Stories of Validation -
Lynn Hoff-Hollahan and her son, Devon
Devon Hollahan

I know that no parent expects their child to die before they do.  When it does happen, I’m sure we all go through the same feelings.  ”Why me?” “What did we ever do to deserve this?”  “Will our family and marriage survive this tragedy?”  Our family also went through all these feelings in the beginning.  However, it was soon evident to us that our son’s death was going to bring us an adventure we never thought possible and would shake up our family’s belief system.

Devon was having the time of his life in 2009.  He graduated from college, moved to Prague, was teaching English to both children and adults, and had a wonderful support system and group of friends.  Life can change in an instant, however.  Devon made a decision that would change all of our lives when an acquaintance asked if he wanted to go to Frankfurt to attend a concert.  Somehow, after the concert, the two young men (Devon was 22) got separated and there was no sign of Devon. 

Word spread quickly of Devon’s disappearance and we noticed our world changing right away.  Families who had been estranged were coming together to support us.  Friends we hadn’t heard from in years were calling.  The media appeared at our doorstep to film our family’s life.  People in Frankfurt showed up in large numbers to help search for Devon.  Strangers started calling with suggestions and advice. 

My husband, Jeff, flew to Frankfurt a few days before my daughter and I did to start things rolling on that end.   While Jeff was in Frankfurt, I received a very unusual phone call from a woman named Debra who said she was a “medium”.  At that point in my life, I didn’t even know what a “medium” was.  She said several things that caught my attention right away but the strangest thing she said was “The raven will tell you the answer!”   What was that supposed to mean?  Some bird was going to tell us what had happened to Devon.  I had always been the open-minded person in my family, but even this was a bit far out for me. 

A lot happened in the next couple of weeks.  My daughter, Kelsey, and I headed to Frankfurt where our family was embraced with love.  People called to ask us to come to dinner or spend the weekend with them.  The hotel we stayed at offered us as many rooms as we needed for as long as we needed them at no cost.  The staff brought us gifts or would give us a needed hug.  Devon’s face was plastered all over the city and we would over hear people talking about him. 

Through all of this, Debra, the “medium” kept in touch and continued to mention the “raven”. We also received phone calls from other mediums around the world, including Poland, Russia, Florida and Arizona.  There were two common themes among the mediums, one of which was the “blackbird or raven”.   My family thought I was crazy as I wandered the streets asking the occasional raven if he was the bird that was going to tell me the answer. 

As time went on, it became evident that we would be going home without Devon.  There was some evidence that he might have “fallen in the river trying to get away from someone, or was pushed in.”.  The afternoon before we left I felt a need to go down to the river.  Kelsey stayed at the street level as Jeff and I walked to the riverbank.  It was too painful for us to be together so we were some distance apart.  As I approached the river a strange thing happened.  A raven flew down and landed right next to me.  The bird and I made eye contact.  I looked over at Jeff to see if he was seeing what I was.  He gave me a surprising look and we both just stared at the bird.  I felt a connection to this raven.  Our eyes unlocked and he looked at the river.  I knew then and there that this was indeed my raven and he was telling me the answer. 

Devon was in the river.  It is unclear to me how long Jeff, the bird and I all stayed there together.  It could have been a minute, or perhaps five.  Time was at a stand still.  The raven continued to look at me, then would look at the river.

I decided I needed to go touch the river before I left.  The riverbank was quite high where we were standing so it was necessary to move downstream about 20 feet.  I located four stairs leading down to a small platform where I could touch the river.  As my feet landed on the platform, the same raven flew down to join me.  As I put my hand into the river, the bird took a drink.  At that time, there was no doubt to me that Devon was in the river. 

We proceeded to take the painful walk back to our hotel and to our new life as a family of three.  We walked arm in arm on that dreary, cold, dark German afternoon.  Suddenly, we felt like we had been transported into a movie scene.  Hundreds of ravens started flying from out of nowhere and converged over the three of us and flew towards the river.  Thankfully, we were all there to witness it.   We later found out that Devon’s body was indeed found in the river the next day while we were on the airplane going back home. 

Our adventure has continued for the past four and a half years.  We frequently receive signs from Devon that he is with us.  Mediums have become a big part of our lives and have been a huge blessing to all of us.  We have no doubt that there is an afterlife and we are not afraid of death.  Our family is closer than ever.  We live each day to the fullest and are grateful for not only all the love we are surrounded with, but also the small day-to-day joys that we encounter.  Devon’s death has brought us a new sense of life and what waits for us on the other side.  

-Written by Devon's Mom, Lynn Hollahan 

Mark Ireland and his son, Brandon
Brandon Ireland

Following is a description of two signs that my wife and I received on back to back days just before our older son, Steven got married last month in France. Both instances were clear indicators to us that our younger son, Brandon, who had passed in 2004, was making his presence known and that he would be attending his brother’s wedding.

On May 9, 2014, the day before our son Steven's wedding, we boarded a train traveling from Paris to Tours—the station nearest Reignac, where the wedding was to be held. When my wife Susie first took her seat she looked down at to make sure that the foot rest was up so she wouldn’t trip on it. The foot rest was up and there was nothing on the floor.

A short time later Susie left her seat to use the restroom. When she returned, she noticed a shiny object lying where her feet had just been. She reached down, picked up the object, and discovered that it was a brand new, freshly minted 2014 United States penny.  Neither of us brought any American money, bills or coins—all we possessed were Euro’s. And we don’t believe there were any other Americans near us, as all we heard spoken was French. We felt this “penny from Heaven” was our first sign from Brandon. I’ve heard many people report instances like this with coins being used as a sign from deceased loved ones. People who never previously found coins started finding them all the time.

As it turned out the second sign came on the very next day, but its significance was tied to something we were told on January 28, 2014. Going back to that January date, almost four months earlier, my wife and I had hosted a visiting friend named Mollie who is a psychic-medium. While staying at our home, Mollie shared a message that she indicated had come from our son Brandon.
 
Mollie stated that Brandon was excited about his brother’s upcoming wedding and that he would be present. Further, she said that Brandon would be “Steven’s best man”, although it would be okay for someone else to stand in.
 
On the heels of this, Mollie included references to several specifics things in future tense that later came to pass. First, she noted that “Brandon is showing me that Steven will be wearing a really nice suit at the wedding. It’s not quite a tuxedo, but it’s really close.” Fast forwarding to the date of the wedding, May 10, 2014, Steven did wear a very nice cashmere suit, but it was not a tuxedo.
 
Again reflecting back on January 28, Mollie also stated, “Brandon also makes the point that he is going to be there and he is saying ‘Two O’clock’. Brandon now pulls something out of a pocket in the suit. I believe Steven is planning on having something in his pocket and on his person at the wedding. It’s like a little picture or something—but there is something physical and tangible that you can touch that Steven has on his person. It’s some kind of memento.”
 
On the afternoon of the wedding, prior to the ceremony, one of the young men in the wedding party, David handed me a small box and asked me to open it. David indicated that it was a gift from Liz, a friend who was unable to make the wedding trip. I opened the box and found that it contained six small pins—memento’s, each with a small framed portrait of Brandon and a charm capable of sliding into a suit-coat pocket, allowing Brandon’s picture to be displayed.  The significance of something else Mollie had stated then came to light as well. It was at approximately 2:00 PM that my wife, Susie was first informed of the gift and saw the pins.

-Written by Brandon's Dad, Mark Ireland
Would you like to share a story of validation or healing with other Parents? 

We are all able to heal when we share personal stories about our children with others.  Moreover, everyone benefits from validations that we receive from our children.  We love to hear about them!  If you have a story that you would like to share about your child, please let us know and we will include it in a future newsletter.  Please send it to Elizabeth Boisson at evboisson@yahoo.com  (Due to space limitations, please be sure it is no longer than 1/2 page.) 

Also, if you have not yet done so, please send me your child's full name, Birthday and Angel Date so that I can add him or her to our list of children on our Facebook Site. We pay tribute to our children on their special dates with a favorite photo and a description of their lives.  Please send all information to Elizabeth at evboisson@yahoo.com. 
-Thank you!