A Different Kind Of Service

It has been some time since I have put finger to keyboard to share my Spirit inspired thoughts and I have very much missed the joy of writing, especially for those who have enjoyed receiving and reading my blogs on a regular basis and have been helped by their perspective.

During  the past 18 months I have unexpectedly found myself steered, without advanced notice by Spirit, into a completely different arena of service.

At the close of 2018 there were changes in my Spirit work. Radical and rapid changes that took place like a cascade of stacked dominoes with the speed of a runaway train. These were changes beyond my control, affecting every aspect of my work which came to an almost abrupt halt in the most bizarre of circumstances that could not even be written or imagined.

Unseen Power That Had Guided Me In Perfect Synchronisation

Feedback from clients and colleagues about my work remained positive and kind so all I could do was freefall while keeping my trust in the unseen power that had guided me in perfect synchronisation through the years. Not only on life's brightest sunny days, but also those that felt like I was driving in the dark without headlights, although always delivering me safely to where I needed to be.

In 21 years of dedicated Spirit service this was new to me and It occurred to me more than once that Spirit, with their insight and wisdom, knew that my time and experiences in this life were coming to an end and that it was time to go 'home'

Staring at the diary pages and all of their changes I knew that I needed to find other employment for now, even though there were still a small number of bookings. This was terrifying to me. All I had known for a very long time was how to work for Spirit, and as I started to prepare for job searching it occurred to me that I had not attended an interview for over 25 years - How the working world had changed! It also occurred to me that it might be slightly more difficult now with a CV that might have to read that my work experience over the last 21 years  was talking to 'dead' people, or training others to do the same!

I Was Quietly And Privately Heartbroken

The 'Donna Stewart 'strength that I am happily known for was slipping away from me. I was quietly and privately heartbroken and I had a thousand questions which all led to 'why?' and although I could sense Spirit close to me there was no insight given so I knew that I was not to know, not then.

What kept me going during those bewildering times was reading some time ago that the great, late Doris Stokes walked away from her role as a medium for 7 years after being deeply hurt by a comment made about her after a service. Doris went on to fulfil her desired vocation as a nurse but was injured by a patient and was retired from service. Spirit then guided her back to them at a similar age to myself. It gave me hope that they may have another plan for me.

During this time, my son was also looking for work and one morning I was looking through vacancies online for him, after realising with a heavy heart that there was absolutely nothing I was qualified to from what was available.

And then it happened.

My Senses Were Propelled Into Overdrive

My finger somehow touched my phone in a place that opened up an advertisement for a Funeral Administrator, someone who was needed to arrange funerals and support grieving families. My work for Spirit had given me the experience and skills that were needed for the position and my funeral celebrant work as a Spiritualist was perfect for the knowledge of how funerals were conducted. My senses were propelled into overdrive and I knew in that moment that this was what I was needed to do. This was the answer to my why.

As ever Spirit were at the helm as I was interviewed and accepted, not at the branch mentioned in the advertisement, but 30 miles away in Corby, the place of my birth and where Spirit first introduced themselves to me through extraordinary phenomena in the house in which I was born.

In the months that followed I learned so much from the families who I worked with and supported. I learned about grief, really learned about grief and yet courage in all of its initial stages. I hoped as a medium that I understood and empathised well with grief but to experience it first hand in its newness, rawness, in sometimes desperately heartbreaking circumstances at any stage of life from young to old, gave me a different perspective and appreciation of the emotion and experiences of families before they may reach out to a medium.

My professional boundaries are clearly set and although it is not appropriate to mention Spirit to families, I found the words, if asked, that seemed to give comfort just by knowing that someone else believes them when they say that they have been aware of their loved ones who have passed.

Working Role That None Of Us Could Have Imagined

Due to finish working in funeral care recently as my Spirit work began to return rapidly, and at the same time that I began having thoughts that I had completed my much needed experience which has already enriched my work as a medium, there was just one more experience that I needed to be a part of in that working role that none of us could have imagined. The Coronavirus Pandemic.

As the fourth emergency service this was not a time that I felt I could leave colleagues who were already losing staff members to self Isolation and suspected Covid-19 symptoms, and also the extra families who have needed our help and support at this time.

I know that my first duty of service is and always will be as a medium, and being  a key worker in these unprecedented times is unsettling but I am proud to have a part to contribute to, and will continue to do so for the next few weeks until the world is a safer place once again, and when I believe that as mediums our work will be needed more than ever before.

Until then I will embrace fully all of the experiences with immense gratitude for all that Spirit have taken me through over these challenging, sometimes exhausting but rewarding months, and like everyone on this pathway of learning, will be so much stronger for it.

Stay safe and keep well,

Love Donna.