My Story of "Heaven is for Real"

If anyone really knows me they know I'm NOT a reader. I wish I were but I'm just not. I would say that the major factor of why that is is when I was 3 I had a stoke. My entire left side was paralyzed and I had to learn how to walk and talk again. As you can tell now everything is working as normal, the only remaining affect from that stroke is that I do not retain when I read. It's like air. We didn't really realize it until I was in middle school. You'd hand me a test and I would bomb it! But if you asked me about whatever the subject matter was I could tell you. So this is when we realized there was a connection problem. From then on tests were read to me and my grades suddenly got better....not A LOT better but better Because of this reading has always seemed and felt pretty pointless. I would read something and I couldn't really tell you anything that I had just read. Or I could tell you right away but after a day or so it's pretty much gone. (Tuesdays with Morrie is hands down my favorite book but right now I could tell you the premise of the book but I couldn't tell you one event that happens in it. But when I was reading it I was totally in love and loved the meaning and what I learned while reading it, so that's why it's still my favorite book!) Reading as always seemed like a chore instead of a fun escape.

At the beginning of this year Candace wrote a book (Reshaping It All) and I knew I had to read it. I had a feeling because I knew her and I knew her story I would be able to some what follow along. After reading the book I could tell you my favorite chapters were 6, 13 (because it's about me) and 19. And I enjoyed reading it but I feel like now I need to go back and read it again because while I could tell you what the three were generally about I couldn't tell you really anything specific. Although since reading her book I have tried to get better about reading and honestly I've read more this year then I ever have ever done in the past 29 years. Recently this one book kept getting brought to my attention. Either I saw it stores or over heard people talking about it; and I will have to say that the title perked my interest alone: Heaven is for Real. I didn't know much about the book other than it was about a little boys experience with Heaven. When wanted a new book I would head to Lifeway but I would always end up checking out with something other than that book. But three days ago I was sitting at my desk and I started looking for something and found the book sitting on a shelf with a co-workers name in it. And I knew I had to read it right then, in the last two days I started and finished it. It's a pretty easy read, thank goodness for someone like me.

Now that I have read it people at work (whom have already read it) are like "Okay what do you think? Do you think it's real?" and here are my thoughts. I do think that the majority if not all of it is real. I know it's hard for us to wrap our minds around but I'm telling you from experience these "Heaven visits" are for real. I was only 8 years old when mine happened and I still remember it as vividly as if it were yesterday. I had been in the hospital for the last week because I had gotten a small cut on my left leg and since I was so prone to infection I had to spend a week on iv's to make sure the cut healed the way that it needed to. After I was discharged something wasn't right. My leg was aching and cramping so bad I couldn't even walk on it. I remember going to the hospital and wanting to get into a bath tub (the hot water helped soothe the cramping and aches in my leg). Once the doctors discovered the infections they gave my parents two options, they could let me die or they would TRY to amputate my leg but only giving me less than a 3% chance to live after taking it. My parents choose amputation (during this time I was already in a drug induced coma and had no idea what was going on). Once I was in surgery my lungs collapsed, my kidneys failed and my heart even stopped beating. But this is when I remember floating above the operating room. There were doctors, nurses, and medical assistants running around the room, everyone was in a panic. All of their voices talking over each other, more like a loud muffled mess of voices. I was just floating in the air just watching...not scared, not worried, with no fear. The room was some what dark, darker than a normal lit room. And then behind me a white light appeared. The brightest whitest light I have ever seen. It engulfed the darkness and all I could see what this white all around me. Even though it was the brightest light I had ever seen it wasn't like I needed sunglasses, it was just what I guess would be considered normal. There was this peace. This overwhelming peace. But that's when I was told, "No turn back, it's not time yet". The next thing I can remember after that was waking up out of my coma two weeks later.

I didn't see all that little Colton saw while he was in Heaven, but I don't doubt for a second that he wasn't there and he didn't see the things that he saw. I really enjoyed the book and loved hearing about his experience. It makes you think about things you might have not have ever thought about when thinking about Heaven. I had never thought about what age we would be when we were in Heaven, I just assumed you'd be the age you would be when you died but with a healthy body. I had never thought about no one wearing glasses in Heaven....I knew that we get new vessels when we get to Heaven that are in perfect tip top shape but never thought about glasses, but it would make sense, weak eyes means you have glasses and your eyes will be weak no more. The colors that he talks about, I only saw the white but for as beautiful as that was I can't even imagine what actual colors look like they have to be beyond gorgeous! If you've never read the book, I think you should. If you have I would love to know you're opinion about it.