Flag a Grave

It's 4th of July weekend and I'm shopping for a few random things. I think about grabbing many things, including a flag for my father's grave, but I walk out the store with only a disposable liter box for Shoes the cat.  

Leaving the store, I still feel compelled to go to the cemetery even without the flag. Due to this compelling feeling and heavy shopping center traffic, I head towards the cemetery which was not the most direct way home. On the way, the thought occurred to me again. I thought I will stop and place a flag at my father's grave. Okay I will stop, but I don't have the flag now? Then, as if someone else was speaking to me,  I heard:

"One will be provided" 

Now I had all these crazy daydream thoughts of flags laying loose about the cemetery and, for a moment, had crazy thought about a stand at the gate selling flags lol! Finally,  I was there at the cemetery and no loose flags were around and that big stand selling flags was no where in sight. Standing there in front of my Dad's grave thinking, what am I doing here, I suddenly get this feeling, a thought, possibly a voice that says:

"Walk up the pathway"

Pathway to the Sermon on the Mount

What, walk up that pathway? It's behind me, in the opposite direction, and away from any of my relatives, but I start up the pathway to the statue of the Sermon on the Mount. Wait, I have been up this path before, only a few months earlier on the anniversary of my Dad's death and it gave me an uneasy feeling. Just like before,  I begin to feel an uneasiness and uncomfortable tightness in the chest. Here comes the voice again. It says:

"You forgot something the last time you were here"

I start thinking, maybe I gave no mind to all these graves last time.  So I started looking and glancing at the names.   I see a vase with flowers toppled over and I walk off the path and fix it.  Again I follow up the path.  I'm starting to feel that there really is going to be a flag up here!  When I get to the end I think, this is ridiculous!  There is no flags up here! I decide I should walk around the statue anyway.  And there it was a small old worn flag with no stick.  I was excited that there actually was a flag up here, but I can't use that flag.  Then I heard:

"You can use the duck tape in your car, pick up the flag"

Okay, I'll give it a try.  I bent over at an angle and as I started up I came face to face with the picture of a young women on the front of a bench memorial.  I was drawn to the grave and looked up the name with my cell phone.  The young women had been killed in a horrible accident.  Something compelled me.  I made the sign of the cross and knelt down before the grave and said a small prayer.  After I was done, I thanked her for the flag and felt great as I walked back down the path.

Happy 4th of July