How My Son Died and Was Reborn

The first time I met my future son, he was eight years old and in my Special Needs Class. He was very active and wasted no time in latching onto me. After discussing this child with my wife, we learned that he was placed up for adoption and we soon applied for this. It took us quite a while to overcome the sticky regulations involved , but at last this child had a home and parents that would be devoted in raising him. Over the first few years everything would be alright in raising our adopted son. He had a hard time adjusting in his classes in school and seemed to have a big behavior problem that was communicated to us right away by his teachers, principal and even the superintendent where I was employed. Yes, I was under a lot of pressure at that time and I began to get calls constantly from his teachers. Over the next few years we would go through a lot of hard times and tribulations because of our new son's problems. At the age of eleven, he became involved with neighborhood kids in Satan worship and later he would get in very serious trouble by breaking into a home and stealing jewelry.The complaint came from an insurance salesman who said our son stole a lot of valuable jewelry. We had a distinct feeling that the claims were grossly over stated as to amount and value of the jewelry. He was sentenced to a youth detention center and stayed there for about a year. It was hard to go for visits and when we arrived there to see him, it seemed he was always in more new trouble.

When our son returned home, there would soon be more trouble waiting for all of us. Before it was over for us as a united family, our son rebelled against us and put us all in grave danger on many occasions. He returned to the detention center later and after much struggling with raising him, our son finally left our home and went out on his own. We felt devastated and helpless on many occasions and for a few years after having a child by natural childbirth, our family experienced a more normal family relationship. We received phone calls from him on occasion and even met with him in another city after he had become engaged to a girl he had met there.

A short time later he was married and soon had a baby to care for. He and his young wife were not ready to raise this baby and it was soon put up for adoption. Of course we could not let this child go to another home, so my wife and I adopted him and raised him with our own child. We had a great family relationship for many happy years. Our new son adjusted well with us and did well in his school. He did not exhibit the behavior problems of his biological father and our oldest adopted son. Our oldest son returned to our home for a short time and seemed to live a wild life away from home. He got involved with drugs and alcohol and our lives soon returned to an extremely strained and hostile relationship. He left with very unhappy feelings between us and remained apart from us for several years, when he remarried and had a new wife and children. After suffering from a severe heart attack and undergoing major operations our oldest son once again called us to help him. This time he told us he had been changed after a near death experience. He needed us to move there and help with his pregnant wife and he would be in the hospital for a new operation.

Our son told of of how he met a pastor in his hospital room before an operation. The man asked if he had been saved and our son told him in no uncertain terms he had not. When the man asked if he wanted to be saved and accept the lord as his savior, he replied he did. Suddenly he was in the operating room and hovered above his own bed. The surgeons were busily trying to save someone and were using paddles to try and revive the man on the table. He suddenly recognized that it was him on that table and one doctor was commenting that it looked like they were losing another one. Our son recounted how he suddenly was flying toward a bright light and arrived there to see a man dressed in white. The man was telling our son that it was not his time and that he had much work to do before he would return. A short time later he regained his wits and awoke in his hospital room. He was still alive. From that time onward, our son said that he would give his life for serving his God. He meant what he said and it was hard for us to realize that this was the same son that we had once known. We did move there for a time and helped his family and him recover from the crisis they were in.

We decided to move near our son and his family. His new little girl became very close to my wife. After a time, my son and his wife became divorced. She could not accept his new concept in life of going to church and being so devoted in helping others in need. We helped our son in taking care of his two kids while he worked and also helped them with their school work. We all became close and much love was shared in our family now. We moved after a few years to another state and kept in close contact with our son and his children. He had moved out to our home and asked that we help with his kid's schooling. After a short time living there with us, he returned to his old home in order to complete some business and was scheduled to return back to be with us later. It was In December and when the officer came to our door to tell us that our son had been killed in an accident, we were all devastated. We tried to help with his kids, but they were put in foster care, despite the fact that we were grandparents and had gone through extensive training and expense to prepare us to adopt the kids. We have tried to get our grand kids relentlessly since this happened to our son. So far, we have not succeeded, but we have not lost all hope. We know in our hearts that our son is now with his God and that his days on this earth are no more. Some day we will join him in his new home.