Death Will Be No More
Illustration
Stories
Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. (vv. 9-11)
Jack Zeller, a retired farmer who still lives in the 171-year-old farm house on the 500 acre farm where he grew up, was moved to send this description of a wondrous experience of God’s presence at a time when he and his wife, Terry, were desperately praying for a child:
“I live north of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on my family farm. I had an experience over 48 years ago that was like no other. My wife and I had been married for five years and we were trying to conceive for the last three years with no results. We prayed every day to make our dream come true and have a family. We eventually started to look at adoption to fulfill our dreams.
“One evening, my wife went to bed and I stayed on our couch in the living room watching television. I eventually fell asleep but was awakened by something that is extremely hard to explain.
“This is what happened to me. After waking up from my sleep I saw a circular bright light enter the living room beside me. It was very bright and hovered at my side. I could not see inside the light but knew there was someone there. A voice came to me and said, ‘Do not worry, you will be expecting soon and the first born will be a son!’
“The light hovered for a short time and then just drifted away. I had a hard time comprehending what had happened and ended up in tears on the couch. When I went to join my wife in bed she looked at me, wondering why I was crying. I explained what had just happened, fearing she would question what I said. She did not, and we laid there together holding hands in silence. It was wonderful!!
“Seven months later we found out we were expecting! Yes, it was a son! Our second born was a daughter!
“I lost my wife, Terry, last year in July, after a six-year battle with cancer and after fifty-two wonderful years of marriage. I never mentioned to anyone else about what I had experienced forty-eight years ago, thinking they might question my mental status.
“After Terry passed, I felt bad that I had never mentioned it to anyone else, thereby losing any evidence that it had ever happened. I finally did mention it to my daughter, thinking she should know. To my surprise she told me that her mother had indeed told her shortly before her passing.
“Terry must have known that someone else should know what we had experienced. I truly felt validated and relieved.”
Jack Zeller, a retired farmer who still lives in the 171-year-old farm house on the 500 acre farm where he grew up, was moved to send this description of a wondrous experience of God’s presence at a time when he and his wife, Terry, were desperately praying for a child:
“I live north of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on my family farm. I had an experience over 48 years ago that was like no other. My wife and I had been married for five years and we were trying to conceive for the last three years with no results. We prayed every day to make our dream come true and have a family. We eventually started to look at adoption to fulfill our dreams.
“One evening, my wife went to bed and I stayed on our couch in the living room watching television. I eventually fell asleep but was awakened by something that is extremely hard to explain.
“This is what happened to me. After waking up from my sleep I saw a circular bright light enter the living room beside me. It was very bright and hovered at my side. I could not see inside the light but knew there was someone there. A voice came to me and said, ‘Do not worry, you will be expecting soon and the first born will be a son!’
“The light hovered for a short time and then just drifted away. I had a hard time comprehending what had happened and ended up in tears on the couch. When I went to join my wife in bed she looked at me, wondering why I was crying. I explained what had just happened, fearing she would question what I said. She did not, and we laid there together holding hands in silence. It was wonderful!!
“Seven months later we found out we were expecting! Yes, it was a son! Our second born was a daughter!
“I lost my wife, Terry, last year in July, after a six-year battle with cancer and after fifty-two wonderful years of marriage. I never mentioned to anyone else about what I had experienced forty-eight years ago, thinking they might question my mental status.
“After Terry passed, I felt bad that I had never mentioned it to anyone else, thereby losing any evidence that it had ever happened. I finally did mention it to my daughter, thinking she should know. To my surprise she told me that her mother had indeed told her shortly before her passing.
“Terry must have known that someone else should know what we had experienced. I truly felt validated and relieved.”
