by T. M. Meek
She dusted off the window and then grabbed two nearby clamps and dusted them as well. She then placed the frame in the grips and tightened them into place so the window frame stood on its own and set it up on a box so it would be about as high up off of the ground as a normal window might be. Then she thought of an event that would be hard for people to see any good coming from it. She decided to imagine an event that happens every day in every state across the nation: a major car accident.
What she imagined was so jaw-dropping it was as if glorious light was already shining across her face as she pictured angels in a nearly blinding white light flying in to use miraculous powers of heaven to help several drivers and passengers. This was an astonishing view of heaven’s power shining through angelically orchestrated miracles.
The idea came as Alex remembered hearing the story her mom and her mom's sister, Meredith, used to talk about every year around Easter time about the death of their sister Kelly. As Easter is celebrated in the death of and later literal physical resurrection of Jesus Christ in hope for His ability to overcome death for us all, it was a good holiday to remember Kelly in hopes of an afterlife reunion. Alex used some ideas to imagine heaven’s blessings based upon correspondence between two of the victims after the accident. The two that remained in touch had chosen to comfort one another by being open to the blessings they believed came from such a major trial for them all.
Fifteen years earlier, before Alex was even born, her Aunt Kelly was in a major car accident that involved five cars, including the one Kelly was driving. Kelly was on vacation with her husband, Simeon. They had only been married about ten months and were visiting New Jersey to do two things: (1) pick out a new place to live, and (2) visit one of her best friends, a woman of color named Whitney. Kelly was so excited to be able to live closer to Whitney, a good friend from college. Simeon, a graduate of MIT, was aggressively recruited by a company in New Jersey that created innovative technology for various industries relating mainly to biomedical, automotive and space technologies.
Kelly and Simeon had flown into New Jersey and rented a car to use to get from their hotel to all of the places they needed to go around the city. Because Kelly was more familiar with New Jersey than was Simeon, she drove. After they picked up Whitney early one morning, they headed off to a restaurant for breakfast. Simeon, a true gentleman, invited Whitney to take his passenger spot in the front so the two women could enjoy friendly conversation on the way to the restaurant. They had intended to rent a midsized car but because they had picked up the rental the day before (which was a Friday), previous customers who were due to return their weekly midsize rentals hadn't returned any yet and so they were given a free upgrade of a larger vehicle which was the minivan.
At one point on the way to the restaurant, the thought occurred to Kelly to ask Simeon if he had made sure to bring an extra vial of insulin as he was a type-A diabetic and last night at dinner he was about to finish off a bottle. Simeon said, "That's a good question. I usually do but I'll double check." He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned around to search in his briefcase located in the back of the van.
Whitney remembered that was the time Kelly also said, "Simeon, don't look for it now. At least give me a chance to pull over first."
Whitney chimed in when she turned around to say to him, "Yeah. Stop looking and put your seatbelt back on."
By that point Simeon was stretched over the backseat and was reaching for his business briefcase. As he stretched to extend his reach, he joked back to his wife, Kelly, "I've almost got it. As long as you don't swerve into oncoming traffic, I'll be fine."
Just then Kelly slammed on her brakes as another car from the fast lane of oncoming traffic crossed over into her fast lane and hit her van. Although Kelly had never swerved out of her lane of traffic, someone else did. About halfway into the initial impact of the two vehicles colliding, Alex visualized all motion stopping with everything freezing still. She then imagined the ways God may have blessed the various drivers involved.
This freezing of time was made possible since several seconds before the moment of impact of the head-on collision, a light began to appear several feet in the air just above the section of lanes where the accident was about to occur. The light grew brighter and brighter and expanded until a wingless angel appeared from heaven dressed in a simple but modest robe of pure white, brilliant light. He stretched forth his right hand and with power and authority given him from Jesus Christ Himself, the angel said, "All clocks under my stewardship, halt!"
When the angel referred to the "clocks" he was referring to what are known in heaven as "Mortal Experience Clocks" or "MECs."
Alex imagined that each individual had their own MEC that starts for some in the womb and for others at birth. All individuals can have their own MEC paused for the purposes of divine intervention and always as an answer to someone’s prayer as a blessing for the person being prayed for. The blessings are to be realized either immediately or at some future date and time but always to be realized during their "Life Clock."
A "Life Clock" is different than an MEC in that a Life Clock isn't really measured as a clock does with time, but rather a Life Clock is the gift of the eternal spirit that has the ability to progress and therefore advances (among what we might call a time line) in various phases of progression throughout eternity but only to the degree that each individual freely chooses.
A person's MEC is only stopped completely by the event of lasting physical death where one does not return to life thus bringing about a permanent end to ones mortal life. As a person’s spirit (which resembles their physical body exactly and includes their thoughts, memories, personality and values held within their heart) passed through physical death and into a world of spirits, their life clock remains eternally working and running as they move onto their next phase in the eternal progression experience.
Alex labeled all five cars in the accident as Kelly's van, the truck, the economy car, the luxury car and the SUV. There were four lanes of traffic where the accident occurred: two lanes that went north and two lanes that headed south. The van Kelly was driving was headed northbound in the far left, fast lane of traffic. (see image next page or below)