Call Me Crazy

 

I read a Facebook post from a friend of mine yesterday. It was about a comment that Joy Behar made, concerning Mike Pence. He had said that God spoke to him. In this Washington Post news article here: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/feb/13/joy-behar-mocks-mike-pences-faith-calls-his-relati/ she states that, ““It’s one thing to talk to Jesus. It’s another thing when Jesus talks to you. That’s called mental illness if I’m not correct. Hearing voices,”

After reading this article, I was flooded with sadness. We are surrounded by souls who believe that they are alone on this earth. They don’t know they can ask God for direction or comfort or help. They don’t know that God loves them enough to speak to them. 

There are about a bazillion life after death experiences on the internet. Just go type it in on Youtube. There are so many stories of what happens when we take our last breath. Good and bad experiences in incredible detail. Things that cannot be explained. Atheists, Agnostics, Scientists, Doctors, and many many more, have made a journey somewhere after this. I have heard some attempts to explain these experiences away, by sighting brain activity a few minutes after death, as possible bursts of neurons and memories and dreams. I cry malarkey. 

Some of these experiences would knock your socks off. We are talking a man who was dead for 90 minutes, or a kid who was in Heaven, or a man who died as an atheist, sent back to tell the world that Jesus is real. You guys, just go watch some of these. They are thought provoking, inspiring, some terrifying, and some exhilarating. I can tell you about other people’s experiences, but I’m going to tell you about one of my own. 

About 9 years ago, I had a hysterectomy due to some complications I won’t go into. I was young, at 27. I got incredibly ill afterwards. I ran a 103.6 temp and the hospital tested me for swine flu and infection. Without any real culprit, they sent me home still this ill, four days after my surgery. I am guessing you can read between the lines here and see how negligent the hospital was for doing this in the first place. Sigh…anyway, I had a catheter still in place at home and was supposed to follow up with my doctor for a post op the next week. “It was probably just a virus.” You guys, I woke up on a Sunday morning, and I knew I was in seriously bad shape. I was shaking violently with fever. My Mom was with me. I had incredible abdominal pain, and I told my Mom, “I think I’m dying. I need to go back to a hospital, but I can’t get up. You are probably going to have to call an ambulance.” My poor Mom, probably shaken up, said “Okay, do you want to be anointed with oil and prayed for by two ministers, first before I call an ambulance?” I said yes. I thought it sure wouldn’t hurt to be prayed for,  I was most likely dying anyway. They arrived just a few minutes later.  One of them crawled up and over the bed to reach me, the other came to the side I was closest to, and their hands all 4 came down on my head. I don’t remember a thing they prayed. What I remember, changed my life.

Out of the black abyss, came two angels. One came all of the way down on my left, and the other stayed higher in the air, to my right. Their edges shone with brilliant light, almost fiber optic in the way that I could see their bright outlines, but not facial detail. I remember my emotion not being one of awe and wonder, it was an emotion of familiarity.  Nothing about it seemed out of place or surprising, except for one thought. I was awestruck at how big the angels wings were. I thought, “Wow, their wings are SO much bigger than I thought they would be!” Their wings were proportionately about four times their body length and size. I felt relief that they were there. I knew they were there to help in some way. The one on the left, picked something up off of me. It looked like a blanket, but I felt that it was whatever was making me so ill. When the angel on the left picked it up, they paused for a moment, and then shot off vertically, like lightening. They didn’t float away gracefully. They shot off on a mission I wasn’t privy to, but was thankful for.

I don’t remember anything after that for about 10 minutes. I awoke suddenly, realizing that my entire body was dripping with sweat. My clothing was stuck to me and my hair was wet. I sat up on the side of the bed by myself. No pain really. Whatever was wrong, was gone. My Mom looked startled. She looked at me and said, “You’re better!.” I kind of laughed and said yes. She helped me out to a chair in my living room. I sat there in silence. I was mulling all of this over. Had I really just seen angels heal me? Did I imagine it? Suddenly, that still small voice pierced my heart and mind. It said, “When you saw the angels, what was your first thought?” The reality of this finally set in. My first thought, was, “Wow! Their wings are so much bigger than I thought they’d be.” I couldn’t have imagined something that even surprised me. To further witness the validity of the experience, I had been burning up with fever and thought I was dying, not even 30 minutes before. Now I was alert, my fever had broken, and I was better. 

A few days later, I went back for my post op. My doctor asked me how I was, and I told her about what had happened. She didn’t say much and looked puzzled, but told me they’d finally gotten a urine culture back from during my hospital stay. I’d had a drug resistant bacteria in my urine that was most likely caused by the catheter. That should not have gone away on it’s own. I shouldn’t have been better, but I was. If I was just hallucinating, how did a drug resistant bacteria…vanish? I am sure there are a great many people who’d want to explain that away “medically and scientifically.” I believe medicine is a blessing, and so is science. I also believe that God is the ultimate Physician, and He created science. You don’t have to separate the two. They actually marry quite beautifully. 

A few months ago, we were enjoying some quality time with my nephew. He falls age wise, between my two youngest. They all act like siblings when they are together. He was spending the night. At about 1am, I was falling into a deep sleep and was startled awake by something. I had the immediate thought, Go check on the boys. Something terrible is about to happen. I woke up enough to listen carefully. Silence. It didn’t even sound like anyone else was awake. My sleepy brain wanted to dismiss the rougue thought. I began to doze back off. Suddenly startled again by something unexplainable, the thought went through my mind again. “Amy, go check on the boys NOW, something terrible is about to happen one of them is going to break their neck!” This time I rolled my creaking body out of bed and walked to my bedroom door. Now I could hear a giggle and some rustling against the wall. I opened the bedroom door and flipped on the light to the boys room. All 3 boys looked surprised. My eyes adjusted to 2 boys on the top bunk and one on the bottom bunk. The mattress was half in the air with both boys hanging on for dear life. The one on the bottom had stuck their feet through the bars, and was bouncing the 2 boys on the top bunk. The mattress was half in the air and both boys were about to fall off onto the tile floor, probably head first. They had been horsing around like boys do, but this chilled me to the bone. It could have paralyzed or killed on of them, to hit that floor from the top bunk. 

I told them to stop immediately. We need to talk. I told them about what had just happened as I was falling asleep. They all looked a little wide eyed and scared. I told them, you guys, I think your guardian angels just pulled me out of bed to save you from doing something that could have accidentally been a disaster. Of course a talk about safety and being wiser about how we horse around, followed. I told them we needed to pray and thank God for watching over them. These are only 2 experiences of probably thousands in my life, where God has moved on me. I filled one book with miracles, and I could probably fill many more. 

If hearing the still small voice of God, or even the booming thunderous voice of God, is crazy…then I am a crazy fool you guys. I’ve heard Him speak to me in nudges, whispers, commands, and I’ve even seen angels. I believe we have a God who said He would never leave or forsake us. I believe that God has spoken to His children from the beginning of time, and will until the end of time. 

John 10:24-30

24.Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

25.Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.

26. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

27. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

28. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

29. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

30. I and my Father are one.

John 10:3-5

3. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

4. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

5. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

God’s children hear Him when he speaks. His sheep know His voice and follow it. There is nothing sadder to me, than a huge population who believes there is no more to life than what is right in front of them. It’s why so many are hopeless, feeling lost, and alone. They can’t hear the voice of the one being who loves them the most. They haven’t had their ears tuned to God’s station. I think of studying the scriptures, as finding the right channel on the radio. Sometimes it feels like life is so chaotic with this static, but if you study and pray and wait to hear God’s voice, it’s like finally stumbling across beautiful music. The static is gone, you feel peace and joy. On this channel, you can hear God’s reassurance and leading. 

I had a hard night last night. It left me feeling stirred up, upset, worried, and stressed. I won’t go into all of it, but it felt like a lot of frustrating things all hit at once. I had trouble calming down to sleep. I prayed myself to sleep. I do that all the time. I prayed for wisdom, peace, help, guidance, and for all of those I have concern about. The truth is, we can’t control anything but ourselves. It’s our responsibility to respond to God’s leading and to do what He asks of us in scripture, and in divine inspiration. We have to believe that He talks to us, leads us, and protects us. 

Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Mathew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

Luke 11:9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

Deuteronomy 4: 29-31 

29. But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

30. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;

31. (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

We are His sheep. We are His children. There are promises given to us, that we are heard when we pray. We are answered when we ask, and we are guided where He leads. God loves you enough to talk to you specifically. He not only will answer you,  He wants to answer you. He is a loving Father, who speaks to His children in all of the ways they need to hear Him. He knows exactly how to reach you, so that you will know it could only be Him speaking to you. It usually requires a leap of faith, but He catches us and carries us in that leap. I had to ask for help to receive the sight of angels. I had to get out of bed at the prompting of God. For any of this to happen, I have to believe He answers, I have to seek constantly, and I have to listen when He speaks. Someday when our life force, our soul, slips out of these broken bodies…we go somewhere. We go back to the God who created us and we will hear His voice speak to us, good or bad. I hope that voice is familiar, because If it’s not, we weren’t one of His sheep. Hopefully I hear that voice, and it sounds just like the one who’s guided my heart my whole life. 

 There are questions that I pray for answers to. I have the confidence that God will answer in His timing, in His way, with His love and His wisdom. I know that He will answer you too. Just keep asking and believing. He will answer.

Psalms 95:7 

For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,

I love you. Huge hugs to each of you!