Wow! Would like to hear more about this Joshua.
I've had two dreams to do with this and in both cases, it was as though every one of our senses were amplified (if one wore glasses then we'd have 20:20 vision, smell would be sharper etc).
Would you mind sharing your testimony - either here or pm?
Many thanks, brother.
I was hit by a car at 17, I was lost and rebellious, I grew up in a good christian home and knew the truth, so I was accountable. I died on the helicopter to the hospital, they had me down as dead for 6 minutes. I thought it was longer than that. I was in this place of absolute darkness, totally aware and conscious, all of the sin of my life flooded my mind all at once, but I was able to discern them all. A fear swept me at the sudden realization of eternity, a fear that is indescribable. When they brought me back at the hospital they could not get me to sleep without putting me out. I was so terrified of not waking up. My father came and sat with me for 3 days in the ICU at Methodist hospital. He and I up to that point had never been close. He had been raised hard, on a mountainside farm, raised by his grandparents in Kentucky. He graduated high school at 17, and immediately joined the army. He was in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive in 1968. My dad came home, he and mom married in 1972. He said in 72 he tried to leave the service for about 8 months, but could not handle it so re enlisted. He was in the service from 1967 thru his retirement in 1989. He was a hard man. But he was fair, I did not think so back then. I was born in 1976. Mom had trouble carrying to full term , and had lost two children before me. They were a bit stressed when I was born. My generation was the generation of the latch key kids, and divorce was starting to become normal. But not in my home. My mom stayed at home, even though a staff sergeant's pay was not much, but we had enough, but at that time I thought it wasnt fair. When dad accepted Jesus in 1980 he quit drinking, in 1982 he quit smoking. He started running what he called a tight ship. Dad did not believe in children getting allowances, or being paid to do household chores. He termed it that we are a platoon, and as a platoon we eat together, sleep together, work together, pray together, and if God wills it die together. We had our lives regimented, chores schedules school schedules, dad had it all laid out and expected it to be followed or discipline would follow.
Well as I got older I realised when dad was gone for whatever the military had him doing, mom was not as hard to get around, and I started taking advantage of that. One day when I was around 12 mom popped me on the mouth for really disrespecting her, I told her it did not hurt, and some other things a boy has no right to even think about his mom let alone say, I had no idea dad had just got home, and he was standing behind me. Bam, I hit the floor, his combat boot sitting on my chest. He had swept my feet from under me with his boot, and just calmly sat his boot on my chest and looked down at me and said boy, what were you saying to my woman, your mother. Well I was so shocked when he did this, that when I hit the floor the air was knocked right out of me, so, stuttering, nothing sir, he said get to your feet boy, yes sir, I stood up, he said what were you going to say to your mother, sorry mam. That is how dad was. He never really got shook up about nothing. But he was hard, firm, by the book. Everyone pulled their weight. I have been working and earning money since I was 12, he charged me a percentage for rent. I was angry. We always went to church, except if you were dying, I was angry. I look back now, I am the man I am because of the foundation my dad built. But that Easter night in 1993 it came to a head, I ran out of the house screaming and cussing, slammed the door, jumped on my motorcycle and took off to see my girlfriend. Then on the way home pass thru the intersection, lights, noise, metalic taste of blood, numbness, I remember one moment before I blacked out I saw my dad standing there as calm as usual, JD what have you done now.
It had been three days apparently, they had been keeping me sedated, I awoke, groggy, and saw my dad sitting there, pulling at his mustache, and reading his Bible, after dad saw me awake he stood up and bent over me, kissed my forehead, ran his fingers thru my hair, and said boy, its going to be all right.Dad went home for the rest of the day, they moved me into the general patient wing, preparing me for surgeries. My entire right side was smashed. Compound fracture to the femur, nicked my femoral artery, compound fracture to my right clavicle, almost took out an artery there. The nurses where telling me how great a dad I had. My dad was scared about blood transfusions because of what happened to Ryan White, so he had been having them take his blood, we shared the same type, so for three days they took blood from him and gave it to me. I have to this day a depressed skull fracture. broken jaws, teeth, orbital socket, crushed wrist broken hip. They took bone from my hip to repair my wrist. The doctors apparently told dad that I would not make it the first night, then by day 3 they told him I would have brain damage from being without oxygen for more than 6 minutes, now they said I may not walk. Dad just calmly looked at them and said, he will do whatever God sees fit, the doctors did not know how to answer that. My dad took a chair and set next to me and said JD, you know what the word says, I have taught you, I could not answer, so he kept saying, I and your mom gave you up to the Lord that night, you have become so angry and rebellious and I could not handle you anymore, so I told God. You now have to make a decision. He then kissed me and left, my mom was standing behind him crying. A week came and went, I had pins and bolts and wires and tubes sticking out everywhere. Dad came and read me the scriptures everyday, from the old Testament prophecies on the coming of Jesus, to Jesus ascension. week three tubes where gone from my nose and throat, I started talking to dad, told him what I experienced, and how sorry I was, and I cried and dad held me. I told dad I wanted to go to church to be saved, he said you don't have to do that, I said I know, but I feel that is where I want to make the public confession. Week four I went home, my dad helped me with the most humbling things for a 17 year old boy, but I learned just how much my father loved me, and that further gave me insight into how much God truly loved me. God would have been righteous to have just let me have gone to hell. But his love for my parents, and his mercy for me, he gave me another chance. It was 3 months later, dad wheeled me down the aisle of Martinsville Baptist Tabernacle and I publicly accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour, September 26 1993, I was well enough that I obediently followed Christ in Baptism. I would love to say that I went forwards and sinned no more, but we all sinners saved by Grace know better than that. But I can say that angry rebellious man did die that Easter Sunday, in 1993, I know now, that I actually was born again there in that hospital when I awoke and feared the Lord, I was a new man, that is why, for the very first time hearing my dad read those scriptures they gripped my soul, and spoke to me lying there in that hospital bed. I only made a public confession of my faith at the church. My dad and I became close friends, until he went home to be with the Lord June of 2005. Agent Orange had caused tumors to form in his brain, and his liver . Dad had become my best friend. I now know, he truly had always been. He shared his life story with me, which I gave you all an overview. He said he wanted to teach his boys to be men. He wanted me to be better than he was, and to not make the same mistakes. I know, we will meet again, one day.
