The death of my son Adam in 1997 was (and still is) the most difficult thing I have ever had to face in my life.  Adam died in August of 1997 in a firey airplane accident in New Richmond, WI.  Little did I know, or could have imagined, that God would prepare my heart and mind nearly a year before the tragic event at a Thanksgiving Eve worship service in 1996. 

The event I describe below (which I refer to as a ‘miracle’) happened exactly as described in this post and to this day I am still learning from the power and presence of it in my daily life’s applications.  This miracle would be the first in a long line of God’s interventions in my life following the death of my dear son, Adam… answering my heart’s cries.

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Thanksgiving Eve Service – 1996

As the music director of Wildwood Church in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, it was my great pleasure to direct the small but very dedicated congregation in singing during all worship services.   With only a piano and regular folks singing slightly out of tune, we made our ‘joyful noise unto the Lord’ each Sunday.  Special church events were very intimate, often inspirational and always joyful, whether it was a Christmas Eve service, Easter or Thanksgiving. 

One particular event was the Thanksgiving Eve Service of 1996 when the supernatural took over and I experienced a most wonderful, frighteningly beautiful miracle.  It would be many months before I could sort it all out, to bring any meaning to it.  It was the Thanksgiving before Adam’s death.

As usual, I was directing the congregation in singing praise and worship songs and even some favorite old hymns during that service.   With only twenty or thirty people present that evening, we sang praises to our Lord, thanking Him for His blessings and provisions.  At one point, while we were singing an old hymn of thanks, I motioned to the pianist to play softly while I offered the congregation words of encouragement as we sang.  I asked the congregation to continue singing this beautiful song of thanksgiving, while reflecting on everything we could think about that God had done for each of us recently.  I asked for everyone to reverentially offer thanks to our God… while we continued to sing.

As the piano played we closed our eyes and lifted our voices in thanksgiving and sang with sincerity and reverential praise in our hearts.  It was beautiful. There was a difference in the music.  It became more saturated with feeling and humility.  As we sang I personally melted into the beauty of the oneness of our spirits flowing upward to our precious Lord and I remember feeling so very close to His presence just then.  

As I drifted into the serenity of the moment, I became startled by what I can only describe as the most beautiful sound of a choir singing just behind me, up on the platform.  Their voices were a collection of perfectly harmonized vocals that seemed to paint colors of sound and had scales that seemed to have almost a three-dimensional characteristic.  Their beauty was awesome, wonderful, and beyond human description.  

I quickly turned around to see who was singing with such splendor, color, and intense depth.  There was no one there!   And as quickly as I turned to look, the voices faded away and all I could hear was our little congregation singing, slightly out of tune.

I experienced intense feelings of fulfillment and loss all at the same time.   I lost my place, and I recall that I needed to catch up with the congregation.   I told no one what had happened at that evening service because I was not sure of what had happened, or how to explain it.  It was not until after Adam died that I would reflect on that event and begin asking God questions, looking for meaning in it. 

After Adam died I sought for the presence of God anywhere and everywhere I could in my life.  Although I had done that in my life before, now seemed different.  I was on a quest.  I was looking for answers, meaning, and reasons.  That evening, at our little church on a Thanksgiving Eve, I truly believe that God had opened a window of Heaven and allowed me to hear a choir of heavenly angels singing along with our little church.   It was awesome, beautiful and majestic.  Most of all, it was comforting, reassuring to know God Himself, manifested His powerful presence at our little church service that night… with a miracle. 

Looking back on the event, I’m not sure what the intent of this miracle was, except to say that maybe God was simply demonstrating that He is close, and He is real.  Perhaps God, being all knowing, was opening my heart and mind to the presence and acceptance of miracles because I would soon need them to find peace with Him after Adam’s death. He knew I would be searching for answers to questions not yet asked.  Adam’s death would not come for nearly another year.  Perhaps God was preparing the way for my heart to receive His messages, His answers to my cries.

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You may learn more of Adam Triplett and his life at www.lnf.org

You may find our books, “From Mayhem To Miracles” and “A Mother’s Journal” at www.adamstar-publishing.com