Glimpses and sounds from behind the veil

I haven’t seen an angel (as far as I know), but I had an angelic encounter on the day my mom died. She had been struggling with depression and tragically completed suicide in the shed behind our first house (same subdivision, about 1/4 mile away) in May 1991. I was pregnant with our oldest son, Peter, and we had together been working on various projects anticipating his arrival. That night as I knelt by my bed, completely heartbroken and in shock, pouring my heart out to God, devastated and undone, the Lord gave me two gracious gifts. I had specifically told the Lord that I was deeply saddened that my mom had died before becoming a grandmother. God graciously showed me a vision of Mom cradling the baby we had lost by miscarriage 6 months’ earlier. Also, earlier that day, someone had made a careless comment to me about the eternal destination of people who die by suicide, so I was really burdened by that, too. God graciously allowed me to hear briefly what I can only describe as the choir of heaven worshiping God. I knew that my mom was present with the Lord, along with countless angels and other saints. The sound was glorious and beyond description. Mom was a beautiful and devoted follower of Jesus and always loved singing, especially in church. Those two gifts – glimpses and sounds from behind the veil – sustained me through long seasons of grief and have given me much hope in Christ over the years. I’ve had a very strong awareness ever since of the saints cheering us on, as Hebrews 12:1-2a tells us, “since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith” – the Kingdom of God is so much closer than we often realize!