A story from Courage Does Not Always Roar.

"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."

-Franklin D. Roosevelt

Parents are not supposed to bury their children. It takes a special brand of courage to make it through the day after such a horrific event. One such Mom, Sally, shared some amazing stories of how she learned to cope ... and the special connection she shared with her son.

Sally's son, Jake, was driving with a friend six months before his senior graduation. An excellent student and artist, Jake was also a very good driver. But an older intoxicated man ran into Jake's car going 60 mph and Jake had to be airlifted from the accident.

Jake had several surgeries to try to repair the damage, but he was brain dead and on life support. Many of his friends came to the hospital with art, poems, stories and prayers to support Jake, but after a few days he passed away.

Several months after his accident, Sally was home alone and she had the most unusual tingling sensation in her toes and legs. She suddenly had this thought to open a store to help others who were grieving - an angel store.

Sally called her boyfriend to share this story and he asked her where the thought had come from. Suddenly she heard a snap and a noise at the end of the hallway. It sounded like loud static. The noise was coming from Jake's room and when she opened the door, his clock radio alarm was going off. It had never been on since the morning he got up for school on the day of his accident.

That was enough of a sign for her. Sally opened the angel store only three months after the accident, working at it for seven months. While the store wasn't profitable, it had served its purpose, helping her with her grief and allowing her to heal, while comforting others along the way.

There were still months of crying and sadness over losing Jake, but Sally learned ways to manage her grief. She knew that Jake was just a boy, but his soul and spirit were bigger than his short life here on earth.

One day, Sally was doing an older woman's hair at the salon that she owned. The woman, who didn't know about her son said, "Your son is a very special boy," and told Sally that Jake left a message for her under his bed.

Sally was shocked and told the woman that her son had passed away. Still, Sally ran home that night, went to Jake's bed and looked under it. He had put art paper under his bed - drawings that Sally had never seen before and probably would have never found if this woman hadn't told her to look there.

Our connection with our loved ones exceeds time or even our physical world. Sally will always have a soulful connection with her son.