When I was two years old in March 1976, my nine-year-old brother Bobby died of a stroke due to complications from a congenital heart defect.
Several years later when I was five, my mother put me to bed one evening at the usual time. Some time had lapsed and a vision of a lady with a blue and white veil appeared on the ceiling above me. She told me that she was Jesus's mother Mary and she brought my brother back from heaven to talk to me. Immediately, he appeared in the ceiling and floated down to where I lay. He took my hand and told me that he had come to show me what heaven was like so that I could tell mom and she would be comforted. I felt myself being pulled through the dark room to the ceiling and into a bright mist. I saw many people in this place including grandparents who died before I was born. He showed me things that are mentioned in the bible about heaven, such as a great palace with jewels inlaid right into the walls, the streets of transparent gold, and the beings of light (I believe they were archangels) surrounding God. Just as the bible says we were made into his image, he appeared as a person but not quite the same. The features of his face were softened by the blazing light that surrounded him. When God spoke to me, he told me that I would go home soon, and to remember to tell my mother about what I had seen. Then I was instantly back in my bed and soon fell asleep.
When I awoke the next morning, I remember eating breakfast at the dining room table and telling my mother about my vision. She was telling me who the people I had seen were and that the things I was describing were spoken about in the bible. It was such a vivid and amazing vision that even at 25 years old I remember details very well.
In relation to this story, several years ago now, my mother was visiting the grave of my brother to place flowers on it. As she knelt beside the headstone, she asked for a sign that Bobby could hear what she was saying to him. After a few moments, she climbed into her mini-van to return home. She had the radio tuned to an local "oldies" station, and suddenly, one of my brother's favorite songs, "American Pie" began playing on the radio. Now who says there's no life after death?