The Vision - Part II

It happened one night during the summer of 2005. I don’t remember what day or month. At the time, I had no idea that it could have some significance. I woke up in the middle of the night with a shooting pain in my chest. A heart palpitation shot me straight up in bed into a sitting position. I sat on the edge of the bed for a few seconds taking a few slow, deep breaths. I was afraid. When the pain subsided and I had caught my breath, I laid back down and closed my eyes. What came next was a most wonderful experience.

As soon as my eyes were closed, I saw a tall, metal gate. Then, I noticed three little children - two girls and a boy - standing on the other side of the gate peering through the bars at me. Everything, including the children, was in a sepia color. The children had sweet, kind faces. They appeared to be watching me to see what I would do.

Slowly, the gate doors began to open. As they did, a bright, bright, white, white light emerged. As the gate doors continued to open, the light became all encompassing. The light was whiter than anything I could ever describe or imagine. It did not, however, have a harsh glare to it. It was beautiful! How a bright, white light could be beautiful, I can’t even begin to explain. A sense of sheer peace and joy filled me like I had never before experienced nor have since.

In the distance, an image began to appear. It was a woman. As the white light made way for other images, the “ground area” continued to remain white. Not like a cloud, not like a floor. Just WHITE. Then I could see that a white gazebo had formed around the woman. Flowers began to surround the gazebo… pink, purple, blue, green and yellow. They were the brightest, most vibrant colors that I have ever seen. They were absolutely beautiful! The woman was dressed in a long white gown, and a long, blue veil covered her head. She was looking down. By no effort of my own, I began moving closer to her. I was not walking, floating, or flying. I was just “moving” slowly toward her. I had no control over my own movement. As I was moving forward, I began to sense that maybe I had died. I opened my eyes.

I was still lying in my bed in my bedroom. I was definitely awake, and I was definitely not dead. I closed my eyes and to my surprise, everything was still there exactly the way it was before I opened my eyes. Everything was beautiful, serene, and peaceful. The woman was so beautiful. The white light surrounding everything was beautiful beyond words. I was filled with so much joy, love and peace. Strangely, I knew that I had a choice to stay or go. But surely I wasn’t dead. I didn’t understand. I didn’t want to leave. “What about my children?” I thought. It was so peaceful and beautiful – I really did not want to leave. How could I leave this? “But what about my children?” I kept thinking. Slowly, I began to move away from the gazebo, the woman, and the beautiful flowers. It wasn’t because I was walking away. I was still facing her. I was just moving backwards in the same manner in which I had arrived. I opened my eyes. I was still in my bedroom. I closed my eyes once again. Then, the image of the woman, the garden and the bright, white light were replaced by the closing gate. The gate slowly faded away.

I got up and went to the bathroom, overwhelmed by the whole experience. I couldn’t believe how much joy, peace, and love I had felt in those moments. When I returned to bed, I felt sad that it had all ended. But I knew, without a doubt, that I would be there again. I had been given a great privilege and gift of seeing a tiny piece of Heaven, as well as Mary, the mother of Jesus.