Thank you to Stephanie for sharing this incredible story about signs from her fiancé, Coby, who she tragically lost due to an illness on March 7, 2023.
THE BIRTHDAY TURTLE – A SIGN FROM COBY TO STEPHANIE
A couple years ago, I went to go visit my fiancé one evening, but I was EXHAUSTED because I had stayed up way too late working on the small business I share with my best friend. I pretty much just walked in, kissed him, and then fell asleep in his bed. He was always understanding & supportive, so he decided to just play some video games in bed so he could be beside me as I slept.
I have no recollection of this, but some point during the night, I talked in my sleep to him. I asked him, “Are you gonna chase it?” and he responded, “Chase what, baby?” I responded, “The birthday turtle!” and he just laughed as I fell back asleep.
He told me about it in the morning and it was always an inside joke for us. We talked about it often and my best friend even made an illustration of a “birthday turtle” being chased by a stick figure that still hangs in my office.
Fast forward about two years… Coby had been gone for about two months at this point. I was having an extra hard day; missing him so much it hurts to even breathe. I asked him verbally for a sign, but didn’t specify what, it just seemed like too much to figure out at the time. I just said, “Send me something so that I will know it’s you”.
A few minutes later, my mom calls and invites me to dinner at her house. She lives right around the corner, so it’s something we do fairly frequently. Initially I lied. I told her I had already eaten. I wanted to just stay home and cry – hide from the world. After a few minutes, I decided my fiancé would not want me to stay home and be miserable. I called my mom and told her I was on the way.
Once I got to her house, I put my keys down and went to the kitchen sink to wash my hands. As I’m washing my hands, I notice a little figurine in the windowsill above her sink that I had never noticed before. It looked like a turtle from the angle I was looking at it from, so I finish washing my hands and pick it up. It was a turtle holding a birthday gift, A LITERAL BIRTHDAY TURTLE! I couldn’t believe it!
I asked my mom where she got it. She had worked a yard sale at her church to raise money for the youth group a week or so before. She said she had her eye on the turtle, but didn’t buy it. The birthday turtle went unsold the entire yard sale, and the organizer of the yard sale gave my mom the turtle as a small token of thanks for working at the sale.
My friend looked up information on the turtle. It was made in England for an 18 month span in the late nineties, and only 17,170 of them exist in the world. My mom has an affinity for animals, but almost all of the decor in her house is bird-related; no turtles at all!
No one can convince me that my fiancé didn’t pull some strings from the Other Side to make this happen for me! I will treasure this sign forever!
In memory of Coulbourne “Coby” Thomas Rader
April 12, 1987 – March 7, 2023
Coby’s wishes were to support Who Saved Whom Dog Rescue Organization a non-profit 501(c)3 to rescue at-risk dogs in order to prevent euthanasia or the SPCA of Bradley County working to place every animal in its care into permanent homes.
I was at church one day after my husband passed as I liked to go sit & talk to God and Virgin Mary as I was very distraught. This lady came up to me handed 2 prayer cards & walked away. I was having trouble praying & went to thank her as I was leaving then she asked if I wanted to talk & we sat hour and I told this total stranger everything. She told me Virgin Mary had told her to come see me and then she said for me to ask my husband for sign that he’s still with me. So few days later I was on sofa watching tv & getting really sad so I shut off tv and looked up ceiling & said to my husband if you’re here send me sign butterfly that only I will know. Then I went took bath to relax & then cdd and me out to watch tv & when I turned it on it was show about butterflies! I couldn’t believe it called my mom & sister who agreed this was a definite sign for sure!