The Story of the Elephant

Last year after my Grandpa passed away, we all spent time at Grandma’s sharing stories and celebrating Grandpa’s life. At one point, a small group of us were in the kitchen talking about Grandpa’s final days. My Aunt and my Grandma spoke about the different rollercoasters of his last few days. In particular they shared a story about the night before he passed. As he was sitting at the dining room table, in the chair he always sat in, he said, “What are we going to do about the elephant?”

He didn’t look at any of them as he said it, and he didn’t say anything else about it. They thought maybe he was delirious and were not sure what he was getting at. They had shared some other things he said that night, but that one stuck with me. I stopped at that moment because it hit me. Being the spirit junkie that I am I shared how powerful that was; I shared how much symbolism there is to elephants.

We continued sharing a few other stories but that comment kept coming back to my mind.

What did he mean by that?

Where did it come from?

And as I looked over at the chair he would have been sitting in, the chair he always sat in, I saw it. In the china hutch right behind his chair was an elephant right at eye level. We all kind of looked at it in disbelief. It didn’t answer questions about what he meant. If anything it raised more questions. But for me, it connected deeply.

A few days later on Christmas morning we met at Grandma’s for our Tom and Jerry’s tradition. Needless to say it was an emotional morning. The house was filled with family - both blood and chosen family - to enjoy this tradition and to help keep Holiday spirits alive when we were all grieving.

As the group started to take off for the rest of their Christmas Day festivities and we finished cleaning up, my Grandma stopped me and said, “Wait here just a minute.” She walked to the china hutch, opened the door and grabbed the elephant we had noticed a few days prior. As I sat with tears rolling down my face she came to me with it and said, “Now I don’t know what Grandpa meant by what he said, but something tells me you’re meant to have this.” As I cried and thanked her she said, “just wait” and went to the living room. She came back with another elephant and said, “My mother gave this one to me and I want you to have it. Start a collection of elephants to remember Grandpa and hold on to what you think he meant.”

The past year has been another growth year for me. For me and several others in our family, elephants have become the symbol for Grandpa. It’s amazing how many times I’ve prayed to him throughout the year and elephants have shown up in all the right places to provide answers shortly after.

And perhaps more amazing is how many times I haven’t prayed for anything in particular, but I see an elephant and it extra catches my attention. If I choose to remain open, a message has always been there for me.

As I’ve shared this story with friends throughout the year, people have gifted elephants to me in the most amazing and heartfelt ways. But some of the best ways have been the ways he has shown up when I needed him most. The way I connect with the symbolism of the elephant even more now than I did before he passed. A connection only he and I will understand right now.

One evening this past summer I received a text from my cousin with the following picture. The text read, “The elephant is out tonight.” The picture showed what our hearts needed to feel. As my cousin, Aunt, Uncle and Grandma were sitting out enjoying an evening by the lake, Grandpa decided to peak out through the clouds, to remind us all how he is very much still here with us.

My message for you is this:

Be open to the signs.

Be open to receiving them.

Be open to seeing them.

In times of loss, let them comfort you.

In times of growth, let them guide you.

Just be open.

They’re waiting for you to see them.

God Bless.