Live with the End in Mind - part two

We were sitting in the hospital room surrounding the bed with my grandfather's covered body.

We were in mourning. Crying. Heads hung low.

After nearly a month in the hospital, my grandfather's heart and body finally succumbed to death. We were simply waiting for the doctors to come and take his body from the room.

Instead, a doctor came in and asked, "What are you doing in here?"

"We're here waiting for someone to take his body away," someone replied.

"Oh, haven't you been told," asked the doctor. "That's not his body. He's been taken somewhere else and has been given a new body. Don't worry."

We were shocked and in disbelief. We didn't understand what the doctor was saying. Didn't he know we were in the room and watched my grandfather die with our own eyes?

And then, I awoke. It was just a dream, but the reality hadn't changed. My grandfather had died a few weeks beforehand.

In another dream, I was at my grandparents house. Several friends and family were there to fellowship after my grandfather's funeral. There were several people in my grandparents bedroom.

As I was walking toward the bedroom I bumped into my grandfather.

"What are you doing here," I asked in shock.

He just grabbed me and gave me a huge hug. "I've missed you so much," I said as a wave of emotion came over me. His arms felt so real as they wrapped around my back.

"My too," he said. "But don't worry. I'm okay. I'm in a really good place and I have a new body that doesn't get tired and I don't have any heart problems. Everything is fine."

And again, I awoke with the intense feeling of having just seen my grandfather. Both dreams were so real that I believe them to be the last memories I have of him.

As a result of those dreams, I confess I always wondered if I would have a similar dream when my grandmother passed away. I kept my curiosity private and never shared it with anyone. It seems kind of corny, I'm sure. But these were some of my most personal thoughts. What happens after we die? What is Heaven like?

After my wife and I returned from Memphis visiting my grandmother - knowing she was in her last hours - we collapsed from exhaustion and went to bed.

The telephone rang. It was shortly after mid-night on Monday morning.

"Hello."

"Hey, it's mom. I just wanted you to know that Granny died about an hour ago. She began to struggle breathing at about 11 p.m."

My mom proceeded to tell me my great aunt and a hospice nurse had been there when my grandmother died. Otherwise, it was a short conversation. I was exhausted and said good-bye.

I laid in bed thinking. Without consciously realizing, I fell into a deep sleep.

I was in my grandmother's bedroom. She lay on the bed with my mom laying in the bed next to her. The hospice nurse was sitting next to the bed and my great aunt was near the bedroom door.

Suddenly, an angel entered the room. My grandmother, who for days was laying unconscious, awoke. But as she awakened, her body remained and her spirit rose separate from the body. The angel stretched out his arm and my grandmother took his hand.

My grandmother followed the angel toward the bedroom door. With each step they took, a bright light became increasingly brighter. Something told me to follow them. With each step I took, the light increased in brightness to the point of being nearly blinding.

Just when the light's intensity seemed as though it could become no brighter, I found myself standing on top of a cliff overlooking a vast city. I wasn't alone. An unseen guide was with me.

As I panned to my right, I noticed a large mountain. The city expanded as far as I could see and hugged the foot of the mountain. There was a bright light on top of the mountain that was the source of light for the entire city and world before me. It appeared, as I looked closer, that I could see someone in the middle of the light. There were angels in the sky surrounding the source of light. People were standing as close as they could to the person who emitted the light.

"That is God," said my host as though he could read my mind.

It was revealed to me that God's light is a part of Him and since His light was everywhere in Heaven, then so was He. His light repelled the possibility of temptation against His will and thus there was no sin in His prescience.

I stood in awe, but didn't fully comprehend what was happening. I didn't even realize I was asleep.

"I want to show you something," said my guide.

We turned to the left away from the mountain view toward the city below us. We focused on a point in the city, as though adjusting the lens of a camera. Once it was in focus, we were there. The movement was so fast that we hardly felt the motion.

We were on a street in the city. In front of us was the angel and my grandmother walking hand-in-hand. They were approaching a building and door. The door flew open before they reached the steps to the building.

As the door opened, my grandfather stepped outside with his hands in the air and a large smile on his face. My grandmother's expression was still of confusion as she didn't understand exactly what was happening.

"I'm so glad you are here," exclaimed my grandfather with obvious joy.

One thing I understood at this point was they were no longer married - but still connected through friendship and the bond they shared on earth. At least, that's why my grandmother was escorted to see my grandfather first.

"Come on in. I've got so much to show you," said my grandfather.

I wondered if it was okay to follow and was assured that I could.

We walked into the house. While the house was designed with similar characteristics as those here, such as doors with door knobs, it didn't mean they were necessary design characteristics. Our bodies in heaven have different abilities than the ones we are using now. A doorknob, for example may exist in heaven but really only for us to recognize and not really to serve a critical purpose.

As my grandfather gave a tour of they house, I noticed through a window that the mountain top with God was visible. His light lit the house so there was no electricity or such amenity because it wasn't necessary in God's presence.

My grandfather rattled on about the projects he wanted to do. "There's so much I want to get done, but I've only been here for a few years," he said.

In fact, I understood in Heaven there is perpetual light and never darkness. Our bodies never grow weary and don't need rest. Even though the expanse of heaven is hard to comprehend and it'd take days to walk from one point to another, there is no day and night. Therefore, there is no circadian cycle for our bodies to become accustomed with. We never sleep or become tired. If we want to walk a long distance then we just walk there. Time has lost it's power in God's presence.

My grandparents found themselves in the kitchen after the nickle tour. I stood in the room and desperately wanted to say something, but my guide admonished me saying they could not see or hear me.

"I bet you're hungry," said my grandfather.

My grandmother sat down in a chair. She thought for a minute and then she realized how long it had been since she last ate. "I actually am kind of hungry," she replied.

"This isn't the same as what we had back there, but this is really good," said my grandfather as he prepared some food which I understood was provided by God.

At this point, my guide said we needed to leave. In a flash we found ourselves at the cliff's edge again. It finally occurred to me exactly what was happening. I was being shown the events as they occurred after my grandmother's death. I was seeing heaven. Upon this realization, I wanted to stay and know more.

"My grandmother died an hour or so ago, but we just now witnessed her being introduced to my grandfather, what happened in the interim," I asked.

"That is not part of what I can show you," explained my guide.

"But if this is really to show my what happens after death, then please let me see where my grandmother went before we saw her," I pleaded.

After a moment, my guide said it was okay to reveal that to me but we must be quick. We moved again so fast we couldn't even feel the motion. Before I knew it, I was standing in a large room with a high-vaulted ceiling. There was a crowd of people waiting and confused. The newly deceased.

In front of them was a chair - vacant. To each side stood angels as sentries keeping an eye on the people. The recently deceased were waiting, as I understood, for judgement. Christ, who sits on the chair, had left briefly so I could see the room.

"Before anyone can go to where we just were, they must come through here," explained my guide. "Not all make it through unfortunately. Now that your request has been fulfilled, you must leave."

We were back at the cliff's edge overlooking the city. I felt an immense feeling within me and understood what was happening and felt extremely blessed to have this revealed to me.

"Please, just one more thing," I asked.

My guide's patience was wearing thin. But before he could say something, I said, "Surely if this is what I think it is, and I am seeing heaven and will return to my other life then it seems as though it would be selfish of me to have my prayer answered but not go back with something for someone else too. I mean this is such a unique blessing, please let me at least see my wife's grandparents so I can tell her they are okay."

After a few minutes, the guide responded that," since this request was asked unselfishly and you are thinking of someone besides yourself, then this request will be granted," said my guide. I understood that God on the mountain was aware of my presence in heaven and it was only because of his will I was allowed to have my request granted.

Once again like a camera lens focusing on something in the distance, we zoomed in on a location. We stood in front of a store believe it or not. It was actually a hardware store. Customers were entering and leaving carrying only what they could in their arms.

We entered and I saw my wife's grandfather. He owned the store, which I found very interesting since he had owned a similar store in Colombia while alive.

He understood I was his granddaughter's husband and smiled. "Please tell her that I am okay," he said.

In a flash, we had moved again and were now in another place. I saw a lady who was Claudia's grandmother. She looked at me and smiled with the understanding I was her granddaughter's husband and was here to take a message back to her.

She patted me on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm completely happy," she said.

Our conversation was very brief as my time was running out.

My eyes opened. I was laying in bed next to my wife. She was awake.

"Are you okay," she asked. "You made a really strange noise that I've never heard before so I tried to wake you."

"I'm okay," I said and proceeded to tell her what had just happened. She, and I especially, was in awe. I didn't know what to think or how to comprehend what had happened. My wife had to convince me that I had been asleep because to me the experience was so real and hadn't felt like a dream at all.

"What was that," I asked myself. "If this was more than a dream, surely God will provide a way for me to tell the difference."

I recalled the first part of the vision when I was in my grandmother's room. I had seen where my mom, hospice nurse and great aunt had been positioned. If, in fact they had been in the same position in real life, then at least for me the answer regarding the origin of my experience would be settled.

The next morning I called my mom. I asked her where everyone was in the room when my grandmother had died. Believe it or not, according to her they were in the same location in real life as they had been in my vision.

Nothing I have ever experienced has provided me with more contentment and a better perspective on life than the night my grandmother died.