I was a nominal Christian for many years. My parents brought me up as an Episcopalian in the 1960s and 1970s and while I was a nominal believer I wore my faith very lightly. That all changed in the mid-1990s after my mother died and I reconnected with an old high-school buddy who had been and still was a profoundly evangelical Christian in a small group that the folks who track this stuff characterize as "non-denominational Protestant." I began worshipping with him and his family at their church and thereby reengaged my Christian walk.
All of which by prelude to my own stories.
1. In 1999 my father took sick with what turned out to be terminal cancer, and the oncologist informed me that he had six to eight weeks. Given that I had no idea he was even sick, this came as a shock, but I made all the arrangements to tend to him in his final weeks. At this point I'd already been visiting him every day in the hospital for two weeks and keeping him company. The day after he came home from the hospital, my neighbors in the building dragged me out to dinner, which was the first time since my father had gone into the hospital that I'd been out on my own. They invited me to say a prayer and I asked God not to let my father suffer. That very night, he died peacefully. As I always say, to me this proves that God answers every prayer: he just doesn't always answer it as you might have hoped or expected.
2. A few years later, on the anniversary of my father's death, I was feeling down at the mouth and I prayed that he was well and with the Lord. At that very moment, the phone rang and a friend told me to look out the window at the double rainbow, which I did. Suddenly the pain from my heart was lifted and I realized this was a sign in answer to my prayers that my father was fine and I shouldn't worry about him.
Thank you for sharing your own experiences, and may Lord God bless you and keep you safe in His mighty hand.
Jeff, couldn’t agree more with you. 7 years ago tomorrow we lost our oldest son to suicide . Everyday we see signs that he is happy and ok. It might be a cardinal or a butterfly, but he is telling us he is ok. About 2 months after he passed away his college roommate meet us for pizza and told us about an encounter at country thunder. He saw someone that looked like my son and had the same tattoo that he had. I told him he was trying to tell him things are ok. So there is a heaven and I believe it!!!!!!!!!
Great post. There are no coincidences. A while from now you will look back on this PITA summer with amusement. This reminded me of this fascinating conversation between Joe Rogan and author and documentarian Sebastian Junger and his wild near-death experiences. He’s still an atheist though, which makes his story all the more compelling. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LmRrJUHvk-M&pp=ygUMUm9nYW4ganVuZ2Vy
I was a nominal Christian for many years. My parents brought me up as an Episcopalian in the 1960s and 1970s and while I was a nominal believer I wore my faith very lightly. That all changed in the mid-1990s after my mother died and I reconnected with an old high-school buddy who had been and still was a profoundly evangelical Christian in a small group that the folks who track this stuff characterize as "non-denominational Protestant." I began worshipping with him and his family at their church and thereby reengaged my Christian walk.
All of which by prelude to my own stories.
1. In 1999 my father took sick with what turned out to be terminal cancer, and the oncologist informed me that he had six to eight weeks. Given that I had no idea he was even sick, this came as a shock, but I made all the arrangements to tend to him in his final weeks. At this point I'd already been visiting him every day in the hospital for two weeks and keeping him company. The day after he came home from the hospital, my neighbors in the building dragged me out to dinner, which was the first time since my father had gone into the hospital that I'd been out on my own. They invited me to say a prayer and I asked God not to let my father suffer. That very night, he died peacefully. As I always say, to me this proves that God answers every prayer: he just doesn't always answer it as you might have hoped or expected.
2. A few years later, on the anniversary of my father's death, I was feeling down at the mouth and I prayed that he was well and with the Lord. At that very moment, the phone rang and a friend told me to look out the window at the double rainbow, which I did. Suddenly the pain from my heart was lifted and I realized this was a sign in answer to my prayers that my father was fine and I shouldn't worry about him.
Thank you for sharing your own experiences, and may Lord God bless you and keep you safe in His mighty hand.
The double rainbow reminded me of my friend's book The Color of Rain.....check it out.
Thanks, will do! :-)
Beautiful.
Awesome post. I suppose the cabin in Minnesota is your own Heaven On Earth, almost literally.
I'm pretty sure I who the Mark is that you're referring, (Rollins?) and while I hadn't seen him in decades, his sudden death stunned me.
nope, Konjevod...didn't know Heaven was a lot of work.....hah
Jeff, couldn’t agree more with you. 7 years ago tomorrow we lost our oldest son to suicide . Everyday we see signs that he is happy and ok. It might be a cardinal or a butterfly, but he is telling us he is ok. About 2 months after he passed away his college roommate meet us for pizza and told us about an encounter at country thunder. He saw someone that looked like my son and had the same tattoo that he had. I told him he was trying to tell him things are ok. So there is a heaven and I believe it!!!!!!!!!
I am sorry about your son.
Thank You Jeff.
Beautiful and well played.
JLM
www.themusingsofthebigredcar.com
That was beautiful. I cried. What a great tradition.
Great post. There are no coincidences. A while from now you will look back on this PITA summer with amusement. This reminded me of this fascinating conversation between Joe Rogan and author and documentarian Sebastian Junger and his wild near-death experiences. He’s still an atheist though, which makes his story all the more compelling. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LmRrJUHvk-M&pp=ygUMUm9nYW4ganVuZ2Vy