Photo by Pat Ruppel

11:11 – For years I’ve seen this and when I do it always catches my attention for a moment and I stop whatever I’m doing.

I don’t know why – it just looks like 4 toothpicks standing next to each other.

There are 11 other numbers on the clock this happens with, twice a day, but this number is the one that resonates with me.

It’s similar to one of those experiences a friend and co-worker once shared with me.  She said when her father was alive he would pick up coins when he saw them lying on the ground.  After he passed, she started seeing dimes everywhere and when she saw a dime, it would quicken her heart and she’d remember her dad.

To me, 11:11 is a quickening of the heart, a reminder of a connection I have to something beyond what I can see or comprehend. That heart quickening seems to be happening more these days, not only to me but for others as well.  Some are subtle, gentle tugs while others boom so loud your heart jumps.

I remember years ago we went tent camping in the mountains.  Early in the morning, while it was still dark, I had to go and do my business.  I unzipped the flap to quietly step out and not awaken the others and what I saw overwhelmed me.  The sky was lit with stars – so bright and so many. I had never seen that before.  It gripped my heart and caught me by surprise so much I think I forgot I had to go to the bathroom.  They were like a blanket over my head so close I felt I could almost touch them.

I don’t know why I was so stunned and “heebie-jeebie” scared – others may have found it comforting and serene. But to me the phenomenon was as if I had seen a ghost.  I was immediately humbled and the presence of God was so close, vivid and real.  I can still feel the power of that experience.

Believe me I know how this sounds – a little “woo-woo” and farfetched.   I would probably be one of the first to ask, “Have you lost your crackers?” But because I have seen too many things I haven’t been able to explain I’ve learned to ignore the questions and doubts and just feel the connection.

I read a few years ago that 11:11 is a reminder of the mission we signed up for before we were born.  I haven’t figured out what that mission is yet but lately I’ve seen it more often.

For now, when I see 11:11, I remember that I’m connected to something grander than what I know. Whatever I may face in this life or have to work through I believe there’s a plan.  I may not have all the pieces so I can understand but I trust in the orchestration of it all.

Pat – from the ol’ kitchen table