The day came, and she went eagerly to greet the teacher, hoping also perhaps for a blessing. The teacher welcomed the woman, and handed her a huge basket of freshly picked, perfectly ripened strawberries. Then the teacher said, “Do you see that mountain?”

The woman said yes, she saw the huge rocky peak nearby. The teacher said, “Carry this basket of strawberries up that mountain.” And turned away.

The woman couldn't protest, or even question. The teacher was gone. Reluctantly, she hefted the basket into her arms and turned her steps to the high mountain. Slowly she wound her way up the difficult path, wondering what this assignment was about, why she had to do this, what was the teaching, maybe she had come to the wrong teacher, and so on and on. Grousing and grumbling, stumbling now and again, feeling the sun burn hot on her back, the basket of strawberries growing heavy and cumbersome, she nevertheless found something inside that kept her struggling upward.

Finally, as the sun was moving deep into the west, she came to the top of the mountain, and found herself standing in a beautiful, peaceful, flower-filled meadow. She had made it! Furthermore, the basket of strawberries was intact. All the exquisite fruit had made the journey without harm.

The woman looked across the meadow, and saw her beloved moving toward her, gazing at her with eyes of profound love and a smile of sweet welcome.

When the storyteller came to the end of the tale, he added to the teaching by telling us some of the woman's thoughts: “If I had only known that the strawberries were for the Beloved, that the journey was toward my Beloved, I would not have been so fussy or puzzled or grown so weary, or complained so much, or failed to notice the beauty of the mountain I was climbing.”

The author of this spiritual story is unknown and greatly appreciated.

The post In Love With Her Beloved – A Spiritual Story appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

It was like going from believing the earth to be flat to it being a sphere.

James demonstrates that the soul survives the dimensions of time and space.

Soul Survivor is that story-period!!

As a Christian the story challenged my faith in every way that faith can be challenged — the journey of discovery was a fearful one — the destination of fact affirmed it. Soul Survivor suggests the answer to our salvation and redemption that Christians chase throughout this life on earth. Other than the acceptance of Jesus Christ as my Savior — this experience is the most profound of my life.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Bruce had staged a fighting retreat from the wild conjectures over the meaning of his son's nightmares. He had dug in and insisted that, whatever they were, they were not proof of a past life. Yet, he had lost the battle over the name, Natoma Bay — it was an American ship, not Japanese. Jack Larson turned out to be a real person who flew off of a real aircraft carrier. The knowledge his son had of airplanes and flying was uncanny; the battles in the Pacific were real and the veterans vouched for the details. Finally, he had to accept that James Huston was the pilot who was killed in his son's horrific nightmares.

Still, he had held out over the fact that James insisted that he flew a Corsair in the war and no Corsairs were reported on Natoma Bay. And now that last bunker had fallen. He had the picture of James Huston standing in front of a Corsair.

He was starting to believe in something beyond reason.

I was baptized and raised as a Methodist. I grew up going to church every Sunday with my mother and sister. My father had very little to do with church. Church is a place that makes me feel comfortable, safe, welcome.

In college, my attendance slipped, but I went to church with friends of different denominations — to see what they were like. I went to Buddhist Temples, Catholic cathedrals, Lutheran, Pentacostal, Episcopalian . . . most of the other Protestant churches. I even went to Synagogues.

But as I matured, I became connected to the Evangelical Christian movement, eventually finding myself involved with a Full Gospel Christian Businessman's Fellowship.

We met every two weeks for Bible study, discussion and trying to assimilate the Word into our lives. It was a dramatic journey. I studied the Bible intensely. The Holy Spirit was demonstrated for me in praying in Tongues, Faith Healing and what we call Discernment.

I have witnessed Healings that I know were genuine.

I have personally realized the true power of Prayer. I prayed for a second chance after my first marriage failed because I was spiritually lost. I prayed for a wife with green eyes — and one who was Asian — and my second wife, Dre, has green eyes and her mother is one half Philippino.

Suffice to say that I feel I am a developed Christian on a continuous path of spiritual growth.

If James' nightmares were truly a manifestation of a past life — a proof of reincarnation — then, as I saw it, it would threaten the Biblical promise of Salvation. If the immortal soul can randomly transfer from person to person, generation to generation, then what does that imply for the Christian orthodoxy of Redemption?What happens on Judgment Day if the immortal soul is handed off like that? It goes against the Evangelical teaching of rebirth through a spiritually transformed personal life through Jesus Christ.

The impact of James's story on my spiritual well-being . . . well, it felt like spiritual warfare. My purpose for disproving what was happening to my son was to establish that this was all a coincidence — as astronomically remote as that possibility seems.

Of course, I was drawn into this by setting up these tests, establishing questions that had to be answered, all the while, I was getting closer and closer to something . . . dangerous . . . it was like putting my hand in a fire . . . ¹
One may put their hand into a fire and in time it would heal — but ferreting out answers that could threaten a complete belief system was scary.

I was traveling a strange road lost in the fog searching for an unknown destination. The questions were simple — but the answers could destroy my lifelong beliefs and threaten my salvation. During the journey there were plenty of times I wanted to stop — but a voice of compulsion drove me forward. My effort centered on my love and concern for my son. When I first encountered the full force of his nightmares a movie “The Exorcist” hit me square in the face.

James might be demon possessed! With every step of validation about what he told us the fog began to lift and the destination became clearly visible.

James had experienced a past life and/or reincarnation had occurred — the exact conclusion I did not want to accept. It took time as I measured the fruit that this tree of experience produced.

In the end Faith and Fact collided like atoms in an atomic accelerator to form a new reality. It was like going from believing the earth to be flat to it being a sphere. James demonstrated the soul survives the dimensions of time and space.

As a Christian the story challenged my faith in every way that faith can be challenged. “Soul Survivor” suggests the answer to our yearning for salvation and redemption that Christians chase throughout their life on earth. Other than the acceptance of Jesus Christ as my Savior — this experience is the most profound of my life. “Soul Survivor” is that story-period!! It left me with many unanswered questions that involve how and why.
Endnotes
¹The above is an excerpt from the book Soul Survivor: The Reincarnation of a World War II Fighter Pilot by Bruce and Andrea Leininger with Ken Gross. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.
Copyright © 2009 Bruce and Andrea Leininger with Ken Gross, authors of Soul Survivor: The Reincarnation of a World War II Fighter Pilot

©2009 Bruce Leininger, coauthor of Soul Survivor: The Reincarnation of a World War II Fighter Pilot

The post The Collision of Faith and Fact – Spiritual Story by Bruce Leininger appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.