Growing up, I always had doubts about traditional religion. I didn’t like the patriarchal language in the Bible, and many of the stories in there did not make sense to me. Was God forgiving and loving or would “He” punish people who did bad things? Why did some parts of the Bible seem filled with judgment, violence and misogyny? Why did other parts express ideas and words that made my heart soar?
Having been raised in a progressive Christian church (Congregational), I became disillusioned with religion after a negative experience at my family’s church. This experience, involving allegations that the minister was sexually harassing some church members, divided the church and caused my family to leave. It was the last time I would ever participate in organized religion.
Still, I felt that some prayers and hymns I heard in church were powerful (I always got chills when singing the Hallelujah chorus at Easter). I knew that there was something there. I just didn’t understand what it was or how to connect with the spiritual aspect of church. For a while I just ignored anything having to do with religion, spirituality or faith. I declared that I was “agnostic.” I was not sure if I believed in any sort of God. Aside from going to yoga classes, I went through my adolescence and young adulthood without much faith in anything.
During this time, I had a health scare, which involved having some tests done. The night before getting the test results back, I was camping on the beach with my boyfriend at the time. I told him that I was scared about what the test results would show. As we were sitting there in silence after this discussion, I looked up at the top of the tent. The sand had taken the formation of what appeared to be a figure in robes, with long hair, a beard and a hand outstretched. It looked like Jesus. And I felt very strongly that he was giving me a message that everything would be okay. I turned to my boyfriend and said Do you see what I’m seeing on the top of the tent? And he responded Yes, it’s Jesus.
The next day my test results showed that I was in perfect health. I now believe that the sand figure was a message straight from Jesus to comfort me. And even though I was not a “believer” in Jesus at the time, I had been familiar with him through my church upbringing. This could explain the encounter I had.
Excerpted from Tools for the Awakening Soul: A Guide to Activate Your Intuition and Uncover Your Life’s Purpose by Rachel Horton White. Find the book at https://www.soulfulworkconsulting.com/the-book/.
The profound power of Jesus gently and quietly manifested right in front of you. Often the power of God comes in a quiet whisper. Your story feels like that to me. The way that the picture of Jesus appeared on a quiet night in the sand to give you comfort was truly a blessing from beyond. Thank you for sharing your story.