A second mourning? (part II)

For about two days, while I was at Dad’s house, I was absorbed in reading the book.  The day before Thanksgiving, I went out on Dad’s back patio, laid on the patio couch, read the book, and listen to the chimes as the wind blew.  Several times I fell asleep and was content with resting instead of reading.  The sun began to set and for the first time, in a very long time, I felt peace.

The book is called, 90 MINUTES IN HEAVEN.  It is a true story about a preacher (Don) that was killed in a tragic car wreck.  Don had been dead for ninety minutes and was still trapped in his wrecked car.

A Baptist preacher traveling by was stopped in the traffic caused by the wreck, and he walked up to the crash site.  He told the emergency workers he was a Baptist preacher and asked if he could pray for anyone.  He was told the man in the red car was deceased, but he was compelled to pray for the man anyway.  He said, “God spoke to me and said, ‘You need to pray for the man in the red car.”  The preacher climbed into the red car and prayed fervently the man to not have internal injuries or brain damage.  He also began singing hymns.  As he prayed for the man, the man came to life and began to sing with him.   

Don was miraculously brought back to life from the fatal car wreck.  Most of the book is about Don’s recovery, and the struggles he has endured since the wreck.  The first few chapters and the focal point of the book are about the ninety minutes Don spent in Heaven while he was dead.

People welcomed Don to Heaven by name.  He refers to the people as “his celestial welcoming committee.”  The people who welcomed him were people that played an instrumental role in his becoming a Christian and helped him in his Christian walk.  He embraced loved ones that had passed on before him, and to Don it was the grandest family reunion. 

He spoke of the glorious music and praises he heard while he was in Heaven.  “Praise was everywhere, and all of it was musical, yet comprised of melodies and tones I’d never experienced before.”  He heard, “Hallelujah!  Praise!  Glory to God!  Praise to the King!   Such words rang out in the midst of all the music.”  The swishing of angel’s wings could also be heard. 
 

     Piper, Don. 90 MINUTES IN HEAVEN.  Grand Rapids:  Fleming H. Revell, 2004.   26, 31.