Dr. Mary Neal, who is both a physician and an experienced kayaker, loved paddling through challenging rivers. But even her years of training and knowledge couldn’t stop her from facing a terrifying moment during one of her favorite outdoor adventures.
While kayaking in the rivers of Chile, Mary lost control and went over a waterfall. She ended up trapped and completely submerged beneath the water—under nearly eight to ten feet of rushing current.
“I didn’t panic,” she told CBN News. “I set about trying to free me or free the boat but the weight of the water and the force of the current was too great for me to do anything.”
Eventually, she realized that she might not survive. So, she turned to prayer. She asked God for peace and prayed that His will—whatever that might be—would be carried out.
“I was being held by Christ,” she continued. “It took me a long time to say that out loud because, probably like everyone— I mean, even though we talk about not having to earn God’s love or work for it, in our hearts we still believe that ‘oh we’re not good enough’.”
She described this incredible feeling as one of the very first moments that stood out as something truly beautiful in her entire experience.
She strongly believed that there was never a moment where she went from being alive to being dead. In fact, she said: “I felt conscious then more conscious. Alive and then more alive. I never felt dead.”
As she got closer to the end of her physical life, she shared that she saw her entire life play out again before her in a kind of personal life review.
When she tried to describe what heaven looked like, Mary said: “Everything was all colors at once, like the Northern Lights.”
She also recalled seeing a dome-shaped structure. This heavenly place was surrounded by countless souls who appeared to be cheering and clapping as she arrived.
“But as all of that awe-inspiring love flowed through me, my guides told me it wasn’t my time.”
