These are the age old questions- Why am I here? What is my purpose? What happens after I die? No matter the shamans that arise, telling others they “know” the answers- the questions remain at the end of the day. Honest and some dishonest religious leaders arise to help the seekers. Some have a true desire to help folks find their answers and to live their personal convictions. Others  seek inordinate profits and live in lavish lifestyles in trade for their ability to “hear God” and discern the “will of God”. This all while pontificating on some-one’s course in the hereafter…

     No matter how solid the answers, at times, the questions arise again. This week I attended the funeral of my cousin, Jason Huddle.  He was killed in an automobile accident on a curvy road that leads to his home. He was not far from home when his front right wheel dropped off the pavement and he over corrected hitting a tree and dying at the scene.  He passed away at age 35, leaving a wife and step-daughter.  My thoughts were many as I saw his father, mother, two brothers and their families walk through an ever increasing sea of emotions. As I watched the father and oldest brother stand before the casket just before the closure, I knew I had no way to relate to the intense emotions they must be feeling. Life truly is short. We remember the past, we live in the now, and we all face an unknown future. Certainly having some answers about the hereafter brings some peace for the here and now. One thing I can say, Jason encouraged me for 20 minutes on during a rough time in my life in August of 2009. We had not spoken much before then, but his fervor to encourage me will never be forgotten. Prayers for the entire family as in the days ahead they mourn over the loss of a son.

     One event in my life has brought some answers when these questions arise over the years. The funeral this week reminded me of this event. When I was 9 or 10 years old, I  played football for the Belle Heath Bull Pups in Radford, VA.  We were at practice one afternoon doing drills. It was my turn to stand at the end of a double row of tires. Another player was to put one foot in each tire and then pop the guy at the end. Darryl Boothe was coming down the line of tires. He was always intense. He popped me and I remember leaning over and heading for the ground. I do not remember hitting the ground. Next, it felt like I went out through my face and then began to hover over the scene. I could see my body on the ground. The coach, Mike, had on a black shirt and green fatigues. He was leaning over my body and then stepped over me from right to left. Next, I felt as if I was being drawn back in through my face. My eyes could see but, then they were closed. I blinked a few times and my eyes seemed to “reconnect” and finally open. Coach then called off practice and the team started to walk away as someone helped me to my feet. Kent Hall came up beside me and asked if I was okay. I asked him if the coach had stepped over me as I was laying down, from my left to right? He said, “Yes, how did you know that? Your eyes were closed.” I told him I didn’t know, I just saw it.

     This experience has been a wonder and yet a source of comfort at times. I believe my spirit was actually hovering over my body on the ground. I was watching my body and the events around it. I never recall looking over my shoulder, while out of my body. What would I have seen? I may never know until eternity, how close I came to death itself. But, this I do know. Death is not the end. There is an existence beyond the body that houses our spirit. Right now, there are more questions than definite answers. This I know- Life is short, then you die and leave your body. From there faith reveals the scriptures and we trust in God to mature us, to accept His will for that transition.

      Jane Whaley of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) pretends to know more about the other side of death than anyone else I have ever seen. She “hears God” about the eternal destiny of those who were members and some who were not. After many years of watching her and seeing others as well as myself, be affected by her spell; Jane Whaley, in a general sense of the term, operates as a “shaman” for monetary gain. In this case, she would be a “shamaness”.  The key point of any memorial service at WOFF was to hear Jane Whaley say that the deceased had or had not, fulfilled the “call of God” on their life. This is one area where myself and others at WOFF, assigned and accepted the “god-like” powers that Jane desired to project over WOFF members.

     How deceived was I? How could I admire and require this supposed insight from the same person that called every behavior that was counter to her accepted norm, a “devil”? Personally, I have heard her call a child’s difficult time with math- a “math devil”. People who watch their son’s wedding video in their new van have “video devils”. Men who look too long at women- have “lust devils”. Women who think too much about their husbands while at work have “lust devils”. Men and boys who take certain games like ping pong too seriously have “competition devils”. People who give over to certain sports- may have the ” ______ (fill-in with a game) devil”. Of course, anyone who did not proceed down her line of theology or doctrinal interpretation may have a “religious devil” or “intellectual devil”. One teacher in the school who also teaches a Holocaust class at a local community college, had a “devil for the knowledge about Thomas Jefferson”. Has that teacher acquired other “devils”? Jane had said folks may have a “music devil” if the  music occupies too much of their time or a “religious devil” if they read their Bible too much. There was a “control devil”, a “money devil”, a “foolish devil”…  the list goes on and on and gets longer  as Jane Whaley needs to demean another member in order to further her control over them and others. After all, when Jane Whaley says you had a “devil”- you were in trouble! You needed “deliverance from that devil”.  More on that in a future post.

    (Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, the information about WOFF is from my memories and recollections as perfect as that may be or not be. ) This is post number 94.