Imagine Heaven DevotionalSample

Under the Deep

Dr. Mary Neal, an orthopedic spine surgeon, was on a white-water kayak trip in Chile when she plunged over a waterfall. The nose of her kayak lodged between two boulders, trapping her beneath a cascading torrent of water. She recounts the experience in her book, To Heaven and Back:

I very quickly knew that I would likely die. At that point I completely surrendered the outcome to God’s will. The moment I asked that God’s will be done, I was immediately and very physically held by Christ and reassured that everything would be fine. . . . I never felt air hunger. I never felt panic. . . . I was overcome with an absolute feeling of calm, peace, and of the very physical sensation of being held in someone’s arms. . . . 

After fourteen minutes under water, Mary’s body finally broke free from the kayak.

It felt as if I had finally shaken off my heavy outer layer, freeing my soul. . . . I was immediately greeted by a group of . . . people, spirits, beings. . . .  I knew that I was going home. My eternal home. . . . I glimpsed back at the scene on the river bank. My body [which had now been recovered but “dead” for thirty minutes] looked like the shell of a comfortable old friend, and I felt warm compassion and gratitude for its use. . . . I heard them [friends kayaking with Mary] call to me and beg me to take a breath. I loved them and did not want them to be sad, so I asked my heavenly companions to wait while I returned to my body, lay down, and took a breath.

Just imagine, the experience you fear most—the death of your earthly body—actually frees you in a way you never dreamed it could. How liberating to know that you have absolutely nothing to fear—not even death! 

No matter what insecurities you face, Jesus wants to walk with you every minute of every day to bring comfort and peace to your heart, to displace even your greatest fears imaginable. Fill your heart and mind with the confident assurance that you are eternally safe with Jesus by your side.

Jesus, I surrender my fears that are holding me back from experiencing the joy you have for me. I trust in your promise to strengthen me and help me. Amen.

Taken from an interview with Dr. Mary Neal by John Burke, October 2015, and Mary C. Neal, To Heaven and Back: A Doctor’s Extraordinary Account of Heaven, Angels, and Life Again: A True Story (Colorado Springs: WaterBrook, 2012), Kindle ed., loc. 57–72.