My Testimony and Other Experiences

chapter 3 September 12th 2018 Visit to heaven

Wednesday, September 12th, 2018

What I am about to describe is something that is truly amazing. On Wednesday, I went to Thomas Memorial to have gallbladder surgery to have it removed. After getting ready to go back, I was honestly nervous and I was praying for comfort and for the doctors as well, that He helped them during the surgery. What happened after I fell asleep is really amazing - some of it I remember as soon as I woke up from surgery, other things I remember more as I talk about it. It seemed like a few minutes went by, maybe about five when I woke up, but I was not in the hospital. I looked around, and everything was really pretty.

My first thought was this is a dream. I stood up to get a better look at my surroundings. I saw a street and a city not too far; I later realized that this is the city described in Revelation Chapter 21. I was looking at some flowers because I noticed the colors seemed more colorful. That's when I sensed someone was watching me. I turned to see that it was Jesus who was watching me. At that moment, I didn't know whether to run to Him or pass out because at that point, I realized I was in heaven. He looked like He does in pictures.

He seemed to know I had a lot of questions. At that moment, He reassured me that everything was going okay with the surgery and that He wanted to show me some things. I walked up to Him, took His hand, and we started walking. I looked around at the flowers, places, and animals. I looked down to see the road we were on was gold, almost transparent. I was able to see some family while I was there; they all looked younger than how I remembered them - if I were to guess, around my age or a little younger, like early 20s. First was my papa. I remember he was planting vegetables; he told me to tell my mom and my nana that he said hi. I told him okay. I started to walk back to Jesus, then I stopped and told Him Bentlee likes the three little pigs, and my papa said, "What about the pee little thrig's?" I started laughing because he would say that all the time, it was from a show called Hee Haw. Then I got to see my other papa on my nana's side of the family, Papas Keyser. I also saw my uncle Kenny, who was planting flowers. After I saw them, I saw my mamaw, who was my papa's mom, Tom. It was strange seeing everyone young. I saw my papaw Kenneth talking with someone; I would guess it was someone from his family. It was kind of cool; I waved, and he waved back to us.

I looked at Jesus, shocked yet happy at what I was seeing. I was still trying to wrap my head around it all. I even saw my stepdad's mom. We called her Nanny. I saw a black weiner dog with her. It took me a minute to realize that it was her dog, Layla. At that point, I looked at Jesus and said, "Pets come here too?" Jesus chuckled at my child-like wonder at everything. It gave me goosebumps, like the good kind. He put His arm around me and said, "Of course they do." I saw that Nanny had some fruit and was giving little pieces to Layla. I giggled and said, "Even here she is feeding Layla food." Jesus told me He was going to show me something, but before that, I got to see one more family member.

I got to see my sister-in-law's mom, Star. She asked me about my two nephews and my sister-in-law, and I told her they were getting big and wild as ever, and that my sister-in-law (her daughter) was doing good. She told me to tell her to take care of the boys and for her and my brother to behave themselves. I laughed and said okay and went with Jesus.

As Jesus and I walked, I was amazed at what I had already seen. When I started to think about things, well, Jesus knew what I was thinking, and He took me to this place in the city. That's where I saw angels, lots of them; they were everywhere. I was just now noticing them. There was one angel who saw Jesus and me. He seemed important. He came up to us and bowed to Jesus; then he looked at me and smiled.

I said hi, and he said, "Hello, my name is Michael." I looked on his side and saw he had a sword. Then it hit me that I was talking to the Archangel Michael. "Okay, this is officially the coolest thing ever," I said to myself, not realizing they both heard me. I think they were amused at how I was; I was like a little kid at Christmas times ten. Jesus and I went into a building, where I saw this book on a pulpit-like thing, like what preachers put their papers and things on. I stopped a few feet away from the book and looked at Jesus. "Is that the..." I stopped, unable to finish the sentence. He nodded His head and told me it was the Book of Life. It had all the names of everyone who accepted Him as their Lord and Savior.

At that point, I got nervous for the first time while being there with Him. I asked if my name was in there, and He answered my question with a question. He looked at me with the most loving look ever and asked, "Do you remember what you did the night you got saved?" I said I asked Him to be my Savior. He hugged me and said, "That night your name was written in the book, just like your friend Christina's was." I looked at Him, surprised because I hadn't said anything, but then I remembered He knows our thoughts, which is how we got to where we were. He told me He was very proud of me when I told her about Him. We walked a little bit more; then He told me He wanted to take me to one more place before I had to go back. I was sad, and I said, "I know I have to go back, but a part of me wants to stay." He kissed me on the head, held my hand, and said, "You will one day, just not right now." I knew He was talking about when He would come back; I knew I wouldn't get an answer concerning that, so I did not ask.

We continued to walk, just Him and me. It was nice; I enjoyed looking at everything. Then I realized we were going inside. I looked at Him and asked, "Where are we going?" He said He wanted me to meet someone before I left. I knew where I was going when my legs started to feel weak, but I was not scared. I was going to the throne room of heaven, just like Colton did in the book "Heaven is for Real." There, I saw the crystal sea and four creatures. I was confused at first, but then I remembered Revelation Chapter 4 verses 6-8, and they were saying "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,' who was, and is, and is to come." I saw another angel; he introduced himself as Gabriel. He was nice.

Then Jesus and Gabriel led me to the throne. I was not scared; I was in awe that this was happening. At one point, I could not go any further, and I fell to my knees crying and shaking due to the presence of God. Then I realized I felt this presence before at church, the day my brother and my sister-in-law got baptized. I did the same thing, which meant God was there that day, and I could not tell anyone until now. God told me He was proud of who I had become and who I will become in the future and that He wanted me to continue to tell people about Jesus, and I told Him I would.

Jesus told me it was time to go. He told me He would always be with me. At that point, I saw one more angel, the one who would take me back home. I asked Jesus who this angel was. The angel smiled and said he has been watching over me ever since I was born. I realized that I was standing in front of my guardian angel. Then I started to feel sleepy. The last thing I remember was Jesus kissing me on the head and telling me that He loved me and that I would see Him in a few minutes. I told Him that I loved Him too. Then I fell asleep in my guardian's arms, and that's when I woke up back in my hospital room.