Trudy Harris, hospice nurse and best-selling author of Glimpses of Heaven and More Glimpses of Heaven, shares proof of life after death and near death experiences in these letters.
Hi Trudy, I have spent 22 years as a nurse and I have seen some strange and miraculous things happen at the bedside of dying patients.
Because of my experience, I have never questioned God’s authority over death. I have seen two personal instances of “glimpses of heaven.” My mother was very ill with pancreatitis and was placed in ICU, where we thought she would die.
When she got better, she told me a story: “I died in there, Patsy. I was walking up a hill with an angel. We didn’t speak but communicated anyway. When we reached the top of the hill, I saw a golden city. Nothing I have ever seen in my life prepared me for the beauty of it all. I wanted to hurry on to the city, but the angel said not yet. Then I woke up in the hospital room.” Mom was a wonderful Christian woman all her life and lived several years after her experience.
A few years later, my oldest brother had to have a toe amputated because of diabetes. I was with all of my brothers and my sister around his bed the night before surgery. We were laughing about childhood experiences. Suddenly my brother sat up in bed and pointed to the corner of the room and said, “Look, there’s Mom standing there.” We had always kidded Mom about our oldest brother being her favorite. I guess she came to take him to heaven, because he died after the surgery.
Now my husband of 29 years is dying of cancer. I hope I can be with him and hold his hand when it is his time and let Jesus take him home to heaven with Him.
Patsy Colter
Dear Patsy,
Thank you for your beautiful letter about your mom and family. God indeed allows His children to have these wonderful experiences for His own reasons. They always seem to comfort those who experience them, and they are remembered in great detail all their lives as if they happened yesterday.
When my oldest sister was dying, she started to smile. When my younger sister asked her why, she smiled again and said, “Oh, Mommy is sitting at the foot of my bed.” She died a few hours later.
When people speak of seeing heaven, they almost always say the exact same things. They speak of the beautiful city, usually surrounded by gold, often with colors for which they say we have no names. They tell of seeing loved ones who welcome them and of lovely music, choirs and flowers. It always amazes me that their language is so similar. They speak of the “light” that draws them forward and feeling the warmth and love radiating from it, which they understand to be God.
I know that when God sees fit to take your husband home to Himself, He will grant him a peaceful and happy homecoming, with you by his side.
I wish you both great peace,
Trudy Harris
