When I was a kid, I was completely and totally freaked out by dejavu. I had it often and didn’t like the feeling at all. I would tell my mom about it and she always came back with the comment “dejavu is God’s way of letting you know you are on the right track”.
For some reason, because there was an explanation from my mom, the explanation involved God, I was comforted by the explanation.
As a mom, as my kids grew up, I started telling them the same thing my mom told me….”Dejavu is God’s way of letting you know that you are on the right path.”
As a full fledged adult, my moments of dejavu happen less and less. My theory on that is that adult ideas, adult busyness and adult stresses, busy an adult mind and dejavu doesn’t find a way into our lives like it as we were a kid. It’s my theory. Who knows if it is actually true.
Well not to long ago, I had a moment of dejavu that really hit me hard. I was in Rochester doing my testing for the thyroid cancer issues. We had a break in between appointments and Kalissa wanted to run to the children’s thrift store in town. I was game…Kayla was game. We needed to waste some time somehow.
I looked through the toy section like I always do and didn’t find anything. I always look to see if I can find something I like for the childcare kiddos. There was nothing that was better than what I had at home so I needed to kill some time in the store. I went to the children’s book section. There I saw this….
…and that’s when the dejavu hit me.
Most people wouldn’t think much of this at all. To me it was everything.
My mom died when I was 24. One of my biggest memories of her was when she would tell stories about growing up poor. She was born in 1928 just before the Great Depression hit. She had lots of brothers and there wasn’t money for things they needed. She totally related to Dolly Parton’s song “Coat of Many Colors”.
As a kid I watched my mom sing along with Dolly. As the song came on the radio and she would cry as she remembered her years growing up poor. A story always came after the song was finished.
I often remember her saying things like, “It’s okay to be poor but it’s not okay to not be clean”…or “It’s okay to have holes in your clothes but they need to be patched”.
As I stood there in the thrift store in Rochester, dejavu hit me hard. I remembered feeling like I was standing there. I remembered seeing the book and smiling. I remembered how I felt like my mom was right there with me. I “relived” the whole experience in my moment of dejavu.
I am 53. My mom died 29 years ago. I’m not a big believer in ghosts or angels…but I sure got the feeling that my mom was reaching out to be there with me through that moment of dejavu. That made me smile. I have no explanation for any of it…. maybe “God was telling me I was on the right path” just as my mom always told me. Maybe it was just the stress of the situation shining through. Maybe ghosts or angels or people coming back is a thing. I’m not going to try to sort that all out. Maybe it was a freak coincidence. It doesn’t really matter. All I know is I left the store with the book and everytime I see it, I smile.
So inquiring minds want to know….how do you explain dejavu?
Oh boy I love your Mom’s explanation of dejavue it happened to me often enough to need one. Mom always told me to just let it happen not to worry. Iike you mom’s reasoning much better.
I grew up poor and my mom always said the same thing about being clean and clothes being repaired. A huge thanks.
Dejavue is an often experience for me. I always say to myself, ”Ok, this is good”, when it happens. A warm, comforting and confident feeling fills me. Dejavue is always a welcome ‘visitor’ in my daily life.
I love your mother’s explanation. Yes, I think that it is GOD’s way of saying you are on the right path, and also that your guardian angels are surrounding you, letting you know they are there, and helping you to shoulder your burdens.
Sending you prayers for good health and happiness for your entire family.
Another one of life’s treasures…a blessing. Thank you for sharing.
I love this post. My mom was also born in 1928 and had similar stories. My mom passed last year from complications due to Alzheimer’s. But while she lived, she loved cardinals so MY grand kids, who loved her also, when they see cardinals, say Grandma Elly is visiting!
What a blessing to find that book!
What a comfort and blessing for you.
Your Mom is watching over you! What a lovely story. Thank You for sharing Continued prayers to your family and Hugs.
Throughout my life I’ve had recurring dreams. I see myself in the same situation over and over. Then a day will come that I am in the scene in my dreams. I recognize the geography around me. Once that happens, I never have the dream again. Then another recurring dream starts, and so on. My current dream is that I see myself on a wooden porch in what looks like twin homes, but in a rustic style, like log cabins. There are 3 doors, apparently 3 residences that share the same porch. Inside is a nice town home, but it’s not private and it’s connected to another town home. I guess I’ll see what this means later.
It sounds like a lovely reminder of your past and also a great story to tell the future generation. I enjoyed the thoughts from the past but I think there is a reason for them. I am glad you brought that book home.
Sweet.
Oh my! Another spark of light during your journey. Love your mom’s explanation!
Oh yes, I’ve had those same feelings many times. I lost my mother at 23, and a couple of months later when asleep I felt someone touch my shoulder, I woke, and looked up to see her there, smiling & totally healthy & happy. It gave me such peace to experience that as her life and how she died was anything but happy. Good for you to still experience that!
I experience dejavu so often that it seems a normal part of my day. In the past, I sought an explanation for it, but now I simply accept these moments of . Dejavu gives true meaning to the saying “Been there, done that!”
Every time I have a Dejavu moment I always thank the Lord with the reminder that I’m right where he wants me to be.
Dejavu is a great feeling. I have to tell you my dejavu story. In February, I was talking to my sister about a fund-raiser for my SIL when my sister wondered if we were going to do one for my brother, who just had a heart transplant. As she is questioning me, I was appliqueing these hearts that have been in my sewing room forever. I said “sure and I am making a quilt for it as we speak”. Two days later, my granddaughter and I were watching The Cat in The Hat and they had shrunk down and were going in the heart of Thing 1 or Thing 2. While we were watching, my brother sends a text with a video of his new heart during a ultrasound or something. It was too weird! A couple of days later I was watching a tutorial about some heart template for paper crafting and my brother calls me. Now that’s 3 cases of dejavu in a week. It exists, young or old.
This warmed my heart. I too had many dejavu experiences growing up but in my adult years I really cannot remember one. They used to stop me in my tracks and they did not really scare me, but they would make me feel a bit weird for lack of a better word. My mother believed in reincarnation so she would just say it was an experience I had in my previous like and it was nothing to be afraid of. My Mom died when I was 19 years old. She has been gone now for over 45 years. But if or when I have that “feeling” again, I will know it is ok and I am on the right path. I love your mother’s explanation and I am happy you bought that book! It has such a special meaning to it!
I LOVE your mom’s explanation and I will use it too. I have tears in my eyes.
I don’t believe in ghosts but I do believe in memories being triggered by sights, smells, objects, etc. So happy you were able to have that moment relating to your mom, remembering her and all the things that she said, feeling her love. What a precious blessing.
Great experience and thanks for sharing! Made me think about dejavu…I did have that happen quite a bit when I was younger, but I guess my adult self hasn’t. I hadn’t given it any thought though! I am a big believer in God sending us messages though and I think that, in trying times especially (and I think we would all agree that times don’t get more trying than what your family is going through), God sends us messages if we open up to “hear” them. I love to think that it was your mother trying to give you a sense of peace. I pray for your entire family and one of those prayers is for peace. I hope this book will be a constant reminder of peace in the midst of trials. Best to you and yours and my prayers will continue!
I have a pair of treasured cowgirl boots sitting on the dresser beside my bed. They are Tony Lama “Coat of Many Colors” boots. They are red and pink and white and many other colors. I had heard of the song, but never watched the video of it until now. Thanks. Since I have been wearing those Tony Lama boots, I had not been bucked off.
I love that explanation of your Mama! I find it very reassuring! I, too, experienced it much more frequently when I was younger. I find it most eerie when I know where things are in a town that I have not visited before (in this life).
My most memorable occasion of dejavu was while delivering my first child. I labored quietly, withdrawing into myself, using self-hypnosis to block out pain sensations. Just before crowning, as baby moved thru the birth canal, my Mama told me I eyes flew open and I said, “I have done this before!” She told me she didn’t doubt it in the least. She said my slow deep breathing throughout labor was a calm she didn’t experience until her 4th delivery. Personally, I believe God gives us the option of returning to earth if our soul still has lessons to learn. Yes, I am a Christian and I have met many other Christians (including an Russian Orthodox bishop) who have told me, in confidence, they believe the same.
Dejavu, coincidences, whatever you want to call them, I believe are just another blessing from God. There are angels roaming all over the earth. Some even look like humans. I believe God gives us these us these moments at certain times in our life to prepare us for something else, to comfort us, to reassure us of His love or just to make us smile.
what a touching story. I always loved that song. I will have to look for the book
My Mom was born in 1926. She was from a large, extremely poor family, with never enough to go around, including food and heat. I lived poor also, since my parents had little education, and could only obtain minimum wage jobs. However, my sisters and I never went without food, or heat in the Winter. Our food selections were inexpensive and maybe not always the healthiest, but we never went hungry. I too experienced dejafu, most often in childhood. My Mom explained it as a memory coming from our minds and hearts. My Mom also shared with me and my sisters that it is not a crime to be poor, but we must always be clean, and mended as needed, and good to every one we met. I sure miss her. : )