes, mowed their lawn for trade in order to mow mine, etc. They would bring my children a Birthday card and candy over for their Birthdays and you would have thought my children were their grandchildren. Very Sweet people and I miss them dearly!

One summer weekend in 1985, the neighbors oldest daughter Evangeline came to visit. Evelyn had called me and wanted to let me know that her and Elaine were going to ride 17 miles into town to get a hamburger with Evangeline and asked me to check in on Elmo for an hour or so till they got back home. Well about 2 1/2 hours later, Elmo called me and said Evelyn was in the hospital and that they had a wreck and Evelyn broke her arm. Turns out, Evelyn was riding in the back seat in order that Elaine, her handicapped daughter could ride and get in and out of the car better, if she was sitting in the front seat. Evangeline was driving and turned around in order to get a towel from her mother because Elaine got sick in the front seat and before she could over correct her car, Evangeline lost control and they went off in the ditch and rolled the car. Evelyn was the only one without a seatbelt on because being over 300 pounds, it was too uncomfortable for her to struggle with and she thought sitting in the back seat would be ok without a seatbelt.

Evelyn hit her arm up against something hard in the car while it was rolling and broke her arm. Evangeline and Elaine survived with a few minor bumps and bruises. Evelyn came home with a cast on her left arm, crying and upset. I went over to the house with flowers and a card and homemade cookies to cheer her up. I asked her if her arm hurt and don't worry, I would help her with whatever she needed, as much as I could with having 3 kids of my own and 8 kids I babysat.

Evelyn was very outgoing with her flower beds and sewing and didn't let anything stop her from daily chores and wasn't too concerned about all that. It wasn't the fact that Elmo would have to help around the house more and he was a cancer patient at home, so they asked Evangeline to come stay with them to help out and take Elmo to Oklahoma every week for Chemotherapy treatments. Evelyn and Elmo had alot of pride and never asked anyone for anything. They didn't have much faith in God, for their outlook was just surviving and getting by until they died and Elaine could go live in a home with what little inheritance and insurance money they had.

Evelyn pulled my neck down after hugging me for the cookies, card and flowers and the offering of help that they refused to accept. She then whispered to me that" she knew she was going to die." Well, I didn't want to hear that or let her think that and be depressed, so I tried to reassure her that she would be fine. Poor Evelyn wore that heavy cast, for 6 weeks, counting the days until she could get it off and the doctor said it wasn't healed yet and that she should wait two more weeks and then x-ray it again. Well, two weeks later, excited to get rid of the cast, the doctor told Evelyn and Elmo that Evelyn's arm was broke in half and that they would have to do surgery. Their only option was to take a peice of bone off of Evelyn's hip and fuse it together in her arm in order for it to heal. Surgery was scheduled for two days later, but to Elmo's dismay, it was the same day he was to go to the Veteren's Hospital in Oklahoma to have Chemotherapy and couldn't be with Evelyn during her surgery. The oldest daughter loaded up the car, wheelchairs, sister, parents and all and took her mother(Evelyn) to the hospital in the next town, said their "see ya later's" and went on to Oklahoma for the day. They figured when they got back, Evelyn should be out of surgery and be home in a couple of days. They had me to wait for a certified package to come in and I stayed home with my kids and the kids I babysat, waiting by the phone, while another elderly neighbor went to sit in the waiting room. Mrs. Meyers was 80 years old, still driving, went to church, kept a garden and had the strength of a pioneer woman on enough hormones for every old lady on the street!

Evelyn's surgery was schedule for 9:00 am that morning and she suddenly insisted that Mrs. Meyersfind her a phone that she needed to call me. When the phone rang, I just knew it was Evelyn! Strange, but knowing that Evelyn was a good 300 pounds, going under anesthisia, she wouldn't survive this surgery. I prayed so hard, and even harder knowing that Evelyn was Agnostic.

Something that morning told me that things were going to change and something was wrong. When I aswered the phone and heard Evelyn crying on the other end, it just reconfirmed my anxiousness of what was to come. Evelyn said " Diana, I need to come up here and get me." " I'm too fat for this surgery and I just know I'm going to die." " It's not that I have alot to live for since Elmo has cancer and taking care of Elaine is hard to deal with, it's the fact that I don't believe in God and I don't want to go to hell."

I cried as quietly as I could, reassuring Evelyn she would be ok, knowing Evelyn was right about not surviving the surgery. I felt so sorry for her, yet understood what she was saying and feeling. Who was I kidding? Not this strong lady who had a desperate cry for help.

I explained that I couldn't come up there, prayed for her, with her permission on the phone and told her I would see her later. She made me promise that I would see her again. God I felt bad!

Well, an hour later, Mrs. Meyers called me and told me that Evelyn didn't make it. She went to sleep and died within 30 minutes of being under. Her heart had alot of Cholesterol around it and she didn't know it during her pre-op visit and I don't why to this day, the doctor didn't check it out.

A few hours later, Evangeline, Elaine and Elmo came home. I looked out the kitchen window, window up, standing there for a while crying and reminising about the beautiful flowers Evelyn had out there, and how she would never again wave to me when she saw me in the window washing dishes.

Elmo got out of the car with a few groceries, a suitcase and walker. For some reason, I figured they would go by the hospital to check on Evelyn before coming home. Elmo came over to my house to get his certified package and saw me red faced and red eyed and knew something happened to Evelyn. He hugged me in silence and I told him how sorry I was that Evelyn had died. Well, they didn't know about her until I told them. I didn't want to be the one to tell them.

That week, they planned the funneral, asked my husband to be a poll bearer and buried Evelyn in the small town cemetary. I could have gone to the funeral, but asked them to forgive me for not feeling like seeing her like that.

Two days later, I was standing at my kitchen window, thinking about how I needed to do laundry, bathe the kids, cook supper, trying to get the rest of the organized in my mind and releive my husband from watching the kids in the livingroom....and in the middle of August, 116 degrees outside, I suddenly felt a small breeze, a strange coolness for August. Well just as soon as I looked up, I saw Evelyn's apparition, right up in my window, her wearing that same old faded blue house dress she wore alot, waving at me and said "Hi Diana".

Eveyln had come to see me again, smiling and excited! I was so startled in that three second, unexpected visit, that I screamed, dropped my dish wrag, and ran as fast as I could to the living room!

My husband asked me what in the world was the matter and said I looked like I had seen a ghost! I said" I did!" I told my husband about the whole three second episode and what I was innocently doing and thinking when I got the unexpected visit.

He didn't beleive me, but I didn't care. I knew it happened and I still get goose bumps when I think about it or tell about it. To this day, I can still see her there, the expression on her face, that old blue faded dress she wore,her voice telling me "Hi" and how happy she looked, with no broken arm or cast on. I still talk to Evelyn and now and again and ask her to forgive me for not being there for her. Elmo died six months later from cancer and Elaine went to live in Austin near her sister in a nursing home.

As for my non-believing husband, I've had other experiences with spirits and premonitions that I could keep to myself, knowing I could use them to help people, that finally convinced him.

I know Evelyn forgives me and comes to see me once in a while. I know because she wore baby powder alot from sweating and she always wore alot, being so big and no air conditioning. When she was alive and hugged me, I would smell that baby powder. Sometimes I will smell it pretty strong out of nowhere and I know it's Evelyn hugging me, being one of my guardian angels. I am so blessed!Thank you God for healing my friend and neighbor!