Jean G.

For a precious moment, I knew that complete surrender was the only alternative.  I needed to give ALL of my pain and confusion it caused

To a God that I had hope in…

"I always liked the expression, 'Don't judge someone until you've walked a mile in his shoes" , supposedly attributed to Native American Indian tradition.  It's a good axiom because, in fact, no one CAN walk a mile in someone's shoes; no one has had the same experience in life as you. 

Feeling empathy for another's pain isn't the same as experiencing their pain.  Even when it is visceral to us, it still is not the same as what someone personally experienced.  But we can acknowledge their pain as being real.  We can affirm that their pain is as difficult to bear as they say it is.  

I can only share that I, too, have experienced the kind of pain that sent me to my knees in hopelessness—an absolute sense that I could not go any further in any way.   For a precious moment, I knew that complete surrender was the only alternative.  I needed to give ALL of my pain and confusion it caused to a God that I had hope in, someone who loved me enough to give HIS life for me in a brutal way.  "I give up, YOUR will be done."

And as the words of the prayer say, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" that's when I experienced a "glimpse of heaven."