I HAVE to share this....

I lost my Mom and Dad (6 months apart) in late 2003 and early 2004. (I struggle constantly with this loss). After a three year long losing battle with my ex boyfriend for my inheritance and the home I grew up in, I was forced to return one final time to pick up a few tings. It hurt so much to see the home now. I struggle with a lot in my life now and this was the LAST thing I really wanted to do.

As I was walking through the kitchen, I noticed a poem on the refrigerator. I got chills when I read the poem. I'd never seen the poem before. If you could see the poem, you'd notice that there are three words just below the poem that read. "my favorite poem". It was my mother's handwriting....

This poem made me realize that they're watching over me and that this is exactly where I should be, now, at this time and place. I truly believe this.

Anyway, this is what it read...

NATIVE AMERICAN PRAYER

I give you this one thought to keep -

I am with you still - I do not sleep. ("I am with you still" was underlined twice)

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sunlight on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain,

When you awaken in the morning's hush,

I am the swift, uplifting rush

of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not think of me as gone -

I am with you still- in each new dawn. ("I am with you still" was underlined twice)

Now was that coincidence?

I believe it wasn't.

I am wondering if anybody else has had similar experiences like this.....or else freaky things like seeing apparitions and such...

No not a coincidence.   To ease your soul this happens alot to those who life seems to be getting them a little too down and the Lord finds a way to open a door for you. 

The poem is familar to me as my father is Native Cherokee.  Let life happen and doors will open.  Don't forget to go in prayer and thank your mother for this token of a renewed life for you. 

May God continue to be with you. Take care and God Bless.

Wow that is so awesome to find that poem.

Sorry that you lost your family home, that is hard.

It happens to me all the time.  I seem to find things when I really need to get through a tough time.  It helps a lot to know that my loved ones are watching over me.  It really gives me a sense of peace.

My favourite episode (and there have been many) was about seven years ago.  My family was down from up north.  They were all sitting in the dining room talking about old times.  I was leaning against the bar that separates the kitchen from the dining room.  Suddenly from behind I got this big hug.  I never felt such a feeling of peace as from this hug.  I know that it was from my grandpa, he had passed about four years before.

How did a boyfriend fight you for an inheritance and family home?

Original Post by jackattack07:

How did a boyfriend fight you for an inheritance and family home?

I was wondering this too? 

Good poem though.

Thanks for your kind words...

"How did a boyfriend fight you for an inheritance and family home?"

I was afraid you'd ask. I have this on my personal blog on another forum...

My ex, “J” is a manipulative, emotionally (and was at times) physically abusive man. In the beginning of our relationship, I was struggling to get sober from alcoholism and I finally did get sober in August of 2004. I looked up to him as a mentor because he was over 10 years sober in the beginning. We were engaged to be married. I trusted him and everything he did.

In late 2005 I moved into my folks’ home because I wanted to keep the home I grew up in for sentimental reasons. J, of course, had already been spending the evenings with me as well at the home. Since I couldn’t swing a mortgage and all the costs associated with owning a home, and being blind to the abuse, I thought it was OK for us both to sign a mortgage. We “bought out” my two siblings, giving them both a hundred grand apiece, because the home was paid for after my folks’ passing. J wouldn’t sign a mortgage unless HIS name was also placed on the deed. (It should have been a red flag when he thought it was more important to be vacationing in Maine than at my Mom’s funeral.)

I also had him give me a $100,000 mortgage to protect my interest of the 100,000 down payment I placed on the house. The house sold for $300,000. My two brothers were paid and I put my third ($100,000) into the home as equity and we took out a loan for $200,000. We received appx. $15,000 cash back from the proceeds of that first sale.

Then six months later, he decided he wanted to make some home improvements. Then he convinced me to refinance again, this time we received approximately $40,000 cash back. It’s interesting to note that he placed all surplus monies (the $15,000 AND the $40,000) into his OWN account-I never had access). Again, I trusted him and didn’t know any better. I never saw receipts, bank statements, etc. He told me what my monetary contribution toward the mortgage and bills were each month and I paid him accordingly. He wanted new wall to wall carpeting, new windows, total bathroom makeover and many other things. All of this cost over $25,000. (I had to ASK him for some of my share of the proceeds when I needed it).

Long story short-in November, 2006, I found out he had been cheating on me for over a year. Someone alerted me that she saw J’s picture on a singles site and I thought I would play along so I had planned on meeting him secretly in the area. (That’s how I met my husband-while looking for J‘s picture!) I was absolutely heartbroken and thought that I was “stuck” for life with “J”. I told my (then new boyfriend) about the situation and he asked me to move to Maine to live with him. I did and my home’s locks were changed immediately. He stayed in the home without paying the mortgage for OVER THREE YEARS!

Hence the lawyers. J tried to claim that everything in the home was half his! I remember, for example, one day I called to tell him I wanted my Dad’s weight-lifting set for my stepson (my Dad had this set since he was 18 yo!) and J said that, “I’m not willing to compromise that”! Can you imagine? So one day last August, my husband and I rented a U-Haul, took 11 people with us and took EVERYTHING! There was NOTHING in that home that belonged to him, so we took it all! (We went straight to the Police Department first-I had EVERY right to be there to claim my belongings.) When we broke in, I noticed that a bunch of mail was opened addressed to me AND the ESTATE from insurance companies! (Side Note-he had the balls to demand his engagement ring back!)

Now the REALLY bad news for me. The house is mortgaged out to the max at $242,000 and the last appraisal came in significantly less at $230,000 because of the housing market, leaving a huge deficiency.

So let’s analyze this. J is living now in the home that I GREW up in. I put $100,000 equity in this home and he has been there living off my $100,000. He attempted to “convert” all of my estate property as his own and he still lives there, with all of the beautiful home improvements. The case is in the Boston Land Court. I lose my $100,000 inheritance, closure of my parents’ deaths because this is on-going and I’m left will an attorney’s bill for over $10,000 because it’s been in litigation. My ($100,000) mortgage is worthless because he‘s crying poor and there‘s now no equity. He claims he has NO money, but I KNOW he’s got a retirement fund and a 401K. He filed for bankruptcy in 2003 and was relieved of tens of thousands of dollars. How they missed those funds I’ll NEVER know.

He provided a 30 page “Overview” to his attorney which is absolutely bogus! He saved EVERY receipt, INCLUDING RESTAURANTS and GROCERIES! BUT! When DH and I did HIS math, (he used “our” monies to pay for his half of everything by co-mingling our funds!), we came up with HIS contributions to the household less than $500! It sucks that I have to sit here and defend every little thing when he royally SCREWED ME! His lawyer looked at me one day at a four way meeting and said “well, my client has rights, too”. So I replied, Yea, so does a child molester.

This all sort of ruins the excitement of being newly married. Ya know, it’s not so much the money and being married to the man of my dreams is priceless, but I DO NOT have closure over my Parents’ deaths because of this mess.

I just want closure. I can’t even visit my Parents’ gravesite because of the guilt. It’s eating away at me. My husband says don’t look at it that way. Look at it as though I was simply screwed out of money and trying to recover it. I want to record a Discharge of Mortgage relieving him of my $100,000 mortgage and simply send him a 1099 Tax Form so that he’ll have to declare the $100,000 as income, thus paying appx. $35,000. Let the IRS chase him for it? We can try to attach his pay through a monetary judgment, but like the attorney says, it’s chasing bad money with good money.

One more thing to consider. My attorney has over $10,000 in fees, but will not take any monies from me unless I recover a money judgment against J, which means that the LAWYER gets any monies I recover to pay his bill. It would also hurt to see the home go into foreclosure. We have arbitration scheduled in mid-August and I just don’t have the energy.

UPDATE: He was finally evicted from the house recently and the house is now in foreclosure...I'm so sad about that..

OMG!!  that's sooooooooo screwed up!!

I'm so sorry that you fell prey to his evil hands  :(

but... I'm glad you have someone now that loves you and actually cares about you

((huggles))

ps:  please don't feel guilty.  (in my opinion) your parents wouldn't be disappointed in you.  HIM?  yes... but not you.  you're their daughter and crap happens sometimes  :(   and it's usually to 'good' people  :/

I agree with moodles, your parents wouldn't be disappointed in you. 

don't worry Karma will come and bite him in his assets.

Go and visit your parents grave and talk to them about it.  It will help you out a lot and get rid of some of the hurt feeings that you have.

Enjoy your new life and don't let that creep give you one more day of grief.

PS, as part of my divorce, I paid off all of my ex's debets just to get him out of my life for good. 

Thanks, moody and spoiled. I do believe in Karma, myself...

The guilt comes from the fact that both my parents worked SO hard to pay off that mortgage (from 1965!). They finally got the actual discharge of mortgage right before they passed. And now it's in foreclosure...and I feel like I failed them...

That's why finding that poem means SO much to me...

Original Post by mypuppymylife:

Thanks, moody and spoiled. I do believe in Karma, myself...

The guilt comes from the fact that both my parents worked SO hard to pay off that mortgage (from 1965!). They finally got the actual discharge of mortgage right before they passed. And now it's in foreclosure...and I feel like I failed them...

That's why finding that poem means SO much to me...

 Your parents, more than anything, would be grateful that you took that loser out of your life.  A house, sure, has memories, but more than anything, is just a material item, a form of shelter. 

You didn't fail them, I hope you can move from that feeling eventually, I know it's hard when you're grieving the loss of a loved one at the same time.  Honestly, though, you are living up to their hopes if you are truly happy and safe at this point.  Remember that.

This post made me cry, in a good way.  I lost my mother about 11 years ago and I'm still dealing with the pain.  

I had a dream a while back that involved just my mom and I.  I was alone in a dark room and out of nowhere, this door opened up.  Inside of it was my mom surrounded by bright white light--she told me she wanted to let me know she was OK and not to worry about her.  And then I woke up.  I miss her a lot; wish I could've told her how much she was missed and that I still loved her with all my heart.

That poem is a blessing and I'm so glad you found it.  I will be praying for you and hope your problems will be resolved soon.

Aww, thank you for your posts. They really do help. You're right, my Mom and Dad would just want me to be safe and happy..

leah-I had a similar dream right after their deaths. It was so real. My Mom and Dad were sitting at a table across from me (neither looked sick from the cancer). They went on to tell me all kinds of things, but mainly, like you say, not to worry about them. Thanks for your prayers.

I really believe our loved ones are with us.

Your parents would be grateful that you got away from that ass and found a wonderful man who you can spend the rest of your life with. The house is "small" in the grand scheme of things. They want YOU to be happy, after all, it IS 'just a house'. :)

You shouldn't feel guilty, if anything, assface should but we know people like him are incapable of having normal human emotions.

Hi cptbunny-

I know that the house is insignificant in the whole scheme of things...They spent a lot of years working so hard to pay it off. It was their pride and joy-they earned their dream house.

But like you say, I am so much more happy with a man who respects me, doesn't hide anything and who took me in at one of the most painful times in my life. He is an angel in my life and so supportive in everything I do...

Oh and yes he is incapable of having human emotions.

Just wanted to thank you collectively for your replies. I read this thread often and it helps with the pain...

I just wanted to thank you for sharing that beautiful poem. :)

It touched my heart. <3 Everything happens for a reason in my opinion. My mother always reminds me: "God's will is always good, but it's not always comfortable. " 

I wish you the absolute best of luck.

Edit: To add I don't know what you do or do not believe. I'm not trying to offend anyone whether or not they believe in God, etc.  I just wanted to share the quote with you in hopes it's uplifting.

enchantingimage-

I believe that everything happens for a reason, too. I always trusted what Mom had to say..and she was usually right!

Thank you-your post is definitely uplifting, as was everyones.

Wow.  Reading your story gave me chills.  I am very sorry for your loss.  I, too, believe that things happen for a reason, and that our loved ones continue to watch over us after they're gone from this earth.  I also believe that God has ways of talking to us  - be it through trials, the words of others, or finding things like your poem - when we most need it.

I hope the poem helps your wounds heal.  I am sure it must be tremendously difficult - even as a grown woman, I really cannot fathom my parents not being around. 

Thank you for the poem, I'm saving it... and Karma will get him back! 

You story almost made me cry - what a horrible thing to go through!  

Regarding the poem,  it's great, I'm writing it down.   I had a similar experience.  My mother took her own life in 1982.  I looked for a note, letter, anything.  I looked in all the places she would have put something - Bible, desk, dresser, jewelry box.  Nothing.  Several months later I was at the house visiting my dad.  On the coffee table was a wooden box that I had made her many years past.  I opened the box (a place I had looked) and there were several clippings.  They all were about the diseases she had,  terminating ones life,  etc.  It was her telling my why she did it - I'm sure of this.

Hold on to the good memories.  The house is just a building.  It's the memories that are important. No one can take those from you.

I'll keep you in my prayers.   Hugs.