I'll never forget the day my life almost slipped away. I had just stepped out to take a walk with my wife after we had an argument and she wanted to talk to me so we decided to walk outside away from the family. We were at my parents’ house who live on a big farm in middle Tennessee and mind you it was really late at night around twelve midnight. All we had was flashlights and lanterns. 

I thought everything was okay till I thought I heard something bang like a gunshot. Next minute I heard it again and pushed my wife away from it. I was lost in thought and still not knowing where it was coming from when suddenly my chest and lower stomach were in pain, like unbelievable pain, and my wife said her leg was in pain a little.

Later to find out I was shot twice. The impact of it was immense, and I felt my world spinning out of control. I remember thinking to myself, "This is it. This is the end." The next thing I knew, I was lying on the ground, my chest throbbing in agony.

My life flashed before my eyes and showed me every life event, like every emotion I felt and other people felt. As I slowly came to, I saw my body in front of me and my wife crying over me and I didn’t fully understand it yet. I was yelling because I didn’t understand why she couldn’t see me or hear me. I felt an urge, a pull, it’s kind of hard to explain. Next minute I was somewhere else.

I felt a sense of peace wash over me, like it was so peaceful and so much love that it feels like you’re on the top of the world. Suddenly, I was surrounded by a warm, comforting presence. It was as if someone was telling me everything would be okay. I felt no pain, no fear.

As I looked around, I saw people I had loved and lost standing before me in these gorgeous fields of wildflowers and bluest skies and the most vibrant colors that it does look like earth but it’s so different. My grandmother Delia, my mom’s mother, who had passed away when I was an early teen. was smiling at me with tears in her eyes and shook her head and said, “You’re back. It’s not your time, hijo.” She used to call me and my siblings "hijo" when we were little. We never fully understood what that meant and we still don’t, but I did miss hearing my grandma being around and calling me these weird little nicknames. 

I saw my grandpa who was my dad’s father who never got to meet me sadly but looked at me with tears in his eyes and it wasn’t like we were speaking with words we just thought our thoughts and it would be responded to. He said how proud he is of me and my brothers and he said he was always watching over me and my brothers, that he never left. When we were little and felt like somebody was watching us from afar playing outside, it was him watching over his grandsons, making sure we didn’t get into “trouble” like my dad and his siblings did. Made me kind of chuckle cause boy we sure did get ourselves into messes on the farm.

I saw a little girl about eight and didn’t know who she was but dang she looked like me and my mother and she asked, “Do you know who I am?” And all I could say was no because I didn’t and she giggled and reminded me she was my sister. It hit me that two years before I was born in 1998 my mom had a stillborn baby girl. I was just stunned and didn’t know how to take that and never thought I would ever get to have a sister but she reminded me she will be here when everyone comes to the other side. She asked me to tell my mom that she was okay and was in no pain and she has been watching over her all this time and she has been watching all of us, and she reminded me my little “friend” I had when I was little was her and I never realized that. That made me have a sense of comfort somehow.

My grandma Delia didn’t want to interrupt the family gathering here but she reminded me that it wasn’t my time and I couldn’t stay here, that I have my own purpose in life to go back to. She smiled and said, “Did you like my gift I brought to you and the family?“ I didn’t fully understand yet what she meant and all she said was, “Yancy,” and that is my oldest son’s name and I looked at her confused and asked what that meant and all she said was, “He’s always keeping you on your toes, isn’t he? He reminds me so much of you when you were little, so determined and so curious to learn, like you always had to learn something.” And I chuckled and have to agree that he was a miracle. He has been such a big help in our family since coming into our lives and always bringing us together.

I reminded my grandma that it’s so just so peaceful here and I was so weak and tired in the real world and I felt like I failed everyone, like my family, kids, myself. She took her hand and lifted my chin and reminded me to keep in my faith, as she always said to me when I was struggling when I was a kid. She told me I had amazing things to do in the world. I have a purpose and had my amazing kids to raise because they need me and that’s one of my purposes.

Supposedly that isn’t my only purpose though. I told her that I felt like I failed my kids but she reminded me everything will be okay and Scarlett, my daughter, will be okay. I thought to myself, “How did she know that?” My grandma reminded me this is the other side, nothing is a secret, and she reassured me that everything will be okay and everyone will be bonded. 

She smiled and told me how all her boys are so grown now and she told me to tell Cole how strong he is and tell him what I saw and tell my brother Quincy how much he has changed into an amazing person and he will find his purpose and to remind my mother that she’s always there watching over her baby girl.

She reminded me it really was time to go back and I felt an urge like a pull and she stepped back and said, “Don’t worry, I will be here when it’s your time…we all will,” and I wondered what she meant by “we all will” but then I looked and saw my great uncle Carlo and my dad's mother and all my family who has passed. Even my little sister that I couldn’t wait to tell my mother about, and all of a sudden, I blinked and I felt myself being pulled away, as if I was being drawn into another place. But as I reached out to touch my grandma one more time, everything began to fade away. The light dimmed, and the voices grew distant.

I was suddenly back in my body, lying in my hospital bed beside my wife. The pain and confusion returned. I struggled to really mutter any words out at first. My wife was on her knees praying to God to please make me okay, please don’t take me away from our family. I finally mutter the words, “I’m okay,” and my wife jumped up and hugged me like her life depended on it and we both cried into each other arms and I told her what I experienced and was just speechless.

Over the next few days strange things began to happen to me. I experienced vivid dreams that felt more real than my waking life. I started seeing things that couldn't be explained - shadows moving in the corner of my eye, whispers in my ear when no one was around and I know that sounds strange but I was wondering if it was connected to my after-life experience.

I began to realize that maybe my near-death experience had awakened something within me that I never knew existed. I learned to harness this newfound awareness. I know that my near-death experience changed me forever. It showed me that there's more to life than what we can see and touch. 

It reminded me that there's a world beyond our own, full of love and light and infinite possibility. And even though it's hard to explain or understand, I know that it's true - we're all connected in ways we can't begin to comprehend.

The experience left an indelible mark on my soul. It changed my perspective on life and death, and it gave me a sense of purpose that I'd never known before. And although it's still a work in progress, I'm grateful for the gift it brought - a glimpse into the unknown, and a reminder that there's more to life than what we can see and touch.