2022/2023
Collection 18

If It Weren't for You

1984; Peoria, Illinois, USA

It was just another normal winter day when my dad’s family was on their way to Mass on an icy zigzag road. No one thought much of it, because they were in a rush to get to Mass on time. My grandma was doing her makeup in the car.

All of a sudden — scrrr! The car slammed into a light post and then rolled into a gully. Everyone but my dad, who was nine years old at the time, was unconscious.

My dad’s front teeth were knocked out, but that didn’t stop him from pushing through the pain and getting out of the car. He immediately dashed to the nearest house and told people there what had happened and to call an ambulance.

When the ambulance arrived, they got everyone out of the car, and everyone eventually woke up — except for my grandma. She was still out cold, fighting for her life. Everyone was scared and praying for her, just hoping that she would be all right.

As all this was happening, what was happening inside my grandma’s head was a different story. She was in a tunnel of light, but it wasn’t a normal tunnel of light; it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It was filled with every color of flower you could imagine — and beautiful lights. My grandma didn’t want to leave the tunnel.

She finally made it to the end of the tunnel, and there, awaiting her, were her grandparents, sitting on a throne. All she wanted to do was hug them and tell them how much she loved them, but she couldn’t. Her grandparents looked her in the eye and said, “It’s not your time. You have a family to raise.”

Right then and there my grandma’s heart stopped beating, the world stopped spinning, and there was only sorrow. Each of her grandparents laid one arm on her heart and then — Gasp! My grandma woke up and told everyone about how she had seen heaven and her grandparents and the tunnel. After saying all this, she looked at my dad and said, “If it weren’t for you, I could have died.”

They were both crying, and they hugged as my dad said, “I love you, Mom.”

Jude Joseph; Missouri, USA

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