Daniel William Heard
It began with a baseball game, and ended with a bus ride. “I’m Still Here” is the story of a middle-aged man who dies but finds a new life that is so glorious that he would not want to come back. He meets God first hand, and with God’s help travels back and forth between Heaven and Earth.
If you believe in God, but are angry with Him, question His will, or simply look around at this world we live in as cruel, hateful, unjust and unmerciful, then you above all others are the main focus of “I’m Still Here”. Maybe you have lost a loved one, or your life has been filled with misery because of illness, injury or the cruelty of others. You think that life is not fair. How can God allow this? It is this author’s hope that some of these questions will be answered in your own heart, and that you will find some degree of comfort.
“I’m Still Here” is a fiction, inspired and nurtured by the love, signs and sightings of the author’s own daughter, who died at 18. “I’m Still Here” became an antidote for the pain of the loss of a daughter so loved. Her own life’s story, “Sweet Angel”, written by Daniel William Heard (her father), was published and can be found on authorhouse.com.
As the main character, Timothy Carter, goes from Earth to Heaven and back to Earth again, we all see the promise of Heaven and its wonders. We see that our earthly existence is but a speck in time, but still important to the teachings of God. We find that possessions, ego and power are meaningless in the end. They do not exist in Heaven.
As “I’m Still Here” draws to a close, the author would leave you with one message:
“Get on the bus!”
I am a man of hope.
My heart always searches for happiness.
I am a simple man.
I am content in what the Lord has provided.
As of this writing, my wife Paula and I have been married for 40 years. We were married as teenagers, and have enjoyed the opportunity of “growing up” with our three daughters (Tammy, Amy and Danielle). The youngest of the three daughters is Danielle. She died in an automobile accident at 18 years of age. Her life and her death inspired me to write “Sweet Angel” (can be found at authorhouse.com), a biography of a very gifted and loving child of God. After you have read “I’m Still Here”, please go back and read “Sweet Angel”. You will understand the connection. You will see how God has helped me cope with the loss of a daughter who was so loved.
I have accepted God’s love and grace, and trust that He will make all things beautiful in His own time. “I’m Still Here” is a reflection of what I believe God’s message has been to me, especially in a time of grief.
Next to God and family, this author has a passion for baseball. There is nothing more pleasant to me than an afternoon of baseball. It is a little bit of Heaven to me, and thus, it had to become a part of “my” Heaven, as I wrote “I’m Still Here”.
In the end, I am a man who counts his blessings and would try to help others count theirs. And, where grief is concerned I find HOPE in HEAVEN.
Daniel William Heard J
The Last Year
Kim and I then drove through Washington D.C. before turning west towards home. We enjoyed the freedom of a convertible as we drove through the Shenandoah Mountains of West Virginia. The views were breathtaking. At every turn you could see straight down for hundreds of feet, and as far as the eye could see. Each turn provided an artistically unique portrait of God’s creation. I actually thought to myself, “How could Heaven rival this vision?”
When Kim and I had arrived home, we both felt regenerated and so happy to be alive. We quickly got back into our normal routines, but we knew that the memory of the week we had just spent together would remain with us forever. As I look back now, that vacation was my subconscious chance to bid farewell to Kim. On Monday, May 20, I had four days left.
My senses were more alive than ever during those last days on earth, although I had no idea why. I enjoyed simple things, like watching a bird, or petting a small animal, or looking up into the skies, and watching the sun rise and set. I would greet strangers with a hardy “Hello”, and then I would say something like, “Isn’t this a wonderful day that God has provided?”
Kim and I would go for long walks together, and actually hold hands as we strolled through the streets of Farmington. We decided on one particular evening to stop and see a movie. The movie was “French Kiss,” staring Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline. It was a romantic comedy based on finding love when you least expect it. We both remarked on the similarities between our own Kacie and the Meg Ryan character. We laughed at the many embarrassing situations that Meg Ryan got herself into. Perhaps we identified a little with the characters as well, because it took us awhile to finally connect with each other.
We were very happy with our world, and with the extended family that continued to grow. On any spring day in 1996 I would have told you that we couldn’t have been happier. The Kim and Tim connection was stronger than ever. Our daughter and son had made good lives for themselves, but, yet, were not full of themselves. They both had many reasons to have an inflated ego, but neither did. They extended themselves to help others. Perhaps my work on earth “was done.”
On the evening of Friday, May 24, I had a softball game to play. Even at 48 I still loved to play, although I wasn’t quite quick enough for the middle infield positions anymore, so I was stationed at first base. I was playing for my company team. We were 6 and 2, and looking forward to increasing our chances of winning a championship in our division.
First Sight
May 24, 1996, my last earthly day. May 24, 1996, the last day that Kim and Tim Carter would be together, on earth, as man and wife. May 24, 1996, my first day in Heaven!
My mind continued to race, but I was calm, so very calm. Although I had died, I had not lost consciousness. My mind seemed to work now just as it had when I was alive. I realized that I had indeed died, and that I was moving in some other direction. I began to ask questions, even though all I could see was a blue haze in front of me. I did not see a bright white light. I did not see a tunnel. I was not looking down at the body that I had left behind. The unearthly sight did not match up with any out-of-body or life-after-death experience that I had ever heard of.
I asked, “Am I dead?” Something within me or beside said, “Yes.” It wasn’t a voice, yet I understood.
I asked, “What killed me?” Again, an answer was given, “A brain aneurysm. It could not have been detected. From the time you were born it was meant to happen.”
I asked yet another question, “Where will I go and what will I see?” This time there was no response, at least not in words.
The sky opened up before me, and rolled before my eyes in shades of purple and blue. Those were my two favorite colors. I had never seen a sky like that. The purple skies mixed with the blue skies and then separated again. It was as if I was watching an artist’s pallet. I smiled. There was comfort in the familiarity of things in this new place.
Finally, I had to ask the question that was really on my mind, “Am I in Heaven?” The answer was a surprise to me. “You have always been with the Lord, thus, you have always been in Heaven.” I knew that whoever or whatever was speaking to me was someone or some thing that I would have to have a long chat with. I smiled again.
I had many strange emotions. First of all, the calmness was so very welcome, and the words “hurry” and “afraid” had no meaning. I felt loved, deeply loved. It was a love that surpassed anything I had experienced on earth. I felt like I was truly home. I wanted to meet my maker……and thank Him.
I began to see clearly the reason for the life that I had lived on earth. From the age of a baby to that of the 48 year-old man whose body now lies in a heap between second and third base back on that baseball field, I was an extension of all mankind. I was given gifts of wisdom so that I might teach others of the Father above.
