The day after the funeral for my niece Meghan, I was busying myself planting petunias in the pots that I hang from my back deck every spring. I needed a ladder to reach one of the higher pots, and when I lifted the pot off its hook, a bird flew out. I immediately recognized it as a mourning dove.

I wondered why this bird was camped out in this hanging pot. Then I looked inside and saw that she was protecting a nest with two little white eggs. I quickly returned the hanging pot to its hook and moved away, hoping she would return.

I then heard the telltale whistling sound of her wings as she landed first on my neighbor’s roof and then on the roof of my house. I decided to leave the yard and go inside so she would feel safe to return to her nest, which I’m happy to say she did moments later.

I was struck by the significance of this close encounter with a mourning dove at a time when my family was mourning the sudden passing of my young niece. So, I went online and found its meaning to be far more profound than anything I could have imagined.

“The dove’s appearance to someone in mourning is often viewed as a visitation from the deceased loved one. The person in mourning senses a message of hope or encouragement from their deceased loved one. Others believe the mourning dove is a messenger sent by angels, spirit guides, or even God.
“To a Christian, the mourning dove may symbolize as a reminder of the promise of Jesus the Christ of life everlasting. The dove is sent to those in sorrow over the loss of a loved one as a way to say, the deceased has a new beginning in a different realm or world and continues to live after death.
“Others believe it is a message from their deceased loved one reminding them to hold on to hope and not fear death. This message declares that death is just a new beginning. Still, other people take the soft cooing song of the mourning dove as a sign their loved one is watching over them and sending them the powerful energy of love.”

I feel honored and humbled to have this visitation, which seems all the more significant due to its intimate and extended nature. This was no casual encounter, but an up close and personal visit by an angel who, after flying away, quickly returned to continue providing her warm, nurturing care.