A vision of, "More."

This morning I need to share with you what happened to me yesterday and a vision that I had this morning. Actually, it's "more" than I want to share it, my angels have directed me to write to you today.

Yesterday was a very meaningful day. First there was church, which I always enjoy, then a roller skating party for the kids and the families of the church. Then after the party I went to see Ryan Call and his family at the hospice center. It was an emotional and spiritual whiplash. I went from the pounding music, the laughter, and Justin and I trying to skate without killing ourselves, trying to keep up with Jane, then to off to Hospice center to be with a young man who is dying. Such is the life of a pastor.

I have known Ryan since he was a young boy. I have watched him grow and mature through the different stages of his life, the blessing of serving a church for 34 years. Six years ago he was diagnosed with a stage four gleoblastoma brain tumor. Other pepole I know after diagnosis with a "gleo" only live for few months, if even a year. In my experience Ryan was the miracle exception. Over the years I found Ryan's approach to his tumor an inspiration for my life.

Ryan was positive, optimistic and very hopeful. I believe his tumor awakened him to a beauty of life that far transcends what we know or imagine. While most of us get stuck in the hum drum of life, Ryan was always vitally alive.

It was only about six weeks ago that Ryan's tumor began growing at a ferocious speed. He went from being strong and healthy, to being transported to the hospital, and now to a hospice center waitng for his transition to the resurrection. Bob and Lisa Call, Ryans parents, ask for your prayers during this time of waiting.

Being with people who are dying is always a moving experience for me. Even though I've done it countless hundreds of times over my career, I'm humbled every time to sit with a person and a family in the final days and hours of life. I felt honored to be invited into this intimate place with the Call family.

As I was with the family, Ryan's brother and I started talking about dying and what happeded to us after we died. He said, "I want there to be so much more than just darkness. Is there more?" I told him what I belive to be true, that it's a glorious experience and that there is indeed, so much more to the after life. It's not darkness but their is a glorious light and life that awaits us.

However, the question lingered with me for the rest of the afternoon and evening. What does happen to us after we die? People often look to me for answers and assurance that there is indeed something "more" that happens to us. This morning during my meditation my Angels gave me a vision that I'm supposed to share with you of this divine and heavenly "more." Here's what I wrote in my spiritual journal. . .

When I began my morning meditation I immediately met my angels who were anxious to see me. It was so fast that I wasn’t ready for them. I had barely closed my eyes when they were there. It took me a minute to adjust to their presence. I then said I was ready.

Immediately the Angels picked me up and began to fly with me. My guardian angel, surrounded by the three Lisa’s, my spirit guides, were flying with me. My angel became an eagle and I was soaring on it’s back. I kept on hearing, “Distant land, you’re going to a distant land.” I struggled against this for a few minutes and felt myself wanting to fly back, but still the eagle continued on.

We crossed what looked like a river. On the other side of the river I knew I was in the distant land. The eagle angel then dropped me into a huge group, thousands of of people milling about. They were expressionless people literally just milling about. But I felt comfortable with them and also started just milling about. After being with the people my angels came back for me and wanted to lift me out of the people. I resisted the urge and wanted to stay. But they kept pulling at me, the three Lisa’s kept tugging at me, until I lifted with them and again flew on the back of the angel eagle. They flew me high above the ground and far away from the milling people. We soared over Mountain peaks and from this vantage point I could see forever. It was a beautiful sight and I wanted to keep going, but we didn’t, and the angel eagle flew me back, back to the meeting place where we began.

Upon returning I asked the Angel what it meant. The meaning was very clear. The angel said, “There are the people milling about, just milling when there is so much more. There is so much more. I knew that the Angel was referring to the after life as the whole vision felt grounded in the feelings and questions that I had after visiting Ryan and his family.

I told the Angel that I wanted to know more. I wanted clear answers. I told the angel that people would have so much more hope if they knew exactly what happened to them after they died. The angel then reached to the left and pulled a book out of the darkness, opened the book and said, “It’s all here in the book.” I knew that the book was the Bible, or it felt like it was the Bible. Maybe it was a different book, but to me it felt like the Bible. I then heard the word, “Faith.” The book talked about faith. We must have faith in what the book says. I knew that the Bible talked about faith and that we need to have faith that there is so much more, there was this beautiful distant land that waits for us.

The Angel then said, “Write about this.” It was a command, a direction to write this blog to you.  I was then surrounded by a bright light and the Angel told me to pray for my people within the light. I prayed for my family and then for the list of people that I pray for every day. When I was finished I knew that I had to sit down and share with you my understanding of the vision.

When it comes to life and death we’re basically people milling about. We sometimes get lost in the midst of our day to day lives, so much so that we become faceless people just milling about. No, that’s not it, as I’m writing I’m realizing it’s "more." Yes, that’s the key, “More. There’s more.”  When it comes to death and dying, we’re so many people milling about, (yes, that's it. I'm getting the vision right.) Our understanding of the afterlife, this distant land, heaven, is just people milling about. We see them as nameless faceless people just milling about. It’s even comfortable to stay with this group of people. I felt comfortable staying with this group of people milling about. But the angels wanted me to see that there’s more, so much more to the after life that is beyond what we can imagine. They wanted me to see that it’s wonderful, it’s beautiful, it’s majestic and it’s beyond anything that we know or understand. It’s more than just people milling about in heaven, it’s so much more.

When we returned to the place of beginning and I asked them to give me clearer details and my angel refused to talk and instead showed me the book I realized the message, “We need to have faith.” We   need to have faith in this wonderful place that we’re going to after we die.

The message is pretty straightforward. It’s also a message that many of us have heard before. But I think that the emphasis is on "more." Just as I told Ryan's brother, heaven, the afterlife, is so much more than people milling about. It’s a funny image that we have of people, billions of people milling about for eternity in heaven, and instead there’s so much more. It’s beautiful, it’s majestic and it’s waiting for us. We need to have faith that it’s there and when we die, when our loved ones die, it is to this wonderful “More” that awaits us.

This coming week I will spend time with Bob and Lisa and Ryan. I ask for your prayers during this intimate time of dying and the transition to this beautiful "more" that awaits us.

This is my message from my angels to you this morning.

Blessings on your day and week.