Walk with Jesus by Peggy

Walking with Jesus   

by Peggy Weidert    

                                                                                                          September 2011

     Most of us believe in God.  Many believe in Jesus.  But when Flora experienced it and then came back telling us what she saw, my faith was given wings.  Yes, I believe in Jesus.  And, yes, I believe in Heaven.  I’ve known in my head it was real….now I know with my heart.

She saw puffy clouds and an outline of a city in the distance.  She saw the Book of Life, but it wasn’t open.  Jesus beckoned her with an inward swinging  forearm.  When asked if she saw nail prints, she said she didn’t see that part of his hand.  It was beautiful beyond any beauty we’ve ever seen.  The view out her hospital window was of nice green trees and a manicured hospital yard, and yet her response was “looks like junk”. I guess it did compared to what she had just seen.  What did she see?  Her mom was having fun.  Denzil (Mark’s dad) was serious but fine.  Dean (Jamie’s  dad) was playing with the children….and there were lots of children.  Without knowing how, she knew the children were the unborn babies.  Dean even had his “bubba teeth”, those funny teeth he was known for when playing with the kids at church.  And then there was Brian.  Brian looked just like Brian.  He had on something blue (either a hat or a shirt or both..she couldn’t recall that part)

     The transition from earth to heaven and back to earth took approximately two hours.  She asked how she got into this room.  Mark recalled for her all the steps that had taken place.  Six to eight doctors and nurses making the final decisions on how her last hours would be spent and what efforts would be taken to make them as painless as possible.  Her response was , “Only because you all agree do I believe you.  But that’s not where I was.”  When she first came into consciousness, she recalled her family by “character” rather than name when asked if she knew them.  “Who am I” Mark asked.  “You’re bossy” she  said without hesitation.  “Who’s that? (pointing to Jason)”  “He’s stubborn”.  And Monica?  “She’s my companion”. And  Les? “He’s fine”.   Who’s that? (pointing to Jamie) “She puts up with him (pointing to Jason). And who’s that?(pointing to Beverly McKee, Jamie’s mother)  “That’s my sister”.  And that? (pointing to Jake) “That’s my loving father.”

      She returned with a mission…to be a living testimony.  And that she was.  The first nurse into the room that infamous Sunday afternoon asked “Is there anything else I can do for you?”  Flora, with a gravelly voice , asked “Do you know where you’re going when you die?”  “Heaven” was her reply.  Not satisfied with that answer, Flora prodded, “What have you done to secure that?”  No reply.  Without hesitation, Flora pushed on “That wasn’t a flippant question.  We’re all sinners.  But you can be assured where you’re going if you ask Jesus into your heart.”  Jason offers the lady, Maria, a new testament.  And I give her my phone number as a source to ask questions or pray with her.  Maria finally finds the words to respond.  “Lady, you have to understand this is a lot to take in.  I was the one who moved your lifeless body into that bed, and now you’re sitting there talking to me.”  And with that Maria departed.  But she was only the first of many to encounter this “living testimony” in a battered physical body , but whose spirit was empowered by being in the presence of our Heavenly Father.  There were conversations with  Jordan, and Amber, Don and Shae (and that’s just the one’s I witnessed).  The number of people Flora talked to the next two weeks is impressive.

     Then there were the ones, maybe you’re one of them, who either were present that day, or had the blessing of having Flora speak to your soul.  One particular statement made summed it up best.  “I don’t want to go away from this unchanged.”  How true.  Not only in Flora’s life did she impact others, in her death she changed us all.  By your presence here, she touched your life in one way or another.  Know, without any doubt, that she wants you to join her in Heaven.  The only way you can do that is to have a personal relationship with Jesus.  Ask him to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you r heart.  Start reading the Bible and get involved in a Bible believing church.  Then, become a living testimony yourself.  Carry on the story.  Be bold, convicted with concern for where others will spend eternity.  Then rejoice with us as we celebrate this miracle of life and death and eternal life.