True Story.... On a Friday evening in the spring of 2017 I decided to attend a networking event. It was a typically event which included serving the usual Hors d'oeuvres and deserts. As I was networking, I pretty much sampled everything on the menu. From cocktail shrimp, fruit, to bacon wraps, and lastly desert. With that in mind, nothing that I ate was uncommon or unfamiliar. Nonetheless, towards the end of the event I started to feel very dizzy and lightheaded.
I knew that at this time, I had to make my exit. As I drove home I became worse, almost pulling over multiple times as I felt like passing out behind the wheel. I can't really articulate how I felt but it was a mixture between dizziness, wheezing, nausea, with hives. This has never happened to me in my entire life. I was was so confused. My thought process was to go home and sleep it off.
As I arrived home, my symptoms magnified. At this point my entire body was itching and I could literally barely move. The pain was so unbearable that I didn't even want go to the emergency room, as the slightest movement made me feel worse. I assumed this must have been some allergic reaction, so I took Benadryl to help cope and sleep it off - It didn't work. I believe I was in more pain. I remember thinking. "I just want to go to sleep, so I wont feel this pain any longer." These were my repeated thoughts as I felt myself slipping unconsciously. As I begin to drift, It was as if I was asleep, but my brain was very much still active. It was during this time that I heard a mans voice say "Spirit Rise Up!"
In shock, I woke up immediately. My immediate thoughts were, "Am i dying?" I didn't know what this meant. "Who was this voice." "Why did he say spirit rise up?" "Was my spirit slipping away?" Perplexed, I was now completely wide awake to my thoughts and my pain yet again. I was extremely nervous at this point. It literally felt like I was dying but I didn't know what dying felt like. My adrenaline was rushing, as I went into panic mode, and decided to use all my energy to jet to the hospital. Then shortly thereafter, as I begin to move, I vomited everything in my stomach. Surprisingly this made me feel tremendously better immediately. To that end, I never found out what was wrong with me. After my doctors visit the next day, all I knew was that it was a mixture of pancreatitis and a severe allergic reaction. But I had no idea what I was allergic to.
Fast forward to my second episode. which is shown in the figure below. Although, it was horrible and I look unrecognizable, similar to Will Smith in the movie Hitched. It was not nearly as bad as the first time. This time my children called 911. I was rushed to the hospital to receive the proper medical attention. Furthermore, I was able to pinpoint exactly what I was allergic to, which sadly is red velvet cake or red dye. The lesson learned was to seek medical attention ASAP and to keep an EpiPen pen on standby.
Why am I sharing this story? The holy spirit led me to share this story because I believe the man's voice was non-other than Jesus. I honestly, do not know for certain if this was a near death experience, but it definitely felt like it. Although, I was in so much pain and agony, I believe Jesus was with me the entire time. He never left my side as he promised ,to never leave, nor forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:8). Here on earth we will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world (John 16:33). As we remain in Him, we can have peace in knowing that we will never be alone.
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