Heaven Encounters (Recovery Journal 13)

And How God Worked His Plan, Even In My Death

Eleven Months Post Afterlife Experience

They say it takes us seven years to recover from a heaven experience. Or, at least seven years to absorb it all. That may be true, but I feel like I’ve absorbed an awful lot in the past eleven months!

In part due to sharing my story publicly and because I seem to have the support now of some others who have “been there, done that” (who are sharing insights), my recent thoughts regarding the “why” of my experience have undergone a switcheroo.

It’s been hinted at (and I am slowly absorbing) that my incident may have been a bridge to a different yard. This was impressed upon me early on a couple of times, too, by my former boss, who walks very closely with Him. I heard things like “I’m so excited to see what God’s next step for you is. Because it’s going to be awesome!”

Hmmmm. And, of course, later, when it seemed like I might never be able to return to “normal work,” I thought, “Dear Jesus, what am I missing?!”

I thought I went to heaven because I died from an allergic reaction, and He saved me because I had work to do. God interrupted this tool of satan to claim me, as I do not belong to the dark side.

Although true, that is possibly just a tad short-sighted.

If God wants you in a specific job or ministry, He knows exactly how to get you there—and He’ll maneuver whatever needs to happen to motor you in that direction. Sometimes, that journey takes time. As one example, I’ve been writing for 45 years, and only in the last five have I started to see visible “fruit” in my publishing journey. That’s even longer than Joseph’s 20-year path to leadership—and hopefully longer than yours will be!

Early on, I wondered if God “disabled” me to push me home to write full-time (or as much as I physically can, which is currently about 3-4 hours a day with breaks). I even started a post about it. But it sounded a bit wackadoodle, so the start of it still sits in the draft folder here. The wackadoodle part seemed to receive support last week when I mentioned the possibility to someone, and they just looked at me funny. :-)

I know it sounds funky. But writing more (while still paying the bills) has always fallen into the category of “the desires of my heart” (Psalm 37:4 and many other verses).

My friends, you already know I’ve been struggling to find the path He wants me on since I returned.

Obstacle City

But this part might be new to you: He’s placed substantial obstacles in the path of everything I tried to move toward—securing a new day job outside of the home or inside of it, finding more clients, and filing for disability.

Every single time and every single possible non-writing option.

And each time I question, ask for provision, or remind Him that we need me to work, I hear “just keep writing, Julie.”

Consistently. Always. A hundred million and a half times. With a couple of slight variations of that same answer. And yes, He has been using my name a lot more these days—not sure why.

You’ve already read the story, and can listen to more tidbits if you decide to play the video below, but God really did walk me through dying. Yup.

• He set up the scene (so I was at home, not in public).

• He told me it was an allergy several times (even as I argued). He insisted when I hesitated.

• He was very clear that I was not to lie down/fall asleep when my body was fighting so hard to shut down. He stopped telling me that after I was in the ambulance and secured with proper medical help nearby.

• He even timed the 911 call because, for quite a while, I was unable to dial.

• When He took me to heaven, He shaped the full experience (you can hear more about it in the video below), knowing exactly what I needed and what I didn’t.

• It appears that He has been carefully guarding me ever since. Yes, I’ve had a few more reactions—I just hadn’t told you all that. But obviously, not like that one. Two got a little scary—but thankfully, Jesus and meds pulled me out.

Was the whole goal to get me to heaven and back?

This past week, my episode with Randy Kay played live on YouTube. I spoke about some of my trip, and Randy shared with me the two unique things about my story that he had yet to hear from anyone else. He also kindly corrected my terminology (lol). Because I flatlined (heart stopped), I did not have a near-death experience, but an afterlife experience.

Good to know! And now I have to change all my blog post titles. LOL!

We discussed the symbolism in how God shaped my experience, and Randy also shared a reason he thought might explain why Jesus showed me the emotion He did—a new one for me, and yet a comforting thought.

I loved that I had a chance to pray for all the viewers, now numbering extremely high (!), because it’s been a while since I’ve had that pleasure. And since Randy prayed for me, my pain levels have decreased quite a bit. Very grateful for that.

Want to join us at the Heaven Encounters Conference? I think there are still a few tickets left. Then I can meet you for realsies, and that would be epic.

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:1-2, 7, 12, 18 NIV