Glimpses

SOUL STIRRINGS

It stirs my soul to:

… see a veteran looking at, and reverently touching an old “war bird” at an air show. ●      …see liquid emotion welling up in his eyes as memories – good and bad, of harrowing times, of old friends, and lost friends, flash through his mind.   ● …see him posing with pride for a photograph beside that faithful aircraft, flanked by his grandkids, or old buddies.   ● … hear the sound of a radial aircraft engine coming to life.   ● …see and hear WWII aircraft in flight and to imagine the power the pilot and co-pilot are controlling.

…know without doubt that the Creator of the universe heard my plea and answered my prayer. -   ● ...experience that exhilarating inner feeling that I have been in personal contact with Almighty God and realize that He knows me, and cares for me. -   ●…have my faith and testimony strengthened as a result.

…hear the near death idle of a big Harley Davidson engine, with the spark retarded. ● …ride that motorcycle and experience the power of the machine on which you’re astride. ● …hear the slow idle sounds of a Model A engine, with its spark retarded.   ● …hear the sound of the engine on an Alco (American Locomotive Company) road switcher revving up as it starts to pull its load. ● …feel the vibration through the floor in the cab of a locomotive.

…step into the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. Regardless of the number of times I have been there, something inside me is stirred as I think of what took place there just less then one hundred years before I was born.   ● …stand on Civil War battlefields and view the manicured grounds and absorb the quiet calm where hundreds and hundreds of men lay buried in unmarked graves. Less than three-quarters of a century before I was born, black smoke from cannon and rifle fire drifted across those lands. The vegetation was stained with the very lifeblood of soldiers, fighting to help form the backbone of a nation, blessed of God.

…hear the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”    ● …realize that these stirring words and music also fell on the ears of Abraham Lincoln as a nation was in conflict.   ● …know that Civil War soldiers heard this music and were solemnly reminded of the watchful eye, and the certain judgment of our all-knowing God.

…hear the incomparable voice of Sandi Patti, singing praises to our God and Savior, from the very depths of her being.   ● …know that countless others who are certain of their eternal destiny, are experiencing the same inner emotions as she willingly, and fully uses her God given talents for His Glory.

…know one day I will hear the “new name” that He promised to give me. No doubt, a name that is befitting His design and creation of me.

…think of receiving my new job assignment in eternity. We have been accepted into a Royal Priesthood, to rule and reign as joint heirs with Christ! To what possible duty and assignment will I be entrusted?

    What is it within each of us that can be stirred to the very depths of our
    being? What memories and experiences from the dim hazy past are
    occasionally brought to mind, and vibrate something inside that is felt
    only under these circumstances? What is that “inner life” that is suddenly
    and momentarily quickened?

While you may find my topics of reaction stirring moments amusing, or
even funny, that’s understandable. You know what yours are and they were gleaned along the trail that you have walked. While my heart and mind
may add to this collection as I grow older, I doubt that any will match those
that will come after passing the boundary between time and “endless time.”

It seems with the steady (and growing) stream of stories from individuals who have had near death experiences, the similarities of details from those accounts are far too frequent to be disregarded. I have personally known and visited with two people who were brought back from the brink of endless time. Both related that they felt enveloped in an atmosphere of love. Both reported happily seeing friends and relatives on a distant shore and were eager to get there and be with them. But what they observed was arm motions and verbal messages telling them, “Go back. Go back. It is not time for you to be here.” Both said that when they awoke into consciousness, they were disappointed that they were back in familiar surroundings. And, both quickly added that as a result of their experiences, neither was afraid to die now, and looked forward to the day when they would be rejoined with friends and relatives on that waiting shoreline. One of these individuals has since made that successful trip.

I think it will stir my soul to:

…see friends and relatives once again as I step onto that pristine shore and exchange warm and heartfelt greetings. ● …meet a grandfather that I never knew.   ● …hopefully find that an uncle had accepted Christ as Savior before he died. He lived right, never used profanity and had no enemies. He was a good man, but that does not qualify one to enter into an eternity filled with all the riches and blessings of God. To my knowledge, when they closed the lid on his coffin, I had seen him for the last time.

…see and hug my son who died in my arms, just weeks short of his 26th birthday. I have arranged for a tour of Heaven when I arrive. The night before my son died, we talked about his upcoming trip and I asked him to check out his new destination, because I wanted him to take me on a personal tour when I get there.

Ashamedly I wonder, when I think about life after this life, why my mind
is always drawn to the prospects of being reunited with loved ones.
Maybe, it’s because of our closeness to them throughout our time
together. But the crowning event will be to at last see our Lord
and Savior! And in some inadequate manner try to express our
unworthiness, love and appreciation for not just his personal sacrifice,
mercy and grace, but for all the safety, guidance, and blessings that
He provided for us every day of our lives, for which we, for the most
part, were unaware or took for granted.

…think that because of God’s great grace, I will stand among the masses as the angels proclaim Jesus as, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS!” Just the realization of what those words mean is so utterly powerful. It doesn’t get any greater than that! And to look around and see that with the sound of His name, EVERY knee is bowing! No one will have to be coached as to what to do. The awesomeness of his majesty, lordship and kingship will humbly place all us forgiven sinners in a position of prideless reverence and adoration!

…hopefully hear God say on Judgment Day, “There’s old Harley. He’s a friend of mine!” I use the word “hopefully,” because even though I have no doubt about being there, or my salvation, but being called a “friend” is a stretch of my imagination, knowing that there have been many flaws in the course that I plotted. David was called “A man after God’s own heart.” On that basis, I can’t qualify even as a distant bystander.

To some readers, all this appears to be “pie in the sky.” On this earth, in my lifetime, I’ve had too many prayers answered to even consider calling them coincidences. I’ve felt God speak to my heart and to guide my steps. He has blazed the trail between me and my managers as I tried, with His help, to be a representative for the people in my charge. He has been faithful in that beyond my wildest dreams. If, in reality there is “pie in the sky,” it starts being served the moment one admits being a sinner before God, and asks for salvation through his Son. The journey starts at that point. Nothing in life carries an “EASY” guarantee, but there’s nothing like traveling FIRST CLASS with God!

Harley