The Spirit Bird Hand Release

One of the things that attracted me to beginning a white dove release business was the opportunity it would give me to interact with people during BIG moments of their lives. I hoped to have the opportunity to share the love of Jesus with people when they most recognize their needs and are open to spiritual experiences? That sounded exciting!

Recently, when I read about an almost 4 year old boy who died in a tragic accident outside of his home, I decided to donate to the funeral expenses and offer my services free of charge. I thought a dove release could bring some peace and closure to the family. It would give me some motivation to put together a reading about the significance and symbolism of the release and give me some experience speaking at a graveside service.

I spoke to the family about the release – they seemed touched and I began to prepare a reading. Here’s the passage I decided to use:

Otto made his journey to heaven on October 19th, 2008. Though his life was short, it was marked by joy and love. Otto brought a bit of heaven into the lives of those he knew. We only know an imperfect life on earth, but now Otto knows and experiences a perfect, eternal life in heaven.

Otto’s birth brought joy and awakened love in many hearts. Because we were created for eternal life, we grieve death and cannot comprehend it. Though our sadness is overwhelming, we are comforted that it pales in comparison to Otto’s joy at experiencing heaven and meeting his Heavenly Father.

We will conclude Otto’s service by releasing doves. Otto’s Grandpa will hold a single dove representing Otto’s spirit. God chose the dove as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to comfort us as He returned to heaven. As we symbolically release Otto’s spirit to enjoy heaven for all eternity, we invite the Holy Spirit into our lives to comfort us and fill us with peace until that day when we can be reunited with Otto in heaven.

I’m going to circulate through those in attendance so that whoever wishes to interact with the dove, may do so. After this, Otto’s Grandpa will release the spirit dove and it will be joined by a flock of doves which in their beauty and majesty represent the angels escorting Otto’s spirit to heaven.

I spoke with the funeral director and he gave me an estimated start time of 2:00 p.m. The funeral was at 1:00 p.m. in downtown Marysville. We arrived at the cemetery at 1:30 and at 2:15 we were still waiting and watching for the procession. I had a real sense that participating in this service would give the Holy Spirit an opening into this family’s life. I had a lot of nervous anticipation knowing that I invited myself to participate in a very intimate moment of this family’s life and praying about how God might reveal Himself to this family.

I envisioned a small graveside service with a couple dozen people. Instead, I was surprised to see a HUGE line of cars arrive and at least 100 people make their way to the graveside area. There was quite a bit of variety in the crowd – lots of people in their 20’s, several people in their 40’s and 50’s and at least 20 little kids. Their dress ranged from suits and ties to halter tops and flip flops. I was glad to see all of the children and hoped that the doves would bring some comfort and joy to them.

Things did not go exactly as I thought.

To begin with, the crowd was somewhat restless. The crowd encircled the casket with children running and moving about the edges. The minister picked up with where she
left off at the funeral home. She turned it over to me and I faced the group with a single dove in hand. Sensing some distraction in the audience, I ad-libbed a bit and didn’t stick to my carefully crafted script by ditching the first two paragraphs. As I circulated throughout the group, everyone wanted to interact with the bird. The kids really enjoyed that part. Several stroked it and kissed it.

Then I handed the bird to Otto’s grandfather. He nestled it close to his face and with tears streaming down he kissed it. It was very touching and beautiful. The release was dramatic and #345 burst into the air and began to circle, the girls opened the basket and the entire flock took to the air. There were gasps, oohs, ahhs, and cheers. It was a beautiful moment. Well, it was a beautiful 30 seconds.
Maybe it was a beautiful 10 seconds. This is the part where I lost track of time.

The unexpected occurred.

Grandpa fainted and went down flat on his face. He was out cold. The crowd had a variety of responses from surprised expletives to shouts of “Grandpa’s dead” punctuated by much wailing. Basically, pandemonium broke out. The funeral director leaned over and said, “You didn’t know how powerful that was.” I was really confused.
Gradually, Grandpa came around.

At the center of the group, they began to lower the casket into the ground. It was a very emotional time for the family so I decided that it was time for us to slip away.

I really don’t know what to think of it. I’ve mulled over some different possibilities.

The single dove release was just too much for this situation and too emotionally draining for Grandpa.

Grandpa was overwhelmed by the events of the day. He fainted as a result of the sum total of these events. He would have fainted even if he didn’t participate in the release.

Grandpa fainted in response to a powerful touch of The Holy Spirit that occurred when he released the bird and welcomed the Holy Spirit to work in his life.

The final scenario makes the most sense to me. It fits with the funeral directors immediate assessment and Grandpa looked just like someone laid out at the altar. I didn’t get to interact with Grandpa to find out what he thought, but I believe it was life changing.

I know a couple of things:

1. I obeyed God’s calling and stretched past my comfort zone listening to what God wanted me to do without knowing how it would turn out.
   
2. The outcome surprised me.

I’m sure that there are more surprises in store. Things may not turn out anything like I anticipate, but I’m also sure that obeying God is really all that matters and that I can keep doing that – and trust Him to do the rest, regardless of how it looks.