Kim Gleason

I can remember, since I was a little girl—before organized religion or any type of Western concept of religion was introduced to me—I believed in the Creator, which is basically God. And I’ve believed from a very young age that I’ve always had guardian angels. There’s something about guardian angels that I’ve been connected to since I was a little girl; they’re looking over me. 

I had a challenging youth. I am from a poor family. And my mother was always teaching me that it was important for me to get a good education and to go to school, to learn and read as much as I could. My family was broken up a little bit and in different areas; there was separation when it came to me and my siblings and other family members on my dad’s side. It was myself and my mother growing up together, and I learned a lot about life and spirituality from her. She was always traditional in the Navajo ways. My grandfather was a medicine man for our community and throughout New Mexico. For the longest time, people traveled miles just to seek his advice and blessings, and I was in those ceremonies. My mom wanted me to be a part of those ceremonies to see what it was to be part of this family. I can remember a lot of different types of healing and well-being circles that happened for other people. 

There are a couple of things that I remember clearly. I knew the Creator was with me. One of the most memorable moments was the passing of my grandmother. She played a very key role in our family; she held the family together. She was the glue. And when we lost her, I was just a little girl. It was heartbreaking to see, but most of all it was hard to see my family members going through what they were going through. As everyone was saying their goodbyes, we knew we were at that moment where we were going to lose her. I went outside to play on the little playground right behind the hospital. I told my mom I was going to go play out there, and she was fine with that. I just wanted to be with myself for a moment because I’d been watching everyone take it really hard.

While I was swinging on the swing set, I had this overwhelming feeling that my grandmother was there with me. And it was the first time I ever felt some kind of presence that I could not explain. I just felt that there was something there watching over me. And I was just a little girl. I didn’t know what was going on. I was maybe 8 or 9 years old. I didn’t know what guardian angels were about. 

Shortly after that experience, my mother came out and sat next to me. Her eyes were swollen and she was having a hard time. She said that we had lost my grandmother. 

I said, “I know. I know. She is going to be OK, mom.” And that’s what I remember— offering that piece  comfort to my mother. She  looked at me ‘cause she couldn’t have known how I knew my grandmother had just passed away minutes ago. I knew it because my grandmother was there with me, saying goodbye. And it was the first time I ever felt this presence come over me. Just as a little girl knowing that everything was going to be OK, and that we as a family needed to be strong moving forward.