The rain poured down on our rooftop that night, and our previously dark and quiet house became filled with bright flashes of light and deep rumbles of thunder. My young daughter, who is afraid of thunderstorms, raced into our bedroom.

“Mom, I’m scared. Can you sleep in my bed with me?” Of course, I agreed.

I felt on edge too, but not because of the storm. I was facing other fears. Tomorrow I was scheduled for a breast biopsy. This was the second time in a few years that doctors had found something suspicious. Last time, when my daughter had just started preschool, I underwent breast surgery to remove abnormal tissue. Luckily, it turned out to be papillomas, benign growths in the ducts. However, faced with yet another procedure on the same breast, my fears ran high once again.

Cancer was no stranger to my family. My father and grandfather had suffered from prostate cancer; my grandmother, colon cancer. I had lost aunts, uncles and a cousin to various forms of the disease. Even my six-year-old niece had battled rhabdomyosarcoma of the sinuses. I knew I was not immune to this terrible disease, and the thought of having a life-threatening illness overwhelmed me. I had seen the devastating effect cancer had had on my loved ones. How would I cope? How would I take care of my daughter? And the worst thought of all: what if I died?

Adding to my distress was the recent and sudden death of my former boyfriend. He was my age, and I couldn’t believe he was gone. His death filled me with sadness and brought my own mortality close to the surface. I knew I was not invincible. I just hoped it wasn’t my time yet.

The rain continued, lulling me into a deep sleep, despite the worries that plagued my mind. I snuggled close to my daughter, who had fallen asleep as well. Sometime during the night, I found myself face-to-face with my deceased ex-boyfriend. His presence was so vivid, as if he were standing right in front of me. He looked happy and radiant, with a glowing white light all around him. He smiled at me.

I was so excited to see him and immediately began talking quickly, trying to say all the things I wanted to say but never got the chance to. I apologized for not staying in touch with him. But before I could get everything out, he interrupted. He didn’t speak a word. He simply reached out and hugged me. An incredible sense of love and peace came over me at that moment. Without uttering a sound, he communicated so much. First, he was fine and had safely made it to Heaven. Second, there was nothing to apologize for; everything was still good between us. Last, I was going to be okay. Then as quickly as he appeared, he faded from view.

I woke up the next morning with the dream still fresh in my mind. It had felt so real. Was it only a dream or something more? Not long after, my daughter woke up too. After saying good-morning, she told me something surprising.

“Mom, Daddy was in my room last night too!”

“No, Sweetie,” I said, certain my husband had not gotten out of our bed during the night. “Daddy wasn’t in here last night. He was in Mom and Dad’s room. You must have been dreaming.”

“No, Mom,” she insisted. “You were sleeping. I was awake. I saw him.” She pointed to the foot of her bed. “He was right there.”

A chill ran through my body as I thought about my dream. Had my husband really come into my daughter’s room last night? Or had my daughter witnessed something else? I had to know.

I went into the bedroom my husband and I shared. “Did you come into Katie’s room last night?” I asked.

“No,” he replied. “I was in here all night.”

I had my biopsy later that morning, and everything turned out okay. As for my overnight visitor, he later showed me other signs of his presence. It’s comforting to know a special angel was looking out for me.

About the author

For more than 20 years, Deanna Kahler has worked tirelessly as a professional writer to inspire and educate others. She is an award-winning author of several books, including Echoes of Paradise, a fiction paranormal love story based on some of her real-life experiences. When Deanna is not busy writing, you can find her outdoors. She enjoys spending time with her family, hanging out in parks, near lakes or anywhere that can soothe her soul and give her a sense of peace and serenity. For more information, please visit www.deannakahler.com.

Author photo by Steven Jon Horner Photography. All other pictures from Pexels.com

Find and follow Deanna

Facebook author page    Facebook Echoes of Paradise book page

Twitter       Goodreads       Amazon

Books by Deanna Kahler

Click the titles or images to go to Deanna’s Amazon page for these and all her books.

Echoes of Paradise: An Afterlife Love Story

 Connor’s dead. But she can still feel him. Is it just her imagination or something more? Celeste wants to know. And she’ll stop at nothing to find out.

A once-aspiring artist, Celeste is going through the motions of life. She’s stuck–in a job she doesn’t love, with a man who isn’t right for her, in a web of painful memories from the past. Adding to her despair is the sudden and unexpected death of Connor, her true love. As she struggles to make sense of the world around her, strange coincidences and mysterious events lead her to question her sanity. When the happenings persist, she wonders if Connor’s spirit is trying to tell her something.

Join Celeste as she risks her marriage, her career, and her own safety to escape the demons from her past and unravel the mysteries of life and death. With so much uncertainty, there’s only one thing she knows: her world will never be the same.

Sara’s Soul (The Afterlife Series) (Volume 2)

Sara sees death. Everywhere. It haunts her in her sleep. It appears as visions. And now death beckons her to join it. Psychic since childhood, Sara is certain she’s living a curse. Instead of foreseeing uplifting life events, she’s haunted by images of other people’s demise. Her mother, who has been long deceased, once told her she could communicate with spirits and that a beautiful paradise awaited those who passed. But Sara never saw that. Now an adult, she’s certain that death is the end, and the overwhelming pain and sorrow she feels has convinced her it’s her time to end her own life. The only problem: life keeps getting in the way. A mysterious stranger appears just when she needs him the most. And no matter how hard she tries to escape this world, he won’t let her go. What starts as a magnetic attraction becomes a race against time, as he fights to save not only her life but her very soul.

If you have had a strange experience or encounter that you would like to share, please get in touch with me at findme@scvincent.com (or my usual email if you already have it) and we can discuss a guest post.

I am not looking for sensationalism or fictional tales… but in light of the response to some recent posts, I think it would be both useful and reassuring to others to realise that none of us are alone in these strange encounters and experiences and perhaps we can open discussion on what they may be or may mean.

If you would like to share your story but prefer to remain anonymous, we can discuss that too. If you would like to share your beliefs and opinions on the nature of these experiences, I would be happy to talk about a guest post. Through sharing with respect we may learn to understand our world and each other a little better.