THE AFTERMATH

When I awoke the morning after I had my “encounter,” I had much to contemplate. I was struck by the fact that I didn’t know Who my visitor had been – was the person Jesus, as I suspected? I thought he had died and gone to heaven, so this didn’t seem likely. Was it an angel? No, I thought, it was too much like a divine Being. I didn’t believe that it was a dream nor a figment of my imagination --- the whole experience was the most “real” thing that had ever happened to me. But I had many questions, so I decided to turn to the Bible and see if I could find answers.

My pastor had recently suggested that I get a modern version of the Bible and start reading it, and I had. But the words didn’t mean much to me; it was like reading a history book that was not really very interesting. I couldn’t understand that something that had happened 2000 years ago could hold much meaning for me. But that morning I decided to try again.

An astonishing thing happened: the words almost jumped off the page at me! I started at Matthew and began reading and suddenly it all began to make sense. I think this experience amazed me as much as the night before! And over the next few weeks I couldn’t get enough; I read straight through the New Testament and started over again, underlining and writing notes in the margin. The more I read, the more excited I became.

Of course, I discussed the entire episode with my pastor, who was very encouraging and helpful. He helped me to see that Jesus is still alive and well and what’s more, very active in the world through His Spirit. The Holy Spirit was something (Someone, I now saw) that I had never thought much about, but now I began to look for references in Scripture and there He was – all throughout the books, both Old and New Testaments. The Book of Acts, particularly, explained His place and purpose in our lives, but I had never seen it. He was (is) the power behind the throne, so to speak.

My family began to notice a real change in me. Who was this joyful, peaceful person who had replaced the old sometimes depressed, sometimes irritable wife and mother? Of course, I told the genius about my experiences and also talked to the children about God and began to pray with them. And for a few weeks or months all was rosy in our household.

Tomorrow I will discuss the years since my remarkable transformation.