Beach

Hot and miserably sticky was the only way to describe the Friday afternoon in July. With 2 kids, my husband and the camper in tow, we finally made it down to the Indiana Dunes campsite. The kids were anxious to get down to the beach and cool off. My husband would be busy for the next hour setting up the campsite. So I decided to get myself and the kids ready to go down to the beach to get them out of his way.

It was a short 5 minute bike ride, but by the time we rode down to the beach it was 6 o'clock. The beach was fairly empty for such a hot evening, but all the lifeguards had gone home for the day so that may have had something to do with it. There was a golden glow in the sky as the sun started making her decent.

I couldn't help but notice, the water was so peaceful. The waves gently washing onshore, I couldn't help but shed off my coverup and dip my toes into the water. My 8 year old daughter decided to walk along the shoreline and my 5 year old son darted right into the water in front of me. There was an unexpected sense of tranquility coming over me on the beach especially with the warm golden glow of the sun filling the sky.

The further I walked into the water the more I was drawn into it. I felt like I must be dreaming. My 6th sense was awakened and in my past experience the best course of action was to allow whatever I was going to see or feel to happen. The energy around me was best described as supernatural, but not frightening.

I proceeded into the water up to my knees. I felt as though I was seeing something not meant for me, looking through someone else's eyes. I looked over to my son, a few feet in front of me to the right, his hand outstretched. He said, "come on mommy let's go". He wanted me to go further into the water with him. At that moment I knew that this is what Heaven feels like.

I felt as though I was walking in someone else's footsteps. I had an overwhelming, etherial sense of warmth and calm. Knowing my feet were firmly planted on the Earth, this was impossible. I was not dead, I was standing in knee deep water on the beach. Yet I felt as though I was getting a rare glimpse into something extraordinary. I gently took my son's hand and we walked deeper into the water together.

After sometime at the beach we went back to camp. I felt so bewildered about my beach experience. I have had many visions and feelings in my lifetime. Mostly benign predictions of life events to come. A sense of knowing something that hasn't happened yet. This experience was completely different, otherworldly.

The next day I found myself checking Facebook on my phone. I saw an alarming post from friend. One of our mutual friends, I have known since high school, was brain dead. A migraine had triggered an aneurysm the night before I went to the beach. This was particularly tragic as she had such a rough couple of years. Her young daughter passed away suddenly due to illness a few of years earlier. She was finally finding happiness again.

It all suddenly came together. My experience on the beach, she was crossing over! I don't know if I was seeing an echo of my friend's passing but it couldn't be a coincidence. I had never felt so peaceful on the threshold of Heaven. Whether or not she wanted me to know, I believe that when someone close to you passes that energy can be felt. My son asking for my hand to come with him. Was it actually her daughter taking her into heaven? I don't know if my friend wanted me to know that she was at peace or if my emotional attachment to her allowed for me to feel this event. What I do know that she is with her beloved daughter and while they were trying some last ditch efforts to bring her back I knew she was already gone.