Awakening

Chapter 1

Her eyes popped open. She drew her first breath, then another, deeper one. She was standing and having to focus on balance. Two beings were there to steady her, one on each side. She somehow knew they could be none other than her guardian angels.

Suddenly, her mind was flooded with recollections of her life as a human. Her faithful and beloved divine indweller—the fragment of God that inhabits human minds during life in the flesh—arrived with her personal memories. She hadn't yet grasped that this is Resurrection Hall on the first mansion world, but she did realize and know she was alive again, in a new body and with a new mind.

This new body-mind now becomes the temple of her Earth-born soul, of her God-given personality, and of her divine indweller. It is an intense event of wonder and awe, also one of rapid adjustment.

Next, the two angels came directly in front of her. They moved in very close; she felt embraced like never before. She then realized she was standing on a mansion world, and that this was her first post-mortal experience. The thought occurred to her, "This is resurrection!"

During this angelic embrace, memories of Earth life continued filling her mind, as fast as she could assimilate them. As the seconds passed, the eternal significance of this event became clearer and clearer. She had indeed survived and was now breathing, thinking, and living on another world. "How wonderful, how great, how fulfilling!"

Then she noticed there were several other beings gathered around who seemed vaguely familiar. She felt so very warm, energized, confident, and fearless, but needed time to adjust. Former life events were connecting; she was rapidly remembering previous experiences in greater detail and establishing their chronological order.

But who were these others? Her beloved family, where were they? She thought to ask, but the words wouldn't come. The angels were mumbling at her. What were they saying? It wasn't making sense. Her mind was foggy for an instant, then clear, then foggy again. Finally, clarity began to dominate. After a moment more, her attention shifted to the immediate surroundings, primarily the astonishingly beautiful beings surrounding her. Their faces were so young, lovely, and well defined.

Yet more memories were surfacing. She was recalling beliefs she had about resurrection. Her soul began to soar on the recognition and realization of continuing life. Gratitude overtook her, she craved to shout, "I'm in heaven, thank you God, thank you!" But nothing came out.

With each breath she could feel powerful energy coursing through her marvelous, strong, pain-free, highly sensitive new body. The smell of the air was truly rich. She thought but couldn't quite say: "What a lovely aroma here!"

Looking beyond her angels and the others, she noticed everything was beautifully clean, sparkling, and intricately appointed. The floor was a lustrous metal, and the low wall that surrounded her resurrection chamber was inlaid with jewels and gems, diverse in hue and form. The sky was a magnificent vault of deep blue, but without a sun, moon, or cloud.

As she gazed over the resurrection scene, the angel on her left put before her what appeared to be a three-dimensional mirror. She watched closely as the image rotated. In complete amazement, she felt the urge to ask, "This IS me?!" It had to be her, but what a change. There were no wrinkles and no glasses. She thought, "My face is so young! And vision is excellent!"

Next, she took note of her hands and feet, wiggling her fingers and toes, perfectly formed and very sensitive. She then looked down and scanned her body, tightly clothed in a super-shimmering fabric. 'This must be a sort of morontia material,' she thought. Morontia! She always enjoyed contemplating that word. And now she felt much like a super version of her old self, one she had often imagined when reading about morontia life. She then touched the image in the mirror and uttered, "This is morontia me, I am alive, I AM alive!"

Everyone nearby replied in unison, "Yes, you are!" Finally, she could communicate! She could hear and be heard, and in a language she understood. Much more was coming together now; greater perspective was building with each passing moment. Unless she was dreaming, she had to be awake and alive in Resurrection Hall of mansion world number one.

Those present in her chamber were aglow with an unmistakable and warm luminescence. But who were they? And where was her family? Why were they not here to greet her? Had her grandparents, parents, deceased cousins and friends not survived? Many questions began surfacing in her nimble new mind.

"Where is my husband? Is Saro here?"

"Come with us, Kala," her right-side guardian angel replied.

She attempted to move and almost fell forward. Both angels caught her by the arms steadying her.

She felt compelled to confirm who they were: "You are my guardians, aren't you?"

"Yes," the left-side angel answered with a beautiful smile. "I am Lea, this is Rea." They were so very lovely and charming; Kala felt an instant affection and familiarity with them. But how strange and wonderful to actually see and hear her angels, even though she had often sensed their presence while still in the flesh.

"Give me a second," she said, then consciously put one foot forward, then the other. She was walking for the first time. It wasn't hard, just new. Everything was new, and she realized the adjustment to it all would not be instantaneous.

More of her memories and skills were returning with each moment. But she had the distinct feeling there were many other memories, ones she could not yet access. Moving, seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, the capacity to formulate a coherent understanding of what had happened to her, all this was available, albeit elementary. But who were the others in her chamber?

She then glanced around at what was unfolding elsewhere. Everywhere there were groups of beings in chambers—much like the one she was in—many thousands of them. This great hall of resurrection was alive with activity, newly reborn souls rejoicing and remembering how to move, think, and speak.

She took more steps as the angels gently guided her to an adjacent resurrection chamber. At its center was a person she recognized immediately, although he was remarkably young. Kala and Saro locked eyes for the first time as resurrected mortals.

It was a moment for the ages, a memory they would never forget, wherein a onetime husband and wife meet in heaven for their first embrace after 55 years of life together as human beings. Kala then understood they both had passed the great test of mortal incarnation and embryonic soul development.

"Saro!" she cried out.

He almost fell too, in the lunge toward his longtime mate and friend. He would have fallen except for the aid of his attending guardians. Kala and Saro's first embrace was one of transcendent love, too touching and fulfilling for words. And this embrace brought forth many more memory flashes of life on Earth, events that had significant meaning and value, especially their relationship with each other, family, and friends.

"Kala, is it you? Am I dreaming?" he kissed her face several times.

"Saro, this is Resurrection Hall, and we are on a mansion world!"

He looked around, then at his guardians. "Can it be so?"

"It is, my love," she replied. "Are we not young again? Is this not a heavenly place?"

"You are beautiful!" was all he could think to say.

They both began reflecting as a flood of previous life memories filled them. The most prominent in their minds at that moment was the series of spiritual connections that brought them to this astonishing place, and in a new body. Kala was recalling the occasion of her spiritual awakening, after which she took an abiding interest in her soul's development. Saro was remembering receiving God's instantaneous reply after he prayed to know whether to marry Kala, a resounding "YES." But how and when did they die? So many questions were coming up now as they looked at each other, then at their angels.

Suddenly, the pair felt a strong wave of gratitude for their guardians. They sincerely and profusely thanked them for the safekeeping of their souls, and for all they did pre-death, much of which they were now realizing. Always had Kala felt her guardians' guidance and influence. Saro did in a measure also sense and appreciate their watchcare for his physical safety and the dedication to his spiritual well-being when he and Kala were in human form.

"Saro, this is Lea, and this is Rea, my guardians. And these are yours," she said, pointing to the angels at his side. "We haven't met, so I don't know their names."

The one on Saro's left said, "I am Jatia, and my complement of being you may call Tatia."

After a frozen moment of astonishment on the part of Saro, all six converged and embraced in a charming little huddle. How warm and full of love Kala and Saro felt. For decades their four guardians had worked with the pair, unseen, helping them spread the teachings and the text of The Urantia Book, the source of their knowledge about the mansion worlds and Resurrection Hall. And now these trusted angels were visible, even embraceable. Meeting them face to face was a rewarding and confirmatory experience. At the same time, the feeling of affirmation of their long-held faith in the existence of God and his angels was immensely gratifying, satisfying, even thrilling.

Then, and simultaneously, Saro and Kala remembered dying. Being together again somehow sparked this traumatic memory. They drew a deep breath, looked into each other's beautiful new eyes, and recalled that it was a quick and merciful death. They were flying a single engine airplane—both were pilots—delivering Urantia Books to a new library system on a large but remote island in western Indonesia. On board was one box of each translation, as requested by the island's chief librarian.

A storm cloud was behind them, so they felt safe. But when they flew over a high ridge, they were confronted with another and bigger cloud. There was no choice except to go on, but it was not to be. Lightning was all around. They thought of going higher, over the storm, or quickly landing somewhere. Before they could act, a tremendous bolt struck the plane, instantly destroying it, along with the mortal bodies of Kala and Saro Maylon. Amazingly, all the books were later found, largely intact, and still wrapped in plastic. And all did eventually reach their destination.

"When did we die?" Saro asked his guardians.

"Three days ago," they replied together. Saro and Kala were both thinking what charming voices the angels have.

"We qualified for the three-day express!" Saro exclaimed, "just as we hoped." They smiled, embraced, and kissed. It was difficult not to smile, given their happy new situation. They couldn't help feeling astonishment at how youthful and vibrant their morontia bodies were. And every second, more memories of life on Urantia—the Earth—were emerging in their beautiful, new, morontia minds.