JoDee

In July of 2020, when my granddaughter Brie was born prematurely and weighed just 2.4 pounds, Tess started a healing circle with a small group of friends on her behalf. I’d heard about Tess’s group for Jonathan, and I believed that we could help Brie get well, too. Because of the group, I wasn’t as scared about what might happen. It was easier to be hopeful. We would often imagine the group all sitting together in a circle and having the baby in the center. Our visualizations specifically related to what was happening during surgeries or what needed to happen in her body in order for her to become healthy. We brought in her medical team and surrounded them in love, we brought in Brie's parents and all of her extended family, and we imagined Brie in the future as a completely healthy child. It was so beautiful because it was a way for me to not feel so helpless, to be able to support them without them feeling like they had to take care of me and my feelings. 

I am so grateful for the experience because I had the opportunity to ask my kids what Brie needed most, and it opened up the communication between us. Without the group, I don’t think I would have known so much about what was happening. They had enough to worry about at the hospital and were limiting communication so they wouldn’t have to take on everyone else’s emotions. Knowing we were praying for and visualizing specific outcomes made it safer for them to be open with me, and so that was a blessing in itself. Because Tess was asking for detailed information, it was the door into my kids’ hearts that allowed them to trust me. And being specific in the visualizations felt powerful, too. Instead of praying in an ethereal, overall, “Oh, we want Brie to be healthy and amazing, please help her,” there was something about going in and seeing her intestines, seeing everything move, going into her heart when the tube was placed. It was so focused and clear. To see it in such detail was really amazing. It made me feel empowered. It made me believe that this was absolutely going to happen. And it did! It was almost as if we would set benchmarks, and then when that was accomplished we kept getting a chance to celebrate the victories. Instead of focusing on what was impossible and hopeless, we broke it down into what was possible and hopeful. And doing it as a group helped me feel more clear and less alone.