A Comforting Coincidence
August 29, 2007
In the wake of tragedy, angels aboundBy Jennifer Abels Special to the Sun
Jennifer Abels is the daughter of Patti Roberts of Naperville and had flown in from South Dakota on July 4 to help her mom get her house ready to be placed on the market. That night at 3:30 a.m. Patti took her daughter to the hospital. Jennifer was 5 ? months pregnant and was going into premature labor. Savannah Abels was born on July 6 and weighed a little over 1 pound. Unfortunately, she only lived for one hour. A memorial service was held in South Dakota on July 28.
On Sunday, July 8, I went with my husband, Wayne, to SS Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Naperville where we heard a homily that seemed like it was written just for us. It talked about how Jesus will give you peace - this is God’s promise in times of struggle. Also, we should carry God and Jesus with us through life’s journey wherever we go.
Jennifer and Wayne Abels pose with the United Way “Under the Sea” sculpture in downtown Naperville. The sculpture provided the couple a moment of hope and inspiration during a visit this summer.
One of the scriptures was Isaiah 66:10-14, which says, “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you.” Another scripture said, “Your bodies shall flourish like the grass.” We also sang the song, “Here I Am Lord.”
After the service, Wayne recognized one of the parishioners. She was one of the hospice nurses that cared for my stepfather, Jim toward the end of his fight with cancer. We shared stories and feelings of our loss with her and her husband, and we were comforted by her words.
Then we walked to downtown Naperville, where we had planned to meet my twin sister Julie at the Starbucks at Jefferson Avenue and Main Street. We got our drinks and then went outside since there was no room to sit inside. We looked for the right place to sit in order to keep an eye out for Julie and finally decided on a bench across the street, in the shade in front of Ted’s Montana Grill restaurant.
Growing up in Minnesota and now living in South Dakota, Wayne loves anything to do with the West, including bison, so it was very appropriate. We sat down and started to talk about angels and the events that had happened in the last 48 hours. We also tried to figure out why we had chosen this particular spot to sit.
Soon, Julie arrived and we sat and visited for awhile. Before getting up to leave she suggested that we look at the painted sculpture from which we had been sitting across. The sculpture was a mermaid sitting on a bench of her own, and was part of Naperville United Way’s “Under the Sea” public art fundraiser.
Before leaving we walked around the sculpture and took a moment to notice the name it had been given by the artist Kate Gingold. Our hearts almost stopped as we read “Savannah Under the Sea.” We felt sure that this was a sign from God that answered some of our questions about angels, and that it was symbolic of how Savannah’s spirit will be near us, at times without us even knowing it.
There were 50 sculptures downtown that day, and each one had a different name. We were convinced that sitting in front of that particular sculpture wasn’t just a coincidence.
Jennifer Abels’ mother, Patti Roberts, is executive director of the Downtown Naperville Alliance.
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