WONDERS FROM HEAVEN Chapter 1.

My Mom – Else Margrethe Gunhild Emmely Madsen (nee Rasmussen

I believe that sometimes we have experiences that is “hard to explain” without admitting to ourselves that there is a higher power that is beyond our understanding. 

As many people express it:  There is more between Heaven and Earth.

Over the years I have had a few of those and have been encouraged by some of my family members to share them.

I have decided to call all of them Experiences from WONDERS FROM HEAVEN. 

They will not necessarily be in DATE order

This is my first story:

Keld and I immigrated from Copenhagen to Canada leaving November 25^th, first sailing with “Batory” to Quebec and then three days on train to Edmonton, Alberta where our friends Dick and Arvella picked us up.

After living in Lethbridge for 6 months we moved to Kinnaird (now amalgamated with Castlegar) July 1967.

We were extremely poor. We looked for bottles to sell for our food. We could not afford to buy real milk for our baby Harly.

Nevertheless, in 1968 we bought a music store “Columbia Music” in Trail, BC – on 100% credit – from an old Italien – Isadore Lazzari – who apparently trusted us, because we did not own a dime.

We managed, but it was really tough, but with Keld’s trade as aa piano tuner we were able to make a living but had to watch every penny.

After a couple of years, we moved the store to a more trafficked area on the same street. The store was bigger and with a full basement, so we had room for pianos and then we started to offer guitar lessons. Nevertheless, we were still struggling.

There was one month when we were short of $20 to pay our rent that month.  When the day came, we were worried that we would take in enough money to pay the rent by end of the day. Well, inexpiable to this day, there was $20 laying by our entrance door when we came to the store.

Can you explain that?

But that was not the only thing happening.  In early February 1970 I felt I needed to go and visit my Mom. I spoke to Keld about it and we both agreed that the money was just not there, especially since I would to bring our now three year old little Harly. 

Linda, who by then was 13 years old, would stay behind and help Keld in the store after work.  She was actually quite capable of taking care of the store for a couple of hours when Keld had to tune a piano.

So we tried to put it out of our minds about me going to Denmark, but it kept coming in to my brain so Keld and I tried to find out “how we could do it, and I went to the travel bureau to book a trip for Harly and I. We decided on June 10^th.

I would not have to pay for Harly, but she asked me if he was traveling on my passport?

Well, I had never thought about that at that time. I still had a Danish passport but Harly was born in Calgary and needed a Canadian passport.

The lady at the travel bureau told me it normally would take 3-6 months to get a passport.  At that time, you would have to apply for a passport through the travel agency.

I asked her if she could “speed it up”.  She said she would try, and we did get the passport for Harly, after three weeks, so I asked her if she then could change my flight time so I could travel to Copenhagen earlier than the 10^th of June. She tried really hard, but was not able to get any seats for us before 7^th of June.  I thought that was useless to pay extra for having the flight moved three days ahead, but Keld and I decided to do it anyway. So Harly and I flew to Copenhagen on Friday June 7^th.

I thought I would surprise my Mom and did not tell her we were coming, before I arrived in Copenhagen. I phoned her from Kastrup airport and she was so surprised – and happy - when I told her that Harly and I would be at her place in Hillerød within a couple of hours.

My Mom lived in a very small -one room – apartment (no bedroom), but my Mom’s motto – which I adopted later in life – was always “If there is room in your heart, then there is room in your house”.  We never thought about “if we had room” when people announced that they would be coming to visit you. We “made room”, even if it meant that guests were sleeping – happily – on the floor.

Nevertheless, my Mom gave me and Harly her bed to sleep in and she slept on her little couch where the “arm-seats” could be pulled down to a bed. It worked out.

I asked my Mom, if my very good friends Lizzie and Pall Nolsø could come for dinner Sunday afternoon and she was more than delighted to make a dinner for us, so they arrived, and we had a wonderful dinner.  (My Mom was an awesome cook – who by the way inspired me to love cooking).

Our best friends when we lived in Denmark.   Lizzie and Pall Nolsø. - We lived just above them in Husum.  Linda’s best friend was their son Christian Nolsø

After the dinner I wanted to walk Lizzie and Pall (we called him Pot) down to the road.  My Mom lived on 2^nd floor (which was called 1^st floor in Denmark) and the first floor was called “Stuen”. Lizzie, Pall and I were standing on the street and waved to my Mom, who had opened the window to wave to us.

I said goodbye to Lizzie and Pall and went upstairs. As I opened the door I kept talking to my Mom – who had already made her bed – on the couch and was laying there. I am sure she was worn out from the day.  Us Danes we visit for hours when we get together.

I could not understand why she did not answer me when I spoke to her and I asked her “Mom, why are you not answering”?

Still no answer, so I walked over to her couch and noticed that her eyes were rolling in her head.

I totally freaked out.

Harly was sitting on the bed in his Pajama.

I ran in to the neighbor. (It was an apartment building where there were three apartments on each floor) Well, I was lucky that the young couple were home. They called the ambulance and took Harly, while my Mom was rushed to the hospital.

I totally freaked out.

They rushed her into emergency and closed the door on me and told me to wait in the waiting room.

I waited 10 minutes when the doctor came and told me “that my Mom had passed away from a stroke”.

I totally broke down.  She was only 62 years old.  Why?

Then I started to feel guilt.  I asked the Doctor if it was my fault by surprising her with me coming from Canada.  He reassured me that it was not, but unfortunately, I blamed myself – for years – for my Mom’s death, and even today 2019 I am still wondering if I caused my Mom’s death, but…….

If I have to look at it from a different perspective - was it then “A Wonder From Heaven”?

Why did I suddenly in February feel that strong of “Urgency” and that I needed to go home?  I had not been home in Denmark since Keld and I left 1966.

Why did I feel I had to move my trip three days ahead from June 10^th to the 7^th?

At that time my oldest sister Inge Lise lived in same town as my Mom, and Birgit lived in Copenhagen and still I came 6000 miles away and was the last person with my Mom? Why?

Inge Lise was shocked when I phoned her from the hospital and told her that Mom had passed away, and so was Birgit. We were all wondering “Why would I be the last one to be with Mom”?

As I look back now, I believe it was one of those “WONDERS FROM HEAVEN” and one of the experiences that has strengthened my testimony “that there is God” who looks after us.

All we have to do is to leave our lives in his hands.

Vibeke Lindhardt

26 June 2019