I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  I was simply going to what I thought was a lecture about angels.  More importantly I needed a break from my rambunctious children, so I went to the monthly meeting of Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship, an organization of teachers sent around the country to lecture on spiritual and metaphysical topics.    Pre-internet days, traveling teachers and books were the only way to get spiritual information.  How things have changed.

I went innocently to the meeting December 5, 1997.   The teacher was a Medium (someone who can receive messages from loved ones who have passed away) from England named Rachael Salley.  We sang some Christmas Carols and she read the Christmas story from the Bible, all very enjoyable.   Then she started to give messages from the other side.   ‘Hummm, I’ve never seen this before, and this isn’t about angels”.  With an open mind I took in this new experience, for this was before John Edwards, James Van Praagh and the Long Island Medium, mediumship was not widely known in the US.

I was good with it all until the last message.   It was for me.  Wait, I didn’t know anyone who had died and isn’t this supposed to be an angel lecture.       I did know someone who had died, the 10 year old grandson of an acquaintance had passed away the year before of leukemia. I had met him once and had helped organize food for his funeral.  During the message this little boy asked over and over for me to tell his grandmother that he was ok.  After the message I rushed to Rachael and took her hands.  It was an emotional experience for both of us.

When you are asked by Spirit to do something, you better do it or you might not be asked again.   I wanted to be asked again so I knew I needed to deliver the message.   But couldn’t I have gotten a bit easier assignment?   It was not going to be an easy message to deliver and I needed vast amounts of courage.    So the next day I did go to the angel lecture, for the only way I could build my courage was to spend more time with Rachael.  I did get the courage and delivered the message two days later, it was well received and I knew I did what needed to be done.   I couldn’t speak about the experience for years.

I guess I should have known that there was going to be more to this story.   The night before the lecture I dreamed about Rachael.  In the dream she touched me on the shoulder and said “I’m waking up your 500 year old memory”, she then touched me on the other shoulder and said “I’m waking up your 1000 year old memory”.   The day of the angel lecture she and I discovered that I had been born the very same day as her daughter Anne, nine hours apart on opposite sides of the globe, cosmic twins.

I kept in contact with Rachael and had a couple of readings with her over the next couple of year, and I would write to her on my birthday and Anne’s birthday.  I always felt a connection but when she was in town she stayed with her Spiritual Frontiers hostess Tollie.   When Tollie unexpectedly died in 2003 I wrote Rachael and offered to be her hostess so she could continue working in this area.   She accepted my invitation and I arranged  a visit in June.  When I went to the airport to pick her up I wasn’t totally sure I would recognize her, I had seen her so few times.    During that visit we realized how connected we were spiritually.  I became a spiritual daughter to her and she became my cosmic mother.   Nine years and many visits later we are truly mother and daughter, chosen by the heart and destiny.   We have traveled together to England, Egypt and Mexico.  I met her daughter and family in England and feel like a sister to her son.

Spiritual families feel like Home, we need their comfort, support and understanding.   They will never replace the connections to our human families but add a depth of knowing and connection that is dear to our hearts. Recently I have welcomed a few more members to my cosmic family.  I cherish my spiritual family and know that we support each other every step of the way.