I'm sharing stories today at the request of my sister. They're her stories. She felt that it might bless others to read them. I think so too. I asked her to send them to me so that I could share them accurately and without too much of me in the mix. She did. What follows are experiences that happened to her when the veil was thin.
What do I mean by that? It's when you know or see in another dimension of being than your every day experience of life. A place where you don't quite fit, and yet, there you are. Sometimes , oftentimes, this happens when you are between the place of being awake and asleep. Other times it happens when you're praying. Or when you're just minding your own business and God still has a plan of His own for you....
This short poem is from the Lord and is about her husband, who is gravely ill. He gave it to her in the in-between-place; not quite awake, and yet, not sleeping... The next part will also be about her husband. He has end stage renal failure and metastatic kidney cancer. His time on earth is short now. He will soon meet Jesus face-to-face, but not just yet. Please read on...
The Flower
The brilliance of its color
The fragrance, so sweet
Fading
Almost gone
The color lingers in my mind's eye
So sweet, the fragrance never leaves me
Imprinted on my heart
Forever
So simple, so beautiful, so tender. It made me weep when she sent it to me. She said that it was just there, in her head, like the first Spanish dialog she remembers from school. (We used to memorize dialogs to help us understand how the language flows together.) She was saying how her husband has some very bad times now, and some good times. She wrote it down quickly and sent it to me so she would have it, and what a gift it is to her.
The next day, I called and she had another experience when the veil was thin....this one was quite different. She told me that the night before, there was a man on her lawn, and he was looking in the windows. He also walked around the outside of the house a bit, looking for a way to get in. He was all tan; everything was. Even the grass was tan; she especially remembers the grass. She could not see his face or hands; no skin was visible at all. He was wearing a hat with a large brim so she couldn't see his face.
She wrote, "I prayed him away, told him to leave. He was at the end of the sidewalk and then he was gone. I told him to leave and that I would not let him in. I was in that place where God meets me. So close that even though death was near I had no fear. I knew we were safe. It is not like being asleep or awake, or like when you just wake up. It is different. It is a place of unexplainable peace and safety." She goes on the say "The safety of that place is like a warm, weighted blanket. You feel peace and safe. Almost like a cuddle, but you don't feel a touch; your whole body is wrapped up in the safety of God."
We talked about her experience; the tan man was death. It came for her husband, but it is not his time yet. He isn't ready. They had talked about this and how he would know and she would know the time. It isn't far, but it isn't yet.
I spent some time again today reading about the Shunemite. (My last post if you missed it.) I'm still regarding her and me and in my own difficult time. I had a hard morning and spent the worship service sitting in the common area. I needed time alone but not away.... the Lord gave me a psalm to write about what Jo has experienced as I sat and read and prayed....
Death came---she saw him. She said "No." She said, "Go away."
She said, "Leave." and she closed the doors to him.
She locked the doors---he sought to enter, she saw and stopped him.
She used her words; her words had power, her words defeated her enemy.
She praised God in the valley; it had been a valley of death~~~~
It became a valley of praise~~~~~~
God is in all of the things that go on in our lives; we just need to stop and acknowledge Him. He brings sweetness beyond compare in the hardest of times, the most difficult of times. He did this for Jo. She wanted me to share her stories so that you might come to know that He'll do it for you too.
Good night sweet friends. Thank you for stopping by. May God stop by your home and in your dreams tonight.
2 comments:
Beautiful words and word pictures by your sister, Jo, and you. Treasures of darkness. "Blessed is the man who walks through the valley of Baca and makes it a well." Psalm 84. Praying for Jo and her husband and you. Love, Donna Fowler
Thank you Donna. I love the scripture reference; she makes it a well indeed.
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