A Red Rose Sign: A Mother's Message From Her Son

A single rosebud on a quiet trail. A hawk that shadows your stride. The smell of coffee at 3 a.m. with no pot brewing. When  Kristi lost her dad and, months later, her 22-year-old son Pierce, she began noticing a new language of love—one that speaks in symbols, timings, and impossible-to-script echoes. We follow her from small-town roots to the day everything changed, then through the moments that kept arriving afterward: a rose placed where roses don’t grow, a feather standing upright in grass, a dream that translates birds into greetings from the other side.

Together, we explore how to tell a true sign from chance by watching for patterns rather than pinning everything to meaning. Christy shows how personal codes form—22 for Pierce, 42 for her dad, and 422 for the two of them together—and how a message can repeat its heart through different forms. We talk about mediumship confirmations that brought peace, the way grief and belief can coexist, and why trusting your own body’s response can be the best guide. Along the way, we look at hawks as symbols of focus and protection, roses as calls to notice love, and the way nature becomes a living conversation when you’re ready to listen.

The holidays get special attention, not as a minefield to tiptoe through but as a chance to honor what remains. From a stocking at the gravesite filled with stories from friends to choosing rituals that actually comfort, Christy offers simple ways to remember without getting stuck. The throughline is clear and steady: your loved ones want you to live fully. Signs aren’t about staying in the past; they’re about bringing love forward, every day you wake up and carry it.

If this conversation moved you, subscribe for more thoughtful stories about grief, intuition, and connection. Share this episode with someone who needs a nudge to believe, and leave a review with the clearest sign you’ve ever received—we’d love to read it.

 🎧 Host: Kim Brazier

 💫 Connect with Kim: https://seethesignsbook.com
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 📘 Mentioned: See the Signs: Creating Belief, Providing Hope and Affirming Connection by Kimberly Brazier Order here:  See The Signs: creating belief, providing hope, affirming connection: Brazier, Kimberly: 9798218301231: Amazon.com: Books

Transcript

Small-Town Roots And Reunion

SPEAKER_00 0:03

All right. Welcome to Curating Connection. And today's guest is Christy Bergstrom. She is a mama of four, a sign spotter, and we certainly have some connections that go back years. Welcome, Christy. Hi, Kim. Hi. Well, may let's start with our background a little bit and how we are connected. Do you want to share that with the audience?

SPEAKER_01 0:34

Sure. We grew up in the same hometown of Greenbush. We basically went to school together. You are a couple years older than me, but we don't say that. I'm growing old. But we did some cheerleading together. And I actually did go to prom with your brother, Jason.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

So yes, we have multiple touch points for sure as cheerleaders. And I think, yeah, my brother and prom. I still remember the photo of you two together in your beautiful dress and the excitement he had that day. I think that one of the great things about growing up in a small town is that there really is a lot of community connection. And that can be really great when you need support. And you know, you've got this uh hub of people that are there for really the whole community when things arise, good and bad. But other times it can be a little negative too because everybody knows what's going on, right? So, but connection to me always brings you back to Greenbush in the small town. And I always felt so supported growing up, like kind of isolated in a nice little bubble of what was happening. And then I guess, you know, as most people do, we all graduate, we move, get married, and kind of continue to live life. And we probably reconnected on Facebook a few years back. And then I know you and I had some connection after a really pivotal point in your life. You want to talk a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_01 2:10

Yeah. So in 2020, I lost my dad in May of 2020 from cancer. And then three months later in August, my son Pierce was killed by a drunk driver in Fargo. He was 22 at the time. And then I just after that, I do re I just I just knew that I knew you were kind of into the intuition and all of that. And I can't even really remember how I knew that, but I just knew that. So I again, being that we were had known each other growing up, I felt very comfortable reaching out to you to see if you know I could connect with my son on the other side.

The Loss Of Pierce And Dad

SPEAKER_00 3:02

Oh, I do remember our connection that day. And first of all, I just want to say that losing a child is unimaginable. And losing a parent on top of it, that nice male figure and the relationship with your dad. Right. I'm sure I'm sure that that was a lot to go through and to handle then, maybe days like today now. So I want to thank you really for being here and willing to share your story. Let's talk a little bit about Pierce, uh, your son, and what are the some of your favorite memories of him? And then let's talk about how things that maybe still make you smile, and we can kind of get into how we connected from there.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

I actually did see Pierce two days before he was killed. He actually came back up to the Roseau area. He had to do some work on his pickup, and it actually all of the parts for his pickup were delivered to my home. So he had to come here to get those, and he was nice enough to swing by Walmart and Ground Forks and pick up some pizza because it was going to be his youngest brother, Charlie's birthday, on August 17th. So he had swung by the house, he had picked up some motorcycles, some old Honda CB350s, which is a motorcycle that he had kind of built from the ground up, but he bought these older ones to swap out parts. And he was just, I just remember that day, he was just so full of life. And so I just I just remember just talking to him and he was just so full of joy for life. And you know, he was gonna be graduating from college in the winter. He was talking about perhaps buying a new pickup. And I said, Well, do you have enough money for that? And he always used to say to me, You don't know what I'd do for money woman. And and I'd be like, Okay, you know, majors, right? And yeah, and then we had the conversation. I asked if he was coming to his brother's birthday party on Sunday, because this was Thursday and or Wednesday. And he said, Well, do I have to? And I said, Well, of course you don't have to. And now looking back, I wish I told him he had to. But yeah, and gave him a hug and told him I loved him, and off he went.

Remembering Pierce’s Last Visit

SPEAKER_00 5:38

I kind of love the fact that maybe the universe conspired to give you one last visit before the unknown was gonna happen with him. And I'm sure at the time that might have been even more difficult because you maybe thought about I should have kept him here longer, I wish I would have said this. But yeah, you saw him like on the most joyful day, right? And he you were deeply involved in conversations about what he was doing in his life, which sometimes boys or kids, once they're on their own, they don't share as much. So it's kind of fun that you had those conversations, even if they were a little pushbacky or you know, at times showing truly who they are, right? And kind of making us parents work for being a parent at times. And then then the events that kind of unfolded between that Wednesday and your son's birthday. Talk to me a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_01 6:34

Well, Pierce went out to the farm where his brother Parker lives and worked on his pickup all night and decided to go back to Fargo. Parker had shared with me when he left that morning. He remembers asking Pierce, Well, are you coming back? And Pierce never answered. So he went back to Fargo. He was swapping out parts on his motorcycle in the garage of the townhome where he lived. So this would have been, it was Saturday, and it was a beautiful day. I I just remember even here it was beautiful. And I was doing some cleaning and organizing things, and everything I found was either something Pierce had made in elementary school, it was pictures of Pierce. It was just at the time, it even I'm like, gosh, I'm finding everything is just all about Pierce. And then I found a card that my dad had actually sent to Charlie for Easter probably the previous year. And all it had was a little boy on the front with a heart and and just said, thinking of you. Aw. And so yeah, I read this card from my dad that he had sent to Charlie and was getting ready for the birthday party the next day and blowing up balloons and things like that. And went to bed that night about 10 o'clock. I actually thought of calling Pierce at about 9:30 because he had commented on a Snapchat I put up and he never commented on anything. Not I mean, he commented on something, a post of mine on Facebook. He never used to even like or comment. And I thought, oh, I should call him. I should call him quick and see if he's coming tomorrow. And I thought, nah, and I didn't. So he was killed on the 15th at about 1020, 10:30 at night.

SPEAKER_00 8:42

So oh, Christy, that is just a lot to take in as a parent. And it's so interesting because I didn't really know the little things that you were finding of him that day. Little hot, little hugs and you know, great reminders of him to kind of help soak your heart up ahead of all of this craziness that unfolded. And I just am wondering after that event with people coming to the door and notifying you, what's the first sign that you saw or something that made you kind of have some hope? Or maybe think, what's going on here? Is this a coincidence? Or how am I gonna get through this? You know, help me connect God. Because I know you're very spiritual and go to church as I do. So I'm sure that there were prayers amidst the deep, deep grief.

The Night Everything Changed

SPEAKER_01 9:49

Right. So at the time, even now, going walking or running is pretty much how I clear my head. I guess I'm I've always said I'm not a really good sit-still meditator, but I'm a really good moving meditator. So I it was actually it was the 17th of August, which is Charlie's birthday, and I went out for a run. And I was coming up a little incline, and all of a sudden I just noticed something laying on the trail. And I picked it up and it was a rosebud. And there's no roses growing out on this walking, running trail path. Um if there is their wildflowers or weeds, there was actually a neighborhood girl who was running ahead of me, and I'm like, well, she went to drop this, but she obviously didn't see it anyway either. So I took that as a sign from Pierce that he was thinking of me. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:01

Thank you for sharing that and taking time to open up so transparently about it. I know that you and Pierce used to run together and you did a marathon or maybe more together. And I'm not sure if everyone knows, but roses really are the universal symbol of love. They show up unexpectedly. It's often interpreted as a message that love still exists between you and your loved one on the other side. And I actually can't think of anything more beautiful than a son leaving his mom one of the most powerful layered spiritual symbols, and in the space that you would be on, right? A space that you were going to clear your head and know that you could try to work through some things. Christy was really kind enough to share with us a couple years ago when I put out the book, see the signs, the actual picture of the rose that she found along her trail. And I'm not sure, but I just I just can't believe that's coincidence myself. I just can't. Christy, what do you think?

SPEAKER_01 12:20

Yeah, I I mean it's never it hasn't happened since. And yeah, I mean, it was a single little tiny rosebud. It's not like there was a smattering of roses that someone had dropped, a bouquet out there, or anything like that. So I've asked, you know, many times after that, well, show me another one, show me another rose, Pierce, you know. And it's you know, and when you ask for signs, it's never gonna be in the original way. It's never gonna be in a way you think it is. So I was running, it was probably a couple years later. I was like, well, Pierce, show me another rose, you know, and I finished my run and there was nothing, and got cleaned up and was sitting down and was gonna log on and listen to one of kind of my one of my favorite tarot readers. And she actually started doing a reading for me, and the card that she pulled out of the order oracle deck first was Rose. And I took home. Oh my gosh. So I'm like, okay, Pierce, there it is. There it is.

SPEAKER_00 13:26

It's just confirmation. What we've been hearing in all of these interviews is that number one, it seems like sometimes they don't show up when we want them to. And number two, which I think most of us have figured out when we're ready to receive and open our heart and eyes, that they come in different ways, but maybe with the same meaning, right? Instead of the physical rose, like flower that you might have been seeking. Here it is again, somebody that has no idea what's going on in your world, pull in some cards and the rose card comes out. I mean, that's your your son showing his love from beyond, right? And I think that it's really reinforcement that that sign so quickly after Pierce's passing is really a reinforcement. There is no waiting period for signs to appear, and that time doesn't really exist, right? In the afterlife, which I'm still trying to wrap my head around because I would love to control time a little bit more and speed it up and get the end outcomes that I want. But yet then here it appears when there wasn't a whole lot of like emphasis on it, right? It's like, yeah, show me it, but you kind of also knew they kind of come and go. And nature is one of the signs that I love for people to receive and connect with. And if you're spending time outside in nature, I honestly think there's lots of signs you can get outdoors. What's your thoughts on that, Christy?

The Rose On The Running Trail

SPEAKER_01 15:01

Oh, I definitely. Even this year, I mean, I was on the same trail and I had been thinking of my dad. And I come up actually the same little incline where they end where I found the rose, and I look to my left, and there is a hawk feather just sitting up in the grass. I actually took a picture of how it was sitting there. I've had it on my Facebook page before, and I knew it was my dad. And so now I've seen birds before, hawks and eagles, and I never really knew who it was, but now I know when I see the hawks, it's my dad. And so it just took it took a few years for him to finally be able to go, well, hello dear, that's me. Haven't you figured that out yet? And I had had a dream probably it was a little while after finding that hawk feather that I had a dream about my my dad telling me I show up in birds. We're showing up for you in birds. I'm like, woke up going, what? I'm like, so just a lot, a little for me.

SPEAKER_00 16:15

So I love that connectedness and that intuition that you've been kind of tapping into. That's really a beautiful image, and I can really feel the love as you describe him in that and receiving those signs from him. Since you've been receiving signs, well, first of all, let me back up for a second. Before these two deep events in your life, had you thought much about signs or had you received signs? And then after this, what's your kind of connection with signs outside of even loved ones? Like messages for yourself or just about life in general, or share some of those thoughts, Christy.

SPEAKER_01 17:04

So I I think I always believed that obviously there was more beyond this physical form. Before that, I I don't think I was paying attention much to, you know, if if if anything was trying to give me signs. I think there is one sign though that I used to get. So, and I didn't know who it was from until probably recently. But I used to wake up in the middle of the night and smell coffee. And I had to ask my husband one time because he wasn't in bed with me and he must have gone out to the couch to sleep. So I'm like, Did you make coffee at like two, three in the morning? He looked at me and he was like, No, of course not. And off and on, I smell coffee in the middle of the night. I do know now that from how I know it, I don't know. I just there's a knowing that it's my Aunt Lorene. So, because I always, when I was little, and we, you know, are we gonna have coffee? Are we gonna have a coffee shatty now? So, but yeah, so I've definitely had the signs or things and loved ones coming to me for whatever reason. And and I had forgotten until recently, too. Lorreen actually died eight years to the same day as Pierce. So she died August 15th, 2012. He died August 15th, 2020.

SPEAKER_00 18:26

So wow, that is crazy, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 18:32

Yeah, and a lot beautiful at the same time, right? But in the moment, you're not thinking of it. Sometimes it takes a long time before you can put the puzzle pieces together from signs. Like then you're like, oh, and then I had this happen three years ago. Oh, and I think the in divine timing is when you finally get to put all of it together. Because I will say this about the hawks. I recently put this together with the feather and the dream. So when I was out for a long run, it would have been 2021, and I was running out to Pine Creek, actually, where Pierce is buried. And so it's about 18 miles out from where I live. And I was oh I was probably a mile and a half out. And all of a sudden, I felt this shadow over me. And I looked to my right, and here is this hawk flying really low. And I thought, am I running that bad that you think that you're gonna be able to like eat me or peck me? Or am I gonna, you know, but and it flew with me or alongside of me when I was running for quite some time, and then all of a sudden headed out towards the cemetery where Pierce is buried. So I love that.

SPEAKER_00 19:44

It's almost like your dad was right alongside of you. Yeah, and I didn't know that at the time.

SPEAKER_01 19:50

Right.

SPEAKER_00 19:51

Oh, right.

SPEAKER_01 19:53

Hawk was okay.

How Signs Arrive In New Ways

SPEAKER_00 19:55

And I just quickly pulled up some definitions of hawk meaning as a spiritual sign. And there's two things I want to say about this. Number one, you can go online and there's lots of resources, and you can find what other people have written about what these signs mean. And there's also the second piece, which is what a sign means for you. So the hawk may or may not mean this for Christy or, you know, for one of you listening, but a hawk is a sign of vision, clarity, strength, and focus. It's ability to see the bigger picture and rise above challenges and ask for precision. And it's also a common symbol for messengers, spirit guides, protectors, often seen as a bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds. So, Christy, when you get your signs, do you kind of interpret them on your own now? Do you kind of look them up and just take it for that value? Because I think the more we see them, the more we kind of start to be like, oh, this is what it means for me. But I'd like to hear your perspective on that.

SPEAKER_01 21:05

I think at the beginning, I really I would look a lot of things up. And then if something resonated, it would stick out to me, like, oh, okay, that's kind of what that pertains to me. But now, I mean, I see the same, the same stuff a lot. And people can say, well, once you start seeing it, then you always see it. You know, there's that whole trying to debunk that you're not really getting signs, that you're just becoming more observant and cognizant of the fact that there's a bunch of 22s that show up everywhere, or people say the number 22 all the time in my presence, which I don't think is a normal thing. So I can, you know, I see the same numbers and the same symbols a lot. And if there's kind of like a one-off, I kind of wait to see if I'll see it again, and then I might look it up first is to try to get a general feel of what it means to in a general sense, and then see how that is applying to my life in that moment.

SPEAKER_00 22:07

So I know that I actually don't see like just two-digit repeating numbers. I often see three-digit repeating numbers, and most of the time they're never the same. I mean, sometimes I'll get like 333 or 444. Never had 22 people, so 22 is not something that comes to me. So, and what was 22, Christy?

SPEAKER_01 22:32

So that was Pierce's age, and so and how I I don't know why that is the number for Pierce, but it just is. I have annoying 42 is for my dad. He obviously was not 42 when he passed, but that's the year he was born. Yep. And then when I see 422, which I do see it a lot, that's them together.

SPEAKER_00 22:51

Aw, that's so nice to have that combination that you recognize that. And what do you think for someone who's listening and wondering if they're missing their loved ones' signs, what advice would you give them or how would you tell them to kind of step into that?

Hawks, Feathers, And Dad’s Hello

SPEAKER_01 23:11

I think you have to really be open to the fact that these signs are not happening in any way, that they're not gonna happen the way they've happened to me. They're gonna happen however they're gonna happen to you, and you have to just open your eyes and your ears. And when and when you see it, believe it. I think just a lot of people try to say, Oh, well, that's just a coincidence, or that certainly isn't any sign for me. It it definitely isn't, especially if there's repeating things that keep happening there. And I don't think any sign is gonna pass you by, they're just gonna keep on trying to show it to you over and over and over until you finally see it.

SPEAKER_00 23:52

So yeah, it just kind of hits you right over the head, like, oh, now I get it. And it's amazing how some of those moments, you know, when you discover signs can come through so clearly, or the dreams can come through so through so clearly. It's really just like a little hello from beyond. And I think rather than fight it, we should just like respawn back, right? We should be like, yes, hello, and come back again. Send me more signs. Was there a particular time when you realized that, and maybe this isn't even true for you, Christy, that signs kind of helped you through processing loss and grief?

SPEAKER_01 24:36

Um, yes. In in a combination with actually, you know, I've had a few mediumship readings as well, and I've gotten confirmation from them. The signs that I've seen are definitely from them. It's it's comforting. They're right here. I mean, I've always believed that even as a child, that once someone leaves their physical form, they're they're just they're not gone. They're just on a other side of a veil that we can't see through with our meat suit eyes on. So here we are. And that's the only way they can show us that, hey, we're still here. You know, the connection is still here. You just have to believe in it. Does some days I kind of look and go, you know, can I just have five minutes with my son instead of seeing 122s today or hearing his name or other things that you know happen. So sometimes it's kind of exhausting because it's like, is this is this what I'm gonna get? Can I can I get a little bit more, you know? But it has helped and it is a comfort because sometimes when I'm feeling sad or like, why am you know what's going on? And there'll be something on the TV that, you know, rose isn't a 22, or you know, I'll turn on or look on Instagram and there'll be something there that all of a sudden it'll be, you know, a sign. And so yeah, they're always still here. You can just talk to them.

SPEAKER_00 26:16

I mean, I talk to my dad all the time, so I think those are all really good simple reminders for us. And the reality is is that it's an ongoing process in life when we have loss. And we do need, for me, anyways, little bits of hope to remind me that as the emotions come up or are coming through, that like, okay, all right, I see you, I feel you, I know you're still here. And then I try to shift back into some fun memories that might still bring up emotion because I got a little, I mean, I'm a Taurus sign, but I'm a cancer moon, so that's a very emotional person. So, and sometimes it's just good to let those emotions come through and to want more, because sometimes when we want more, we get more or we receive at a deeper level. I know when you and I had connected around Pierce and the tragic situation that happened to him. I know intuitively some of the information that came through me, although I cannot recall all of it right now, but I do remember you saying that it was kind of like spot-on things that the police had said or that the police had found out after the accident. And that I'm hoping that that was some reassurance to you, and it also helped open up your intuitiveness. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

What Symbols Mean To You

SPEAKER_01 27:50

So when I talked to you, you you knew nothing about the accident. You just knew that Pierce had been killed. You had no way, you didn't even know how you didn't know anything. Oh no, yep. And you just said that you felt like your chest, like your chest was hurting. Well, he T-boned the drunk driver, blew a stop sign. He was going T-boned, would have hit the handlebars and went flying. But you always reassured me, Matt. The police officers, when I spoke to him over the phone, said I just wanted to know if he died instantly because I didn't want him to suffer. And he said yes. And you had confirmed that for me. He's you said as soon as he hit he was out, and my dad was there to greet him. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:40

Uh, you know, this time of the year is I can already feel the energy of the holidays creeping up. I mean, the minute you know Halloween was over, we're starting with Thanksgiving. Although a lot of us are skipping to Christmas, it seems like. But I'm gonna be doing a little three-part series, and one of them is really gonna be oh, it's gonna be about uh a connected Christmas. And one of the I guess remote sessions will be about loss of loved ones during the holidays and how to kind of navigate that. If you're comfortable, is there anything you want to share with us about getting through the holidays back then and now? And maybe some things you might do to honor him, if anything, or your dad? Yeah, maybe those will be some key touch points for people.

SPEAKER_01 29:32

Okay, so the first Christmas right after Pierce was killed, we actually I put his stocking out on his grave site and asked people to stop by, put in memories or anything of Pierce in there, and then we collect we Parker actually went out and got it and brought it in when we had Christmas together and we read through what people had put in there, and I still have all of those in a box. And I s you know, that's the one thing I think a lot of people when I meet them, I always know my son is gone every day. So anyone coming up and talking to me about my son just means that he's living on in somebody else, that I'm not the only one who lost somebody who they cared about. And I thoroughly enjoy when people share memories because there's uh you don't always know everything about your kid. They have a life of their own. And it's always fun to do that. As far as moving forward through the holidays now going on year five without Pierce, I don't think we do anything particular to honor him. I remember I thought I had read something about, you know, oh, you should set a place setting for them and you know, leave an empty chair. And then I had a mediumship reading where the lady said, Did you see something about, you know, leaving an empty chair for holidays? And I said, Yeah. He said, Don't do that. That's really stupid, mom. So I'm like, okay, I guess we won't be doing that. But you know, we talk about him as a family because he still is very much a part of our family. Unfortunately, my side of the family, my parents were going to Arizona for so many years before Christmas that we hadn't had Christmas with my parents for a really long time, whether that's good or bad. So it the holidays, as far as that, is a little easier to navigate for me because it's been decades since we had Christmas together. So, but I I normally get, I have two granddaughters now, and this will be Livy's first Christmas. But for Isla, I've just I didn't even know some of these gifts existed, and she will usually get a little special gift that's inspired by her Uncle Pierce.

Numbers, Patterns, And Personal Codes

SPEAKER_00 31:57

So that's how I that's such meaningful ways to keep him close during the holidays, Christy. I loved that Christmas stocking out there and bringing everything back and still having it, and then celebrating him through the next generation, right? His little nieces that are floating around down here and are probably connected to him as well. And I'm not sure if you saw me, but I was like just trying to hold it together because this is gonna be episode five, Christy. Oh you just said that this is the fifth holiday without him. So I knew not to put out an episode earlier today, because usually I release them on Sunday mornings, put out my newsletter and or email list, news information, and then this episode, and I just kept hearing nope, don't put it out. And now I know why, because this is to honor him in his fifth holiday season. So thank you for being on here today. And you guys, you can't make this stuff up. There are reasons we're being guided and nudged every day.

SPEAKER_01 33:15

Yeah, you just have to believe, and you'll know. I mean, you can feel it down to your very core that that's your loved one, or who whatever, or that's a sign for me. And just don't let anyone else's noise get in your ear.

SPEAKER_00 33:32

So your story is such a powerful and insightful one today, Christy. Is there anything you want to share with our listeners before we kind of wrap up today?

SPEAKER_01 33:50

Your loved ones want you to be happy. So when I see those signs, I always remember that I'm still living. So I need to live. And they're right alongside us, they aren't missing any of it. I know I thoroughly know that my dad has seen his great-granddaughters, and you just have to believe. I mean, that's just the whole thing. You just you have to believe and know that that connection will never be broken.

SPEAKER_00 34:24

And with the holiday season and the believing in Santa Claus and the birth of Jesus and whatever else you believe in, please start knowing that believing in the signs. Be open to believing and receiving. And through signs, synchronicity, spiritual moments. Christie's discovered that love truly never ends. It only changes form. Until next time, keep seeking your signs.