I hope Jesus is OK with my using His words.
It happened again, on the morning of Monday, May 3. I died, went to Heaven, and returned (the first trip was March 14). Breathing is a real problem now, and I guess my lungs just got overwhelmed.
This time, I did not want to come back here; I was in tears at being made to return.
I haven't been well enough to write a full narrative yet, but no worries about it being forgotten in any detail. Won't happen.
It was experientially consistent with the first visit in terms of sensory fidelity and an unambiguous and logical sequence of events, though the setting was different.
It was a party, put on by Barb, in my honour, with food and entertainment and people I am meant to know. One of our current dogs, Strawberry, was there. She's a petite Bullmastiff, and in Heaven she is not petite but huge, with a window-rattling bark. And a scarlet-and-gold harness!
We all arrive at the same time. Paul said that, I think, the "we who are alive and remain" thing. That's what Barb says, anyway.
This was not a place of 'happiness', for that word denotes the existence of its opposite, and that's not the case in Heaven. The opposite isn't just gone...it never was.
In Heaven, Happy is the noun that defines the whole.
On coming back to this life, I was devastated, but was shortly given information. By God? Perhaps. By an angel, as Barb suggested? Maybe.
It didn't come in words, exactly, but it did come in words. Try to make sense of that. I can't.
There will be another trip. I was at first told that I would not return from the third time, but the 'Voice' then amended Himself to say that I would come back to tell the story.
The three trips are analogues of the Triune God; the first is something of sweeping vistas and majesty, and is a voyage of discovery ("Oh, of course...that's the way it's supposed to be.")
The first trip is being taken up into God the Father, as a wick is taken up into a candle-flame. Only the wick is not consumed, and the flame does not burn.
The second trip, described above, is being taken up into the New Life in Christ. It is an out-and-out celebration.
The third trip will be...wait for it...taken up into the Holy Ghost. I have no idea what it will be like, but look forward to finding out.
I am writing as factually and clinically as I can, without interpretation, because I truly want you, the reader, to take comfort and joy from these experiences. I suspect it may be why I still live; Barb thinks so.
So why have I been selected for this, and charged with the task of writing about it?
Darned if I know. I'm deeply honoured, don't get me wrong, but probably any of you, reading this, could do the job better.
But it's in my lap, and I will do my best. I won't write anything that didn't happen, and won't leave out anything that did.
But it's hard, because I can only describe what I experienced. I saw no New Jerusalem, no streets of gold, no angelic choirs.
I saw no Throne Room.
I did meet Jesus on the first trip, but the encounter was so laid-back that I did not realize until later whom I'd met.
I wasn't taken up into the air, and no-one wore robes or crowns. The clothes were 'nice' comfortable wear, and I saw no headgear of any kind.
What I'm trying to say...and why I have still held back from posting the narrative of the first trip...is that I don't want to undermine anyone else's picture of what Heaven will be like.
I only saw what I saw. The other stuff may be there; I simply do not have that information.
But I do have what I saw, burned indelibly into my heart.
Were it not so, I would not have told you.
I died on Monday morning,
sent Heavenward, returned.
I saw new life a-borning,
but have I truly earned
the right to tell of glories
through which I have now passed?
Can I relate the glowing stories
of the effervescent joy that lasts,
or should my words be now constrained
unto an earthly plane,
speaking as though I have remained
with those whose vision stays the same
to see the bright eternal age
through well-loved words on holy page?
Music from Kool And The Gang, with Celebration. (Please click here if the video doesn't come up on your device.)
God allows us to be the individuals we are, thus... your experience is your own yes? FMF4
ReplyDeleteAnnette, I think you're right. Barb said this morning, too, that "God meets us where we are, for for who we are."
DeleteAndrew, Thank you for these comforting words and description that only you have to give! Out dear friend is dying of cancer alongside you, and it comforts me that she will not be suffering in heaven. There is no crown of thorns or gold. There is a peace and there is happiness. What JOY we all have to look forward to! A party! YES a party! I hope you have a wonderul weekend with Barb. Write on friend. Write on, Jennifer FMF
ReplyDeleteJenn, I'm so sorry about your friend, and so thrilled that my words have given comfort! There is much ahead of this life, no sorrow, no tears...just that joy which goes on and on, deeper and wider and faster.
DeleteAndrew, of very account of heaven given, there are no duplicate stories. I believe this is the mystery of Godliness that Paul talks about. We are not meant to know, we are meant to believe and encourage one another in the faith. When you mention three trips, I immediately thought of Scrooge and the three visits. Haha! Paul said he went to the third Heaven, and could not tell whether awake or asleep. We see what we see, I don't understand it. I no longer question it. The gospel is God sent His Son, Jesus Christ into the world to live, die and resurrect for us so we don't have to go to hell. No other gospel. All else is mystery. I love you Andrew. These two trips were two months apart. I wonder, as I'm sure you do, how soon the next will be. I look forward to you telling all three chapters. That is long enough for a book! Prayers for you and Barb.
ReplyDeleteMary, I also thought of Scrooge...a bit later, though!
DeleteThe next trip has happened; it was not what I expected, and perhaps all the more resonant for that.
There is more to come. I'm really hurting, really struggling, but for this reason, I think, to tell this...I am still here.
Love you too, dear heart.
I've often heard it said, "Three's a charm." xo
ReplyDeleteSusan, three is indeed a charm, and the third has come, unexpected in form, but compelling beyond anything I can say.
DeleteXOXOXO!!!!!!!
Amen Andrew. Thank you for this blessed account of your second trip. Continued prayers for you and Barb. Blessings.
ReplyDelete~Selah~
Visiting from FMF#8
Paula, thank you so much...your presence here, and your faith and wisdom, and such a support!
DeleteThank you for sharing your story. Beautiful words. FMF#3
ReplyDeleteTina, thank you so much!
DeleteI've been gone a while... your post makes it feel even longer than it's been. Praying for you, friend.
ReplyDeleteAmie, FMF #32
Amie, I have missed you, and am SO GLAD you're back!
DeleteThank you so much for your prayers. The strength of your faith is an inspiration...may I say that there are times I have leaned upon you, to find my own faith?
This gives me chills -- good chills. I long for heaven (not in a macabre way). I am happy here; I don't want to go. But I can't wait to go. Yeah, I know, that doesn't make sense. Only, I suspect, it does make sense to you. Prayers and blessings. FMF#41
ReplyDeleteSue, I get you...I don't want to go, either. There's too much pain, and not enough air, but still SO MUCH to do!
DeleteI think of it as a few mil in a Turks and Caicos bank account. Can't use it till I'm there, but when I arrive, oh, man, the party's just beginning..!
By sharing your experiences, you are doing a lot of us so much good, especially in trying times like this, Andrew. Thank you for your strength and the beauty of your words!
ReplyDeleteCorinne, I am honoured and humbled by what you have said...thank you for this.
DeleteMy goal, or mission, or ministry...you choose, I don't know...is to offer a straight account of what I have seen, where I have been, and the confirmation of hope.
Thank you for sharing this, Andrew. I think I mentioned previously that I'm reading a book about a woman who was struck by lightning and ... went to a place that she then came back from. (It's a much more complex explanation than that...). There's a line in it that I almost used in my post tonight, but it didn't fit and it deserves deeper thought. It is, "I believe that we cycle back with the same people in different lifetimes. Your beloved mother in this life may be your daughter in another." I'm taking it slightly out of context here (b/c it's part of her explaining the way her experience changed her views of what "is") ... but the line gives me hope. I'll lie there at night after reading about her new connections and think, "maybe if I leave the radio off and my mind open," I'll connect with my mom in some way. I'm wandering a bit here, but it's on my mind. I appreciate what you have shared.
ReplyDeletePaula, I absolutely understand the reference to 'cycling back with the same people in different lifetimes'...I have had the 'third calling' (I don't know what the heck to call it), and I met specific people whom I do not know in this life, but who are 'connected' to me.
DeleteI came to Christianity from Soto Zen Buddhism; I am still a Buddhist, and there is no contradiction (Buddhism is a way of seeing; NOT a way of faith).
I leave the radio off now, too, and listen to the music of the deep still night.
And I hear angels singing.
I enjoyed reading this. The journey fascinates. What is interesting is that you came back to tell of the experience. Our view of the next life is so limited. Some day we will know the beauty of everlasting life.
ReplyDeleteMy dear, dear Norma...yes, I came back to tell of this, and the third journey has been made.
DeleteThe beauty is beyond anything we can imagine here...but it's worth every minute, every second of travail.
Andrew, I'm so glad you shared here. I've been praying for you, my friend. I so appreciate your words and your desire to let each person discover heaven. I anticipate the time we'll be heaven together and can talk face-to-face with Jesus and with each other.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, I continue to pray for you and Barb, my friend.