The book of Ecclesiastes says, “there is a time and season for everything under the heavens. A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to dance and a time to mourn.” —Ecclesiastes 3 .

Ellen Palmer’s “miraculous” experience during the death of her mother brought home to her the wisdom and consolation of Ecclesiastes in a unique and unexpected way…

“Although I lost my mother several years ago, I could not forget, even if I tried, the circumstances surrounding her death. Her passing is forever etched, vividly, in my consciousness because of the incredible and striking way it happened.

“When my mother was rushed to the hospital one evening and, before I entered the ambulance, I paused to grab my black tote bag, which hangs in the corner in the front hall. It contains my Walkman and several of Curtis Stigers’s tapes. I had a strange feeling I needed to listen to his music that night.

“All night long, as doctors worked over my mother, who had a stroke, I listened to my Stigers’ tapes in the hospital waiting room. Kind nurses brought me coffee from time to time and offered to keep me company, but the solace I craved only came from Stigers’ music.

“Early in the morning while I was still dozing and listlessly imbibing the lyrics and music of Stiger’s song, ‘ I wonder why,’ the music suddenly came to a halt. It died. Startled out of my anesthetized state, I automatically glanced down at my watch. I was surprised to note: it was 4:41 a.m.

“The night had passed away more swiftly than I could have imagined possible, and I got up to check on my mother’s condition. As I walked towards the nurse’s station, I saw a body draped with a sheet being wheeled out of a room.

“It was my mother.

“When I received the death certificate, I saw to my shock that the time of mother’s death was exactly 4:41 a.m. The precise time, to the hour, the minute and the second that the music died.

“There are moments in our lives when we have to embrace either the music or the tears. Just as it was no longer appropriate for me to listen to beautiful music, it died, giving way to my tears.

“This was the sign I needed to ease my pain. I no longer wondered why, for I realized it was time to mourn the passing of my mother from this life to the next.”