The Other Side

We’re shaken again by an untimely death. This time it’s lovely song bird Whitney Houston. What happened? What happens now?

The older I get, the more mysterious life and death seem to be. We understand so little about death and yet it happens to everyone. We really don’t know what happens on the other side, but there is much spiritual activity going on.

Several years ago, my younger son died very suddenly. I found myself doing something I have never done before: I prayed for the dead. For one full year, I prayed for my son every day because something inside me was telling me that he had not passed over to the other side. I had a strong uneasy feeling my son had some work to do before making that transition.

When I was a child, my Roman Catholic friends would talk about many things that Catholics do but Protestants do not. I thought their idea of praying for the dead did not make sense, but I found myself caught up in the need to pray for my son and his soul. The older he got, the more troubled he was. He had a very difficult time dealing with the reality of life as an adult. This carried over into his death. I felt compelled to pray for him until he made that transition. I had no idea how long it would take and how it would work. Slowly I began learning to trust God and face the mystery of life and death.

One day I received a telephone call from an old friend who was deeply spiritual and seemed to have divine connections. My friend said to me, “I had a dream about your son Chuck last night – and in the dream he told me to call you and tell you that he is alright.”  Two nights later, I also had a dream about my son. He was sitting in a boat, one similar to a lifeboat. It was not unusual to see Chuck in a boat because his whole life was about boats and he worked many years as ferry boat captain. I saw my son in my dream, sitting in the center of this lifeboat in a very upright position. He did not move his head or say anything. He just sat there looking straight ahead. The boat was caught in mud flats. Slowly the boat began to inch its way through the mud flats, and finally reached the open water. Then suddenly the boat picked up speed and in a moment’s time was out of my sight completely. I woke up and had the feeling that Chuck had made the transition and he was alright. I never felt the need to pray for him again; he was completely in God’s hands.

What this has done for me has given me further proof that life goes on and death is not the end. This is only one experience and we have so much to learn and so much more growing to do. I hope that by telling you this story about someone that was close to me, it will help explain some of the mystery of death.

Bless you as you continue your journey in the ever exciting movement of the spirit.

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