I’ve always felt immensely blessed and lucky to have such an encounter and I know that Jesus will never leave me, always forgive me, and that his love endures forever.
It was Spring of 1996. I was in my early twenties and recently moved to Florida, from Tennessee. I didn’t know anyone: no family; no friends. I took a job to escape my divorce. My ex husband and I married as friends, divorced as friends, had no children together. I just chalked it up to being too young and not ready for such a big commitment. But it left me feeling very guilty and ashamed. I wanted to get away, start over, and hopefully get my life back on track with the new job far away from everyone and everything I knew up to that point.
I didn’t have a lot of money, so all I could afford was to rent a room from an older lady, in her house. It was a Saturday, in the middle of the day. I was alone in my room, thinking about doing laundry, cleaning out the cat box, and getting organized. Nothing special about this day. Suddenly, and without reason, I am standing in a wide open field of the most amazing green grass I’ve ever seen. It was lush and fantastically green, surrounded by the clearest blue sky imaginable. I wasn’t afraid, just a bit confused as to how I was in my bedroom one minute, about to fold laundry, and the next minute, I’m looking out over green rolling hills that stretched forever, and not one cloud in the perfect sky.
As I turn, I realize, I’m in the back of a very long, single-file line of people. This line wrapped around, and went as far as I could see. I must have been in line with thousands of people. We were all wearing very simple white clothing. As the line moved, I careened my neck around, to see what I was in line for. All I could see was a simple lean-to type structure that was close to the ground, made of sticks and branches, that offered some shelter. It was like something you would see in the woods. I could tell there was someone inside the shelter, and that I was in line to meet this person.
As the line continued to move ahead, I recognized the person under the structure was Jesus. In my mind, I was like, “Oh! I know who that is! It’s Jesus!” But then fear hit me right in the throat. I thought, “Oh no! He knows everything I’ve ever done!” I had a vision of the Dewey Decimal System card cabinets you see in libraries; that I had one of these, and every card had a sin on it. I knew that Jesus could pull these cards, and I knew that I could not hide. I could not blame my sins on someone else. I had to face him, with all my guilt and shame. I was scared.
Then, it was my turn. I’m on my knees, head bowed before Jesus. I am sobbing and begging for his forgiveness. I’m so sorry and ashamed. Jesus was laying under the shelter. Wearing white robes, and sprawled out on the ground, with pillows. He was very long, so I could tell he was tall. He had long, curly hair and was the single most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. His beauty is stunning. He was smiling and shaking his head at me, almost laughing at me. He was literally rolling his eyes at me and my spectacle of tears, snot, and shame. He said, “Lisa, Lisa, Lisa. You are so ridiculous! I mean seriously. You need to lighten up and stop being so hard on yourself. Here. Here’s what I’m going to do ok?”
He put his hand on my shoulder and sucked in a breath. When he blew it out, it had hurricane force. It pushed me back and lifted my hair. It sounded like freight train. Then calm and stillness washed over me.
He said, “I forgive you. I love you. I forgive you!” And he was kind of laughing at me. Like, “Don’t you know? Don’t you get it? I forgive you, silly girl and I mean it.” So I let that sink in.
Then I lifted my head, because in my mind I told myself, “It’s JESUS! Look at him!!” I wanted to see his eyes. When I did, he looked back at me, smiling a broad, warm smile and he was just gorgeous. His eyes where the universe, spinning like kaleidoscopes.
Then he said, “Oh, before you go I have a gift for you. Take all you want of this, and enjoy… just be sure to replace what I give you when you are done.” I was excited. It was purple cannabis in an old glass jar. As I was about to leave him, I realized that I could NEVER replace what he had given me with anything found on Earth. So I decided not take it. I put it under his robes as I was being swept away.
In an instant, I was back in my room, in the middle of the day. Everything was just as it was before I left. I had no idea how long I was gone. All I knew is that Jesus just paid me a visit.
I’ve always felt immensely blessed and lucky to have such an encounter and I know that Jesus will never leave me, always forgive me, and that his love endures forever.
I’ve always struggled with the true meaning behind the cannabis part. I’ve smoked it off and on since my teens, and it’s not a thing I’m proud of. I’ve decided it simply means there is no replacing what Jesus gives you. God Bless.
Lisa’s story was originally shared on Encounters-with-Jesus