Sister Dulce.
My cousin Kim jumped into the front seat of my car that August morning, wearing her purple Lauren shirt, and a beaming smile. I was driving her to Baton Rouge to see her eye Surgeon for a follow up appointment after her eye correction surgery. As Kim fastened her seatbelt, she proclaimed, “Today is going to be very special. I’m not sure what is going to happen, but something is definitely going to happen, I can just feel it”.
During the drive, Kim told me all about a nun in Baton Rouge named Sister Dulce. She was known for spiritual healings, and some physical healings too. Kim explained that she had tried in vain to get us an appointment to see Sister Dulce, but she thought we should still go to her. She said that if God wanted us to see her, we wouldn’t need an appointment. I had learned to trust Kim’s hunches, so off we went on a wild nun chase.
My mood that day was melancholy, and my heart was full of grief. I listened to Kim’s hopeful idea of running into the nun if it was meant to be. The conversation and my emotion got the best of me, and I didn’t notice how fast I was driving. The next thing I knew, I was walking back to my car with a ticket in my hand. This was not feeling like a very special day to me at all. As I climbed back into the driver’s seat, Kim smiled and said, “It’s okay, that will make us right on time. It happened for a reason, remember timing is everything.”
We arrived at Kim’s appointment 15 minutes late. We walked back to the exam room together. While we waited for the doctor, we both noticed the sound of a dripping faucet. Kim told me that something had been going on with her and water, specifically running water, for the past few days. She felt like the water meant something, but could not figure it out. She got up and turned off the faucet. After her appointment, we returned to the car and set the GPS for Sister Dulce. We set out with excited anticipation.
We pulled up to Sister Dulce’s address. There was a chain link gate stretched across half of the driveway, and signs that read, DO NOT ENTER, and NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Kim and I hesitated. Neither one of us wanted to break the rules or trespass, but something told us to drive in despite the signs. The place was a big construction zone. We found a finished brick building on one end of the parking lot. The building had a beautiful round fountain out front with a sculpture of three dolphins, pointed up to the sky in the center.
We pulled in amongst the other cars, and decided to say a rosary. We began to pray with our backs to the building and the fountain. I turned off the car and rolled down the windows. We had prayed two decades of the rosary when I interrupted Kim. I asked her to find the phone number for Sister Dulce. I felt like we should call because we were so close. As Kim checked her phone, I heard a dripping noise. I started to look around for the source of the water, not realizing it was the fountain. Kim commented, “There’s that water again.”
Then something caught my eye. The front door opened, and out came a nun. I was so excited I could hardly get the words out! “Kim there’s a nun!” She was wearing a white habit and a cooking apron, so I assumed she was a cook. She walked to the edge of the concrete and threw her arms out from her sides, as if to say, “What now?” Kim immediately jumped out of the car and guiltily ran up to the nun, explaining why we were there, “I know we are not supposed to be here, but do you think it would be okay if we just said a rosary in our car?” The nun responded, “Of course, you can always say a rosary, but don’t say it in the car. Come sit by the fountain, where it’s cool. It’s too hot in the car.”
Kim and I got out of the car, and sat on the edge of the fountain with a picture of Lauren in between us. We resumed our rosary where we left off. Just as we began to pray, the nun came up to us. She put her hand on Kim’s shoulder and asked, “What are you here for?” Kim answered, “We heard about Sister Dulce, and we know we can’t see her, but we thought if we could pray near her, we could receive some peace.” The nun looked at us, and smiled a knowing smile. “I’m Sister Dulce.”, she said. Kim was right, we were meant to see Sister Dulce today, and we didn’t have an appointment!
Kim explained that I had lost my daughter Lauren six months ago, and we came seeking peace. Sister Dulce got up and stood in front of us. She took Lauren’s picture in her hands and said “What a beautiful child.” The tears began to roll down my face. Sister closed her eyes and asked God, “What is it Papa?” She was quiet for a moment, listening to her heart. She told us that there was a PaPa that was having a hard time with Lauren’s death. She said that Lauren wanted him to know that she was okay, and that she loved him. She went on to say that Lauren was going through a little bit of a rebellious time. She wanted me to know that she was sorry for the pain. She asked us how Lauren died. Kim told her that it was an accident. Sister said that Lauren was not drinking that night. She said that Lauren wanted to call her Mama, but didn’t want to do it in front of her friends. Then she asked how much brain damage Lauren had sustained. I told her that we didn’t know because Lauren died instantly. She said, “Well, she would have had severe brain damage if she had survived the accident.” She indicated that Lauren would not have been able to do anything for herself. She said that I would have had to feed her and diaper her. “You know she didn’t want to be that way, and you wouldn’t want that for her either.”, said Sister. What Sister said next gave me chills, “She wants you to know that your prayers and candle light helped her get to heaven, Mama. And you are one for the candles, aren’t you?”, Sister laughed. I was flabbergasted! How could Sister Dulce know that I keep a holy candle burning for Lauren at all times? Then Sister put her hand on my heart and prayed the most beautiful prayer. She asked God to take my pain and put it into her hands. I can’t describe the feeling I felt when she placed her hand over my heart. It was a warmth and energy that I felt from the inside. Sister turned to Kim next. She prayed on her eyes and asked God to put Kim’s pain into her hands. With that, she told us to get out of the sun. We thanked her and she turned around and walked back into the brick building.
We stayed to finish our rosary, but could hardly contain ourselves enough to pray. We had been truly blessed, and we knew it. We were amazed by the synchronicity of everything. For us to be there, at that time, when she walked out, was just not a coincidence. We learned that it was out of character for Sister to walk outside unaided on a hot day like that. Her scheduled appointment had just been cancelled, and God had prompted her to walk outside the front door, at precisely that moment. She walked out to the edge of the concrete, not knowing why, until she saw us.
When we returned home, we gathered with friends and family to tell them our amazing story. After the excitement, I walked my parents to the front door. My mom started to cry. She couldn’t even look at Dad and me as she told us what was wrong. She explained that when I called her that night to tell her that Lauren had been in a bad accident, she said a prayer. She prayed to God to take Lauren, and not leave her here to suffer, or have a prolonged death. Mom had been carrying guilt for her prayer of mercy since Lauren died. When she heard Sister Dulce’s words that Lauren would have been brain damaged, it gave her heart some peace.
Dad told us that he and Lauren had discussed death before she died. He told her of his near death experience, and she was very interested. He felt like Lauren’s message was to let him know that death was just like he said it was. It is a wonderful place, and she is safe and happy there.
London received a frog from heaven that day, at about the same time Kim and I were with Sister Dulce. She said a frog fell off the wall and into her lap at school. The girl next to her said, “Look, a frog from heaven!”
Kim and I received a gift of peace that day, and we shared it. I hope that Sister Dulce received a gift of peace that day too, though I know she did, because that is how it works. God is bigger than all of us, and he uses us to share His loving grace with each other.
Tara Rodney
3/7/11