The Unforgettable Journey

It started late one morning
On a day like any other.
I washed the dishes,
Fed the cat...
An ordinary mother.

I spent a good two hours
Soaking in God's Holy Word,
But when I prayed for my two girls,
The Devil must have heard.

I'm sure I made him angry
When I banished all his kind.
He wanted sweet revenge on me,
And had a plan in mind.

It started with a numbing,
Running down my whole left arm,
Then a tightness in my chest
That filled me with alarm.

I grabbed the phone.

The numbers blurred.
I dialed 9-1-1.
The room around me filled with light
Much brighter than the sun.

I dropped the phone and then collapsed
Onto the hardwood floor,
Unaware that E.M.T.'s
Would soon be at my door.

I couldn't breathe.
It felt like bricks
Were sitting on my chest.
My skin was cold and clammy.

I tried, but couldn't rest.

The ambulance was right outside.
I heard the sirens blare.
The E.M.T.'s burst through the door
And found me lying there.

They checked me for a pulse
And shook their heads in great despair.
One of them determined
That I wasn't even there!

And yet I WAS!
I hovered nearly eight feet in the air,
Watching frantic men
From my vantage point up there.

I watched them doing C.P.R.
On someone deathly white.
They tried to save this woman's life
With all their earthly might.

Then they tried some paddles
That they placed upon her chest.
The voltage made the body jump!

They TRULY did their best.

The woman seemed familiar
As I watched them from above,
But she was clearly dead, I saw.
The hand had left the glove.

Just then, I saw her gold class ring
From 1989.
The markings struck a chord with me.
I realized...
It was...
MINE!

"I CAN'T be dead!" I screamed at them.

Of course, no one could hear,
So I flew down to one of them
And yelled into his ear!

He wouldn't pay attention,
No matter how I tried.

I went and stood beside myself
To be there by my side.

I stared at all the new gray hairs
And wrinkles on my face.
My GOODNESS, I'd been getting OLD!
Oh, what a pure DISGRACE!

And yet, I felt so peaceful,
So happy, and so free!
I was GLAD the victim
Of the heart attack was ME!

I had no earthly body,
So I found that I could fly!
I was sure that I could float
Right to the clear, blue sky!

But suddenly, a vortex
With blackened walls appeared.
It drew me in, inviting me...
My head had finally cleared.

I whizzed up through the blackness.
There were wind chimes I could hear.
The air was rushing past me,
But I felt no hint of fear.
I started flying faster
Through the tunnel long and black.

I missed my girls.
Had they been called?
I turned for one look back.

I lay there on a stretcher
With a white sheet o'er my head.
The driver told the other men,
"It's too late, guys. She's dead."

Oh, but if they'd only known
The folly of their tears,
For I had not felt so alive
In twenty-seven years!

The tunnel's end before me,
I could see a brilliant Light.
It shone like white-hot diamonds.
It was big and bold and bright!

I flew right to its center,
Like a moth to open flame.
The Light was made of God's pure love,
And "Jesus" was His Name!

He loved me with a perfect love
That made me fully whole.
I didn't want to pull away.
He seemed to heal my soul!

What happened next was very strange:
A movie of my life.
Everything I'd ever done
Was shown from joy to strife.

I felt the feelings of the ones
I'd interacted with,
From my children to my foes,
And even my dog, Smith.

Some scenes left me feeling sad,
Like when I'd hurt someone.
I felt the way the victim felt.
It wasn't any fun.

Some were scenes of joyful service
To my Lord and King.
As I felt His pleasure,
I felt like I could SING!

Every humble task I did,
And every smile I gave...
If I'd known I'd relive it all,
I would have been Christ's SLAVE!

Too quickly, it was over,
And He asked me to reflect.

If I could live my life again,
I'd give God more respect.

I'd read my Bible daily.
I'd love and serve and pray.
I'd never take for granted
That I'd live another day.
Life is over in a flash!
You're born, and then you die.
The way you live your life on Earth
Will make God smile...
Or cry.

And then the Light embraced me.
I felt that He was pleased
With every act of service,
Every moment that I'd seized.

I looked around and saw
That there were other spirits here:
People who had long since died,
Dear friends from far and near.

My stillborn son Nathaniel
Bathed me in his golden light.
It seemed I'd known him all my life,
And what a welcome sight!

I saw my Aunt Samantha,

And my birth mom talked with me.
She said she'd never wanted
To give up on raising me,
But she was young and unprepared.
My life would not be good.
My father had abandoned her,
Like Grandma said he would.

She gave me to a couple,
And they raised me as their own.
(They'd been the greatest parents
That I'd could have ever known!)

It broke her heart to have her baby
Taken from her side.
She knew she'd put my welfare first,
But still, for months she cried.

She wondered what became of me,
Throughout her lonely years,
But Jesus held her in His Arms,
And healed her through her tears.

She'd had no choice.
I understood.
It all was for the best.

I visited my nephew,
Who'd been shot,
And all the rest.

I tried to stay and bathe in love,
But Jesus told me, "No.
You must return," he said to me.

I didn't want to go.
Death was LIFE,
And I had seen the glory of the King.
I BEGGED to stay.
I felt complete!
My heart could dance and sing!

"Your journey isn't yet complete,"
My Jesus said to me.
"Love all those around you,
And obey me selflessly."

I zoomed back through the tunnel,
Suddenly no longer dead.
The paddles shocked my body
From my feet up to my head!

They'd taken one last chance on me.
It worked, or so it seems.

I KNOW that what I saw and felt
Was NOT the stuff of dreams,
And now I serve my Savior
From the dawn 'til late at night.
My second death will surely be
A day of pure delight!

What Satan didn't count on
(There was no way that he could.)
Was that the death he meant for harm
Was used by God for GOOD!)