My Vision

FORGIVE ME, I TYPE IN CAPS SO THAT I AM ABLE TO SEE WHAT I TYPE.

IT WAS MOTHER'S DAY, SUNDAY, MAY 10, 1992. I WAS IN WASHINGTON STATE, 'CHURCH OF CHRIST' CHURCH, WITH MY HUSBAND AND IN-LAWS. WHEN I LOOKED UP AT THE STAGE, I SAW ON THE BACK WALL, A GLOWING WHITE, 20 FOOT CROSS. TO THE LEFT, AT THE BASE OF THE CROSS, ALSO GLOWING WHITE, WAS A CHILD SITTING ON HIS FEET. HIS HEAD AND HANDS ARE IN THE PRAYING POSITION, HEAD DOWN AND PALMS TOGETHER AT HEAD.

I TURNED TO MY HUSBAND, AND ASKED HIM, "CAN YOU SEE A 20 FOOT GLOWING WHITE CROSS ON THE WALL AT THE BACK OF THE STAGE?" HIS ANSWER TO ME WAS, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU\'RE TALKING ABOUT HONEY, I DON'T SEE ANYTHING." I STARTED TO FEEL LIKE THERE WAS SOMETHING NOT RIGHT HERE. I THEN TURNED TO MY RIGHT, TO MY MOTHER-IN-LAW, AND ASKED HER, "DID YOU HAVE A 20 FOOT CROSS ON THE WALL, AT THE BACK OF THE STAGE, THAT WAS RECENTLY REMOVED?" HER ANSWER WAS, "NO DEAR, THERE WAS NEVER A CROSS ON THAT WALL. THERE WAS NEVER ANYTHING ON THAT WALL. BECAUSE, THE BAPTISMAL POOL ENTRANCE IS AT THE BASE OF THAT WALL, AND PEOPLE WOULD BUMP INTO IT AS THEY ENTERED THE POOL."

I HAD THOUGHT MAYBE THE CHURCH HAD REMOVED A 20 FOOT CROSS OFF THE WALL THAT HAD BEEN THERE FOR SOME TIME. AND UPON its REMOVAL, THERE WAS A BRIGHT WHITE PAINT BEHIND IT. BUT THIS WAS NOT TO BE THE CASE. NO NEED TO BRING UP THE CHILD IN THE PRAYING POSITION I THOUGHT, WHEN THEY COULDN'T EVEN SEE A 20 FOOT CROSS.

I KEPT BLINKING MY EYES, OVER AND OVER AGAIN. I RUBBED MY LEFT EYE. I CLOSED MY EYES MANY TIMES FOR SEVERAL SECONDS, I LOOKED AWAY, AND THEN BACK AGAIN SEVERAL TIMES. IT WAS STILL THERE. IT WOULD NOT GO AWAY. I WAS DETERMINED TO BLAME WHAT I WAS SEEING ON MY FAULTY VISION. A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO I HAD EYE SURGERY, A CORNEA TRANSPLANT, ON MY RIGHT EYE. I WAS SURE WHAT I WAS SEEING WAS DUE TO THIS. I WAS CONVINCED THAT THIS MUST BE SOME KIND OF NEW FLOATER (DETACHED DEBRIS FLOATING IN THE EYE) I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT.

NEXT THING TO HAPPEN, TWO WOMEN AND A MAN, WENT UP ON STAGE, AND BEGAN TO PLAY GUITAR AND SING. SUDDENLY, THESE GLOWING, WHITE, HOODED-ROBED FIGURES, FLOATED OUT OF THE THREE PERSONS ON THE STAGE. THESE GLOWING WHITE HOODED-ROBED FIGURES FLOATED THREE FEET ABOVE THE STAGE FLOOR. THEY FLOATED TO THE RIGHT EDGE OF THE STAGE, WHERE THEY THEN DISAPPEARED. THIS HAPPENED OVER AND OVER AGAIN, TO EACH PERSON, UNTIL THE THREE PEOPLE LEFT THE STAGE. I REPEATED EVERYTHING WITH MY EYES. BLINKING, RUBBING, UP AND DOWN, SIDE TO SIDE, OPENED AND CLOSED, LOOK AWAY AND BACK. NOTHING INTERRUPTED THE MOVEMENT OF THE GLOWING WHITE HOODED-ROBED FIGURES.

NEXT, FIVE PEOPLE WENT UP ON STAGE TO SING. THIS TIME, ONLY THREE PEOPLE OUT OF THE FIVE PEOPLE, HAD GLOWING WHITE HOODED-ROBED FIGURES FLOAT OUT OF THEM AND OFF STAGE TO DISAPPEAR. AND, WHEN THESE FIVE PEOPLE LEFT THE STAGE, THIS WAS THE LAST I SAW OF THE GLOWING WHITE HOODED-ROBED FIGURES. BUT, THE GLOWING WHITE CROSS AND CHILD SILL REMAINED. I MAY NEVER MENTION THIS AGAIN TO ANYONE. I UNDERSTAND NONE OF IT. SO HOW WOULD ANYONE ELSE UNDERSTAND IT, IF I WAS TO TELL THEM.

NEXT, A MAN STOOD UP TWO ROWS BEHIND ME, ACROSS THE ISLE, AND A FEW SEATS UP THE BENCH. HE WAS TALL, ABOUT 30 YEARS OLD, WITH BROWN SHOULDER LENGTH HAIR. HE WAS DRESSED IN JEANS, A PLAID SHIRT, AND SUSPENDERS. HE BEGAN TO SPEAK IN A NORMAL TONE. BUT, NOT IN ENGLISH. IT WAS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE I HAD NEVER HEARD BEFORE, OR SINCE. I BEGAN TO LOOK AROUND AT THE OTHER PEOPLE IN THE CHURCH. NO ONE, NOT EVEN THE MINISTER, WAS LOOKING AT THIS PERSON. NO ONE RESPONDED TO HIM. APPARENTLY, I WAS THE ONLY PERSON TO NOTICE HIM AT ALL. THIS PERSON NEVER ONCE LOOKED AT ME, OR SPOKE TO ME. HE ONLY LOOKED STRAIGHT AHEAD. WHEN HE WAS FINISHED SPEAKING HE SAT DOWN.

THEN I THOUGHT THIS MAY BE WHAT THE BIBLE TALKS ABOUT, SPEAKING IN TONGUES, AND NO ONE THERE TO INTERRUPT. AGAIN, I AM FEELING THINGS ARE NOT RIGHT AT ALL HERE. WHY AM I SEEING THIS? WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH ME?

AFTER WE LEFT CHURCH, AND ON THE WALK HOME, I ASKED MY MOTHER-IN-LAW AND FATHER-IN-LAW, "WHO WAS THAT MAN IN THE PLAID SHIRT, AND JEANS WITH SUSPENDERS, THAT STOOD UP TO TALK?" THEY BOTH DIDN'T KNOW. I WISH NOW THAT I HADN'T DESCRIBED THE GUY WHEN I ASKED IF THEY KNEW HIM. BECAUSE ALL THAT MY MOTHER AND FATHER-IN LAWS HAD TO SAY WAS. MY MOTHER-IN-LAW SAID, "HE SHOULDN'T COME TO CHURCH LOOKING LIKE THAT. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS LOOK YOUR BEST WHEN YOU ENTER THE LORDS HOUSE". THEN MY FATHER-IN-LAW SAID, "THAT'S WHAT CHURCH IS FOR. IT'S A COME AS YOU ARE, JUST SO YOU COME THING. BUT, NO ONE SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THIS MAN WHO WAS SPEAKING IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE. NO ONE SAW OR HEARD ANYTHING.

I RETURNED TO THIS SAME CHURCH ON THE FOLLOWING SUNDAY. THE SAME THREE PEOPLE GOT UP ON STAGE TO PLAY GUITAR AND SING. BUT NOTHING AT ALL HAPPENED ON THIS DAY. THERE WAS NO GLOWING WHITE CROSS, NO GLOWING WHITE CHILD, AND NO GLOWING WHITE HOODED-ROBED FIGURES COMING OUT OF PEOPLE.

I REALLY AM AT A COMPLETE LOSS AS TO WHAT TO THINK, DO, OR SAY AT THIS POINT. I KNOW I WASN'T UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ANY DRUGS, OF ANY KIND. I KNOW THAT WHAT I SAW AND HEARD WAS REAL. IT HAPPENED IN BROAD DAYLIGHT, IN A VERY PUBLIC PLACE. ALL THAT COMES TO MIND IS TO SHRUG MY SHOULDERS, RAISE MY PALMS UPWARD FROM MY ELBOWS, AND SHAKE MY HEAD SIDE TO SIDE. I AM THOUGHTLESS AND SPEECHLESS.

TWO WEEKS LATER, MY HUSBAND AND I WENT WITH HIS PARENTS CHURCH AGAIN. ONLY THIS TIME, WE WENT TO THEIR NEWLY BUILT CHURCH. AND AS WE DROVE UP TO THE CHURCH, I IMMEDIATELY NOTICED A 20 FOOT WOODEN CROSS HUNG ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING. AT ONCE I SAID TO MY MOTHER-IN-LAW IN THE FRONT SEAT OF THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME, "AH, THERE'S THAT 20 FOOT CROSS FROM YOUR OLD CHURCH." BUT, SHE WAS QUICK TO CORRECT ME, "NO, WE HAD THAT CROSS CUSTOM MADE BY A MEMBER OF OUR CHURCH, ESPECIALLY FOR THIS NEW CHURCH." I WAS AGAIN COMPLETELY BAFFLED.

I COULDN'T WAIT TO SEE IF THE NEW CHURCH HAD ANYTHING UNUSUAL ABOUT IT INSIDE. BUT, IT DID NOT. THERE WAS NOTHING, NO GLOWING WHITE OF ANYTHING. THE PEOPLE WERE ALL NORMAL.

THE QUESTION I HAVE NOW IS... WHY ME? WHY DID I SEE THIS AND HEAR THIS? WHAT DOES IT MEAN? AND IF I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS, THEN, IS IT WASTED ON ME? WILL I SEE AND HEAR THIS AGAIN IN MY FUTURE? OR MAYBE, IS IT FROM THE OTHER SIDE AS SOME PEOPLE CALL IT? NOW I HAVE EVEN MORE QUESTIONS.

BY MICKI MILD-RED DAVIS