On August 7, 1979, just seven days after my son was born, I lifted myself off of the couch and said to my husband that I didn’t feel right as I made my way down the hallway to the bathroom. I felt faint and light-headed as I sat down on the toilet to urinate. All of a sudden massive amounts of blood clots the size of softballs began pouring into the toilet. I didn’t understand that this was clotting. When I looked into the toilet, I honestly thought my insides had fallen out of me and I knew without any doubt that I was going to die! I was so frightened by that knowledge that I immediately closed my eyes and “let go.”

With my eyes closed I heard a huge rushing noise and felt myself being propelled by a force outside of myself. That was when I opened my eyes and found myself standing upright and travelling through a dark tunnel-like vehicle. I knew I was dead and yet I wasn’t concerned about that. I sensed that there was a long line of others in front of and behind me. I couldn’t tell you what they looked like other than they seemed to be made of light, but I knew I wasn’t alone! When I looked out toward the sky, I could see the stars as we raced by. I was also keenly aware that there was someone standing directly behind me and a little to my right. I can’t be sure but I felt as though his hand was rested on my shoulder. I felt that this person was there just for me.

Suddenly I saw a pinpoint of very white light somewhere in the distance. Then, just when I noticed the light up ahead, I felt the speed we were travelling at begin to pick up, and the pinpoint of light began to get bigger and bigger, until I was delivered into it.

I seemed to be in a room that had no ceiling and it was filled with the whitest light I have ever seen. It was thick and so I was unable to see the others that were in the room with me, but I could hear them singing what seemed to be one single note of music that vibrated with praise. I could also feel love and joy in this light. This part is hard to describe because it is completely un-describable. There is no love or joy here on earth that I’m aware of that can be compared to the love and joy I felt there, and there aren’t words in our earthly languages that can describe it, so I will leave it to your imagination. Yet, at the same time I say “good luck with that” as there isn’t an imagination that can dream of love and joy in that manner; it’s impossible to describe or imagine!

I left that room and found myself outdoors walking along a sidewalk wide enough for 4 people to walk abreast and still have comfortable space for each of them to walk and interact with each other. There were others around me but they all seemed intent on talking with each other and didn’t take notice of me. When I looked toward the right of where I was standing, I could see majestic mountains with a waterfall, and below the mountains was a beautiful valley with lots of trees and a meadow filled with wild flowers. The colors popped with vividness. If you think the colors on earth are gorgeous, you haven’t seen anything yet! Our colors seem muted in comparison!

As I continued to walk along on the sidewalk, I was suddenly aware of a gated garden to the left of the meadow. It was filled with fruit trees and flowering bushes. The gate had an arch over it that was covered in a flowering vine! I left the sidewalk, walked straight to the garden gate and reached to unlatch it. Up until that moment, I hadn’t noticed that I still had a physical body until saw my hand reach to unlatch the gate.

Before I could unlatch the gate however, I heard someone summon me back onto the sidewalk. When I looked at Him I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I was in the presence of Yashuah! He wore a long white robe and sandals. He was very handsome with long dark hair, and a short, well-maintained beard. He was also very strong looking! People have asked me “how do you know it was Him?” I can only tell you that when you are in the presence of the Lord, you have no doubt as to “who” He is! We walked for a moment when He motioned for me to sit down on a stone bench that was in front of the building that I’d just come out of. In front of us was the garden, and to the right of us was the valley with the meadow, and in the distance, I could see the mountains. Over my right shoulder and behind the bench was another building. The sidewalk we’d been walking on lead to that building.

The sheer joy of sitting there on the stone bench, in the “light”, with my Savior, was overwhelming. I felt as though I’d come home! It was here that He told me that I still had work to do and I couldn’t stay there, I needed to go back. I pleaded with Him to let me stay. He reminded me of my children and how much they needed me. My daughter was two and a half years old and my son was only seven days old. Still, I begged and pleaded to be allowed to stay!

It was then that I heard my name being called but I heard it like a “whisper” in my ear. At that moment, I felt myself come back into my body and found my husband screaming my name while holding me in his arms on the bathroom floor. Later he told me that when he found me, I was as white as a sheet, covered in blood and in the “death” convulsion. His scream of my name on earth is what I heard as a whisper in my ear and it brought me back to earth! Never let it be said that God doesn’t hear our prayers, I’m living testimony that our voices can, and are, heard in heaven!

I was rushed to the hospital that night and received a shot to stop the hemorrhaging. The next day a D&C was performed. Apparently, the hospital staff where I’d delivered my son hadn’t removed all of the after birth and I had gone into toxic shock syndrome.

What did I learn from this? I can tell you that my life has never been the same. I have had a hunger and thirst to understand what exactly had happened to me and why me!? I don’t question that anymore; instead, I savor the very real memory and after thirty-eight years of searching the Scriptures for the knowledge of the truth I’ve come to understand what Yashuah shared with me; He wanted me to come back to earth to remind everyone that Heaven does exist and Yashuah is real. He is the Son of God!

He also wanted me to tell you that we, all of us, have known each other forever and we’ll continue to know each other in eternity. It’s vitally important that we change our attitude and demeanor toward those whom we deem to be strangers and begin treating everyone as though we know them and care about them, as though they are family. When we care about someone, we naturally want the best for them. That is what Yashuah wants us to feel for others, even those we don’t know and consider to be strangers. This kind of love leads to saving souls for Yashuah. It leads to eternity together!

But what about the people who will abuse, hurt or even kill you? Well, I can only tell you what I know from my personal relationship with God…He has given me several gifts, but among them, He has given me the gifts of “discernment” and “faith” and He expects me to use them. He has also promised me that “not one hair on my head will be harmed by the enemies of God.” I say, “If God is with you, who can be against you?”