I awoke in the middle of the night with a severe migraine. I had experienced occasional migraines since I was teenager, but this migraine was extremely painful, and I should have sought treatment at an emergency room. However, since I had young children at the time, I did not want to wake them or my husband, so I attempted to treat myself.

I took my prescription migraine medication, but it did not provide any relief from the severe pain. Instead of waiting an hour before taking the second dose as the instructions advised, I waited 20 minutes and took the second dose. I also took two over-the-counter pills for migraine. I have always been extremely sensitive to medications, but at the time I did not consider this. I was solely focused on relieving the unbearable pain. After taking the medication I became very sleepy and returned to bed. Even though I continued to experience severe pain, I drifted off to sleep, but I would awaken by gasping for breath. I quickly realized that when I drifted off to sleep, I stopped breathing. I had accidentally over-medicated myself and I was fearful I would fall asleep and die. I said a simple prayer, “Dear God, please don’t let me die. I want to be a mother and wife.” As I said the prayer, I was not sure God existed.

Immediately after praying, a presence came over my bed. I was lying on my back with my eyes closed, but I could sense a shadow had been cast as something moved over me and then stood next to my bed. As soon as I sensed the presence, I felt frightened, and I intentionally kept my eyes tightly shut. I heard a voice deliver a message to me. It said, “An angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid.” (I later looked up this passage and it is Luke 2:9 in the American Standard Version of the Bible.)

Once I realized I had been informed that an angel had arrived to help me, it then felt as if the angel slid his hand through my skin and directly into my abdomen. The angel’s fingers gently gripped the exterior wall of my stomach and a sensation of static-like energy moved through my stomach and up through my torso. The sensations were not painful, but they were very startling. As I was trying to make sense of what I was experiencing, I felt my deceased dad’s presence and I could hear him speaking to me. He attempted to comfort me by repeatedly and very calmly stating “You’re going to be ok. You’re going to be ok. You’re going to be ok.”

Then I became aware of a large, powerful presence hovering over my body. When I noticed the additional presence, within my inner vision I saw a gorgeous crystal blue waterfall. The water was the most beautiful hues of blue I have ever seen and I marveled at the clarity of the water. Blindingly white light danced and sparkled on the surface of the water. I had the sensation of liquid love cascading into my heart. The love was so pure and overwhelming, I immediately began to weep. The liquid love flowed through my heart and filled up my chest cavity to the point that I could not adequately expand my lungs to inhale. I was aware of having difficulty breathing, but it did not concern me.

I was completely consumed by the love and nothing else mattered. At this point I consciously and fearlessly took my last breath and surrendered to the love. I moved out of my body, joined with the large presence, and suddenly realized, “This is God.” The presence was infinite and so powerful that I knew it could only be God. I was immediately concerned that God would judge me for taking too much medication, but the judgment never came. I searched for the judgment in the exquisitely illuminated darkness, but there was not a speck of judgment to be found. As I expanded into the unconditional love, gratitude flowed out from within my being. I realized this glorious love and perfection was what I had been searching for during my time on earth, but I had been unable to find it there. I was home. I felt infinite grace, boundless joy, perfect peace, wholeness, complete acceptance, and total adoration. The perfect love was the Source of all that is, Oneness, and it was within this perfection I wanted to remain.

In my blissed-out state, it took all the energy I could muster to telepathically communicate, “Take me.” With these two words I was attempting to communicate that I wanted to remain in the pure love forever. I continued to expand in a state of overwhelming bliss and I became the size of the cosmos and soon realized I was infinite. At this point I had no recollection of being a daughter, sister, mother, wife, friend. I had no awareness of the previous roles I played or of ever having a body. I was simply spirit, being, awareness. I was allowed to expand until I felt as if I could not contain the eternal love and I was nearing a point where I would explode into a billion atoms and forever be with God.

I gladly welcomed the explosion, but at the very last millisecond before the explosion of my being, I was pulled out of the eternal love and I landed with a shocking jolt back into my body. I immediately noticed my hair and pillow were wet from the tears I had cried as the love consumed my heart and spirit. I have no idea how long I was with God, possibly only a few minutes.

But when I returned to my body, it was completely healed. The medications had been removed from my body. I was no longer sleepy from the large dose of medications and I was breathing normally. My head was completely pain-free as if I had never had a migraine. Usually after having a severe migraine, my head would be very sore to the touch for at least 24 hours following a migraine, but now I could push against my head and feel no pain or tenderness.

I knew I had experienced something beyond any earthly experience I’d ever had. I accepted that I had experienced a miraculous healing. I’d been helped by one of God’s angels, comforted by my dad in heaven, and given an opportunity to be with God before returning to my healed body. Because of this miracle, I no longer doubt there is a God and I no longer fear death. I very much look forward to once again being home with God.