Disguised by its pleasant sounding recording, that announcement,
“We will now begin making connections,” sounded much more ominous as it was
played the second time. After my
outburst earlier when the giant wheel I was on had backed away from the darker
one, the electrodes that were attached to me had popped off.
But before the re-attachment was to resume, the technical authorities had one more test to perform to insure that I met their criteria for being qualified as dead. At my son James’ recommendation, they were preparing to take an x-ray. I have no idea what this was supposed to have shown them.
Quickly, an old fashioned looking black screen in an aluminum frame about the size of a large laptop computer screen was brought out. There were cables attached to it going to equipment off to the side. From my observation point of view I saw it being placed over me. James made some small adjustments then gave the OK.
Then… ZAP!!
Instantly, a blinding flash of light engulfed the entire area. It was like an explosive electrical short circuit or lightning strike, except that there was no sound! So intense was the light that everything was washed completely out of sight!
Then…I was awake…wide awake!
Immediately, I saw an excited and smiling nurse walking beside my bed as it was rolling along a hospital hallway – the first smiling face I had seen since the beginning of my journey when the lady pasted the paper strips to the visors of our track car. Everything was so bright and cheerful, and there were…colors! Everywhere! Other people around us were also talking and smiling…I had not seen this for so long! I felt totally liberated (although on my back with a ventilator tube stuck in my mouth)!
And I was excited, too. I was eager to tell everyone about where I had been and how I had just been rescued from the gates of Hell. I wanted to warn them to be prepared so they would not go there.
I had no idea what my family and the medical staff had been through during the last eight days or so of medical setbacks. Nor did I realize that I was actually on my way back from a CT scan to determine what serious problem I had. Because I was not responding and not waking up (remember the furrowed brow) from the medically paralyzed state that they had put me in, there was concern about possible brain injury.
I was then blessed by a very kind and attentive male nurse who made every effort to communicate with me, to get me cleaned up and to make me as comfortable as possible, considering all my attachments. What a joy and a blessing it was then to see Sherril and my three sons gathered around me! I was surprised to see that even John had traveled all the way from Cambodia and wondered why he was there. But I was at peace and very thankful to be alive. End of story? Hardly…because I was alive, I knew I now had a commitment to fulfill. In a very real sense the story was just beginning.
But before the re-attachment was to resume, the technical authorities had one more test to perform to insure that I met their criteria for being qualified as dead. At my son James’ recommendation, they were preparing to take an x-ray. I have no idea what this was supposed to have shown them.
Quickly, an old fashioned looking black screen in an aluminum frame about the size of a large laptop computer screen was brought out. There were cables attached to it going to equipment off to the side. From my observation point of view I saw it being placed over me. James made some small adjustments then gave the OK.
Then… ZAP!!
Instantly, a blinding flash of light engulfed the entire area. It was like an explosive electrical short circuit or lightning strike, except that there was no sound! So intense was the light that everything was washed completely out of sight!
Then…I was awake…wide awake!
Immediately, I saw an excited and smiling nurse walking beside my bed as it was rolling along a hospital hallway – the first smiling face I had seen since the beginning of my journey when the lady pasted the paper strips to the visors of our track car. Everything was so bright and cheerful, and there were…colors! Everywhere! Other people around us were also talking and smiling…I had not seen this for so long! I felt totally liberated (although on my back with a ventilator tube stuck in my mouth)!
And I was excited, too. I was eager to tell everyone about where I had been and how I had just been rescued from the gates of Hell. I wanted to warn them to be prepared so they would not go there.
I had no idea what my family and the medical staff had been through during the last eight days or so of medical setbacks. Nor did I realize that I was actually on my way back from a CT scan to determine what serious problem I had. Because I was not responding and not waking up (remember the furrowed brow) from the medically paralyzed state that they had put me in, there was concern about possible brain injury.
I was then blessed by a very kind and attentive male nurse who made every effort to communicate with me, to get me cleaned up and to make me as comfortable as possible, considering all my attachments. What a joy and a blessing it was then to see Sherril and my three sons gathered around me! I was surprised to see that even John had traveled all the way from Cambodia and wondered why he was there. But I was at peace and very thankful to be alive. End of story? Hardly…because I was alive, I knew I now had a commitment to fulfill. In a very real sense the story was just beginning.
For several days I could not look at a blank wall or close my eyes without seeing for a few moments swirling masses of small black specks like I had seen in the vision of the ancient ruins I had been shown just before my awakening.
However, it would be many months before the story of the Parallel Journey could begin to be told. Not only was my endurance completely shot, but with the medications, tubes, breathing difficulties and various other issues and distractions I found it extremely challenging to focus for any length of time on a subject and a huge effort physically to carry on a sustained conversation. My body weight within a two-week’s time frame had ranged from a high of 150 pounds (30 above normal) because of massive edema down to a low of 87. I was at 95 when discharged from the hospital.
But God’s timing is always perfect and He gave me the months of delay to allow time to meditate on and evaluate what I had experienced, to be able to put things in perspective and to understand better the meaning of many confusing aspects of the journey. It took a similar effort to piece together all that had happened to me physically and to match certain events in the physical realm with those in the underworld.
I slowly began to realize that my being alive and being mentally and physically functional, except for my total debilitation, was truly a series of miracles. It was nothing less than an outpouring of God’s grace arising from an ongoing concert of prayers from friends, family and even people and whole churches I did not know, literally around the world!
There are still questions that I do not have answers for. But there is so much more that I have learned from the journey that I hope to continue being able to share with others. My goal is to help them understand what Jesus has accomplished for us, the critical need for accepting His gift of freedom from sin and death and the urgency of getting this message out to people who have never heard.
In the next several segments I will be sharing some key insights, lessons learned and how this experience has changed my thinking and my life. Your comments and questions are also welcome and I will attempt to respond to them as completely as I can. But I must add the caveat that I am still learning from the experience myself.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. -- Psalms 103:1-5 (ESV)
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