"The Line" Chapters 1

“THE LINE": A Story About Life and Death and Life After Death”

by Don McPherson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD_pCr_Xrnc&feature=related




Chapter One: The Awakening

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I woke up and I was standing in a line of people. I don’t remember how I got there, yet it still felt like I just woke up. The line seemed to go on forever. Behind me was a line of people who, like me, just seemed to be waking up as well. In front of me for as far as I could see were hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people. We were all just standing in this long, long line. I was feeling confused and I was very scared.



The last thing I recalled was being in a bed which was strange because I never slept in a bed because of the arthritis in my back. My last memory was of people standing over me saying something which I couldn't understand. And now standing right in front of me was an Asian looking young woman who was just standing there looking at me. She had long dark hair, beautiful eyes and a strange expression on her face. She was thin built and shapely dressed in a pink short sleeve top and blue jeans. She nodded and said what I thought was "hello" although it didn't sound like hello. I said hi and she smiled. I was about to ask her what the hell were we standing in this line for when a loud bell rang and everyone in front of me started sitting down so I set down too on the greenest softest grass--or I guess it was grass--it was green yet looked like it wasn't cut. Some sprouts were longer than others. I was getting more and more confused and scared.



A man or I guess he was a man, eventually walked by us and just kept saying, "Would you all please remain seated for now and stay in line? Someone will be by soon and give you something to eat and drink." He was an amazing looking man, muscular, long wavy hair, dark green eyes and the most spectacular looking white teeth I had ever seen. His smile, and he was always smiling, helped calm me and I noticed I wasn't afraid anymore.



After awhile some other people dressed all in short white gowns showed up and gave us all something that looked like bread in a bowl and water in a strange looking cup. Surprisingly it didn't smell or taste neither like bread when I ate it, nor like water when I drank it. Believe it or not the bread tasted ‘just like chicken’ even though it smelled like fish. The water was sweet, like sweet Texas ice tea on a hot summer day, refreshing and bubbly like a carbonated soda. I had never eaten or drank anything like this in my 64 years.



After eating and drinking, some other people came by and took up the bowls and cups from each one of us. I lay back on the grass on my back and for the first time in over 20 years my back didn't hurt. Then I notice another amazing thing, my ears weren't ringing. For as long as I could remember I had had a constant ringing in my ears and yet now it was gone. Of course I was thinking I've died and gone to Heaven. But this was not like any Heaven I had ever thought about and nothing like the Bible had said anything about. I don't want to get ahead of my story, but I can honestly tell you I wasn't in Heaven which I found out when out of nowhere I heard what I thought was screaming or screeching to my left. I and others stood up and looked and we could see a slowly rising hill about a football's field away. The screeching continued and seemed to be getting even louder. The young woman in front of me and I and some other people started to walk toward the sound and immediately the muscular, long haired man ran to us and asked, "Would you all please return to where you were and sit down?" We all did just as that bell rang again three times. As we were walking back, I asked the woman in front of me: "Who is that guy anyway?" She said what I thought was, "I don't know, I heard someone way up in front of me say, 'Oh, Oh, here comes big Mike.'" It was so weird; I heard her saying words that sounded Chinese yet in my head I knew what she was saying. I took a really deep breath and asked her, "Who are you?" And quickly added, "Excuse me, my name is Jack and I'm really confused, do you understand English?" She softly said, "No, but I understand you Jack, I'm confused too; my name is--ten fingers (as I heard the words 'Shi Lee' come from her tiny lips)." I looked right into her eyes, noticing the tears and quietly said, "Shi Lee, what's going on?" Shi quickly said, "Jack, I do not know, my family calls me 'Shi'; I just woke up here and a few moments later you were standing behind me." "Same with me," said the man sitting behind me, “I woke up and you and that lady were standing in front of me and then I noticed the long line of people. What's going on already?" The man sitting behind me was an Indian looking guy with one of those towel things on his head. His words sounded Indian yet like Shi's words I understood what he was saying. It seemed like I had a translator in my head that instantly let me know what they were saying.



I was about to ask him his name when big Mike showed up again and firmly yet softly asked, "Would you all please close your eyes and go to sleep?" That's the last thing I remember until I woke up from the soundest, most restful sleep I had since I was a kid. We all seemed to be waking up at the same time when big Mike showed up and said, "Ok, friends, would you all please stand up and face forward toward the bright light up ahead?" For some reason, I hadn't really noticed it earlier; there was a really bright light somewhere up ahead, although I couldn't see what was causing it.



It had been day-light since I first arrived at this strange place. I wanted to turn around and ask the guy behind me something and yet for some reason I couldn't take my daze off of the light up ahead. I reached forward and touched Shi's shoulder and asked, "Shi, you ok?" I thought I heard her say, “Yes, are you?" I said, "I don't know, what in the name of Yeshua is going on?" She said," I know you just said "Salvation" and that's the first thing you said that I don't understand, what do you mean in the name of salvation?" "Oh", I said, 'Yeshua' is the Hebrew name of Jesus. It's spelled Y,e,s,h,u,a--and pronounced 'Yes-shu-ah'. It's the name I call my God." Shi responded, "I've never heard him called that before, I just call him Jesus. Are you a believer?" "Yes, I believe Yeshua is God's name that was given to him when he came to earth as a human. Do you believe in Yeshua... ah, Jesus? I thought you were probably Buddhist or something." "No", Shi said, “I was born into a Shinto family, my father was Japanese but he came to believe in Jesus when I was a real little girl. In fact the last thing I remember before waking up here I was running away from some people when I was almost 13 years old as my father screamed, 'Shi, hurry...'and I heard a loud noise that sounded like an explosion and I woke up here. How old do I look to you?"
"Oh, I don't know twenty something."
Then Shi exclaimed, "You've got to be kidding me, no really, how old?"
"I don’t know, twenty-five", I guessed.
"How old do I look?” I asked.
"I don't know; I haven't ever seen a Caucasian before, about the same, 30 or so."
"Yeah a bald headed, gray haired, fat 30 year old, right, you must be blinded or effected by that light up ahead."
As I was saying this, I reached up and touched my head and quickly pulled my hand back. I had a full think head of hair. I felt my stomach and in shock looked down and saw the body I had had when I was a Marine. "Holy Moley," I said.
And Shi asked, "What's holy about moley, don't you Mole?"
"No," I said, "It’s just a dumb expression of disbelief,"
"OH", Shi said softly with what sounded like a little child's giggle.



We noticed a few people ahead of us in the line walking forward, so we followed them until they stopped. "Where are we?" Shi asked. I answered, "Heaven I guess, and although this is in no way the Heaven I've ever been told about or imagined."
"Me either," said Shi.
"You got that right", said the man behind us. We were all facing forward, but I heard him continuing to say, "Hell is what I was thinking, but it isn't hot or people going around 'gnashing their teeth' so I guess Jesus was not talking literally when he was describing the place of darkness. And it's not a bit dark here--really strange, but not dark."
"Oh so you know of Jesus, too...ah, ah what's your name anyway?" "I am called 'talking one' spelled M-o-s-o-t-o or Mo by my friends and family. But you can call me Mosoto," he said laughing.
"Nice to meet you Moschoto, I guess", I said, "Sorry but I can't seem to turn around and shake your hand."
He corrected me, "Not Moschoto, my name is Mosoto and it means..."
"'Talking one’”, I interrupted; "and don't ask me how I know that."
"Hey that’s right sir"
"Oh, I'm Jack and the woman in front of me is Shi Lee"
"Yeah I heard you saying her name, which means 'ten fingers' and don't ask me how I know that either. Do you know what "Jack" means?"
"No, but I can guess. Hey Shi", I asked, "Can you hear Mosota?"
"Sure", she said. "Jack, do I really look 30 something?" Shi shyly asked.
"Yep,” I mumbled. "Well that helps explain what happened to my body. I remember being a skinny little girl. ‘Holy Moley’ as you say," Shi giggled as she appeared to be running her hands down the front of her pink shirt and over her hips.



I was thinking I need to look away, when she said, "Oh that's ok, we're taught that our bodies are holy and for us not to be ashamed of how we look."
"How did you know I was looking?” I asked.
And Shi said matter of factually, "Well when you said ‘I need to look away’ as I was feeling my new shape."
Blushingly I quirked, "I didn't say that out loud, did I?"
"Hey I heard you too, Jack," said Mosoto. I know I hadn't opened my mouth so I thought to myself. “Well, I'm sorry anyway."
It was when Shi said, "oh no need to be sorry” that I realized and said, “some kind of weird telepathy or something is happening between us.”
"Oh my, I think maybe I...” and she paused then continued, "...maybe I better be more careful about what I'm thinking." Again Shi finished with that same sweet, charming, childlike giggle.



Out of nowhere, we heard more screeching and yelling sounds over the ridge to our left.
"Man what is that?" Mosoto said. "What's causing that sound? It sounds like an animal in pain. I said, "Well I need to find out what that is; somebody needs to put that thing out of its misery". I turned and surprisingly realized I was walking toward the mound that was about one hundred yards away. I had only taken about ten steps when it seemed like big Mike appeared right in front of me and said, "Jack, you really need to get back in the line, would you please turn around and go back and join Shi and Mosoto?" I wanted to say 'no', yet what came out of my mouth was, "Hey Mikie, what's going on and how did you know our names?"
"My name is Michael and you will be told what's happening when you can understand; and I know all your names--the King gives me all the names of those who know Him. I can only ask you to trust in the one you call 'Yeshua' and wait until the Maker calls your name."



I turned and went back to join my two new friends. "What happened Jack?" Shi asked.
I said, "Michael asked me to get back in line."
"OH", she stated. I was going to say more when that bell rang again and Michael returned once again walking down the line asking us all to sit down and that food and water would be given to us shortly. So, we sat and ate and I laid back facing Shi who was turned away from me and I was just about to tell her about what Michael had said about the King when the strangest thing yet happened. I heard Shi screaming, "Oh my God! Oh my God!" and what Shi said next blew my mind completely. Shi turned to me with huge tears in her eyes and whispered, “Oh my God,…



(Would you please wait till the next part of the story of “The Line” continues?)