One of the Crowd

Different. That’s what I’ve always been. As far back as kindergarten, the other kids saw I was clumsy and got really distracted sometimes. They didn’t want to be friends, so God and I got extra close. One night in my room, when I was five years old, he even spoke to me. “Kyle,” he said, “this is God. You’re going to have a baby sister.” Sure enough, a few days later Mom found out she was pregnant. My new sister, Libby, never shied away from me or laughed when I fell down. I wished the other kids could see me the way she did. God, I wondered, what makes me different?

I was about to start first grade when my doctor discovered I had a massive brain tumor. Mom did her best to help me understand my condition. “You are going to need an operation, Kyle,” she said.

“Will I die?”

Tears sprang to Mom’s eyes. “We’ll be praying hard that doesn’t happen, honey. But remember, God is waiting for all of us in heaven.” She hugged me tight. I’d read about heaven in the Bible, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to go there. What if heaven was just like school? What if nobody wanted to be my friend there either?

A few months after my first tumor was removed, doctors discovered another tumor, another one that required surgery. During this second operation I felt myself lifting out of my body. Floating in the air, I watched the doctors operating, passing instruments and checking machines. Then a bright white light appeared. I moved toward it down a long tunnel. At the end was Jesus. He took me by the hand and walked me down a red carpet. Rows of angels stood on either side, their large wings arched high above their heads, waving to me like I was their friend. “Welcome, Kyle!” they said. I was so excited I jumped and ran—two things I hadn’t been able to do in a long, long time. Then I saw my Uncle Sterling, who had died several years before. “I don’t ever want to leave,” I told him. I raced into his arms. Uncle Sterling held me close, and said gently, “You’ll have to go back, Kyle. It’s not your time.”

Go back? I thought. Now that I knew how it felt to be completely accepted? “No way!” I shouted. “It’s true, Kyle,” a man answered. His voice sounded familiar. I’d heard it before . . . that night, in my room when I was five. “I have a special plan for you,” he said.

Continued on page 2: So what if my dream seemed impossible? »