I don’t know about most people, but I do believe God speaks to us through signs and synchronicities. The creator speaks to us in ways you can barely put into words.

22/2/22 – it was a Tuesday, or a “two’s day” as some would say.

Thinking back, it all feels like a dream. I had just sat down at my desk at work when I got the news. I received a phone call that a childhood friend of mine passed away the night before. Everything after that became a blur. Except for one thing – the song playing on the radio. It was “With or without you” by U2.

It wasn’t until months later, I was laying in bed one night when that song played on my spotify list. I then remembered it was the song that was playing the moment I found out Jonny had passed away.

I don’t know how, or why I remember this specific detail from when I was 12/13 years old, but I actually remember the first time I ever heard that song. I heard it in year 8 English class. We were studying a movie called “Looking for Alibrandi” and “With or without you” was a playing during a funeral scene (a different version, but regardless)..

We didn’t have Shazam back then, so I remember googling the lyrics to find out the name of the song. The random flashbacks of that song playing during Looking for Alibrandi (a funeral scene) as well as being the song that played immediately after I got the news of Jonny’s passing, gave me chills. Mind you, I just thought that it was a sign because they were both associated with death. Which is still a big sign – because if you ask me what other movies I studied throughout high school, I have absolutely no idea. I just remember this specific one because I remember googling the lyrics to find out the name of the song and the artist.

Anyway – back to this particular night in 2022 when I got this flashback. I got out of bed in the middle of the night, opened my laptop and searched “Looking for Alibrandi funeral scene” on Youtube.

Here’s the craziest part. The scene of the funeral in the movie was for a guy called “John” who took his own life. The scene in the movie – how she got out of bed in the middle of the night, after remembering something – is literally what I experienced when I had this particular recollection.

How I remember this song, from year 8 English class is something I can’t explain. How I remember the song being played as soon as I got off that phone call, is also inexplicable. I don’t remember anything else that vividly from that day.

The song’s relevance, the circumstances, including the similarity in the character’s name, and his choice to take his life, is something I literally can’t put into words.

He left this earth on the 21st, but his body was found late at night, so it wasn’t until the morning of the 22nd, that my mum had told me he’s gone. In the weeks that led up to that day, I kept reading how something big is going to happen on 22/2/22. This was not what I expected.

I’ve only shared this with a few people. It’s only now that I decided to write about it on here.

I think sometimes, we do need a reminder that we’re not going crazy, because God does speak to us in so many ways, if we’re paying attention. Maybe it was God’s way of teaching me or making me aware of the spiritual. Maybe it was Jonny’s way to say he’s still with me. I don’t know exactly what it makes me believe, but it definitely makes me believe in something.