I met her at our local ice-cream shop – which, all on its own, means we were destined to be friends – and have over the years grown to love and appreciate this sweet soul. Introduced by her sister (whom I also adore), we have connected through the years over our mutual love of good design, a timely message, and the enneagram.
Kind and tenderhearted, wise beyond her years, and incredibly passionate about mamas and their unborn babies (she’s a sonographer), this wife and mom to 4 beautiful kiddos has a story to tell.
Meet Shannon…
What’s your story, morning glory?
Summer was coming to a close. Our family had gathered at my in-law’s farm, along with my husband’s sisters and brother and their kids to set up our tents and camp out. It had been a wonderful weekend of fun! On Sunday evening, I decided to take our little pony, Diamond, out for a ride with the cart that she pulls. It was the perfect day and the sun was getting ready set. I asked my daughter and my niece if they wanted to hop in the cart for the ride and they joined right in. I directed the pony through the grassy fields and watched the sun sit beautifully in the sky as I listened to the four year old girls chatter and giggle next to me. The soybeans were new to the farm that year and I admired those as I drove down the lane.
Castlebay Farm is made up of almost twenty acres and as I turned the cart around at the back of the property, I remember something spooked the pony. She sped up as I turned, and a very brief thought came to me that we were about to have an accident… The next thing I knew, I was standing in the middle of the lane, facing towards the barn, with no recollection that I had just been thrown from a cart. I was unaware that there were two little girls standing next to me crying. I stood there staring. I saw that everything was covered in fog like an autumn morning. I felt overwhelming peace and love. As the fog started to clear and I became more aware, I felt like I was traveling through time.
It is hard for me to describe this whole experience with words, because I don’t feel as if I have the language to adequately allow someone to even come close to understanding what it was like for me… I felt like I was being put there, from another place, and it felt like I was not home. Through the fog I could then see my husband, Bill, running towards me. When he finally got to me, I could see the panic in his facial expression. I, however, didn’t feel any anxiety or pain. I was full of peace and overflowing love. Bill had been on the tractor near the barn when he heard screaming coming from the field. He had looked out to see the pony dragging the cart turned on its side. The little girls were way out at the back of the field crying, but he couldn’t see me. He had jumped off the tractor and ran to us. He estimates that I was lying unconscious for three to five minutes. Once he had gotten to me he was looking me over and saying, “Are you okay? Are you okay?” I just stared at him. I still felt like I was trying to make sense of what I had just experienced and finally I said, “I was just with God.” Bill took his hands and placed them on my shoulders and stood in front of me and began praying over me to God. He was thanking Him for protecting his wife. Then he hugged me. He didn’t like the “glassed over” look in my eyes. When Bill had run out to me he was followed by a lady that had just started keeping her horse at our barn. I had talked with her earlier in the day for a couple of hours while I was working on some of the landscaping. As she stood behind Bill, I looked at her and felt safe with her, felt like I liked her, and that she was familiar, but I had no idea who she was. I said, “Bill, who is that?” and he said, “that is Mindy”. He immediately thought he was going to be married to Lucy (Drew Barrymore) from 50 First Dates for the rest of his life. Then he asked me if I knew who my daughter Meredith was. I looked at Meredith and felt the strangest thing. This is so hard for me to explain in words also.
When I was unconscious I felt overwhelming peace and love and felt like I was in the presence of God. I also felt like when I woke up I had to leave that presence of God and travel into a dimension/realm where time exists. So seeing Meredith for the first time after waking up was kind of like looking at a picture of someone that I had never met. She was like someone that a mother had told a child hundreds of stories about and because of these stories they feel all the love that their mother had. I knew everything about Meredith. I felt an overflowing amount of love for her, but I felt as if I had never met her or if I had been away from her for many, many years. It was like God took me out of life in a moment, allowed me to feel his overwhelming and overflowing peace, in a place where time doesn’t exist and then I was put back in my life. I felt the overflow still of that peace and love, but I also felt the consciousness of time. The rest of the night was a blur of ER doctors, CT scans, headaches, and finally going to sleep.
My story didn’t end there though. I suffered from post concussive syndrome. I was off work for a month with terrible headaches, insomnia, dizziness, and seizure-like episodes. All the while, I drew closer to God. He was all I wanted. I felt a pull to that place of peace and love. I wanted it back.
What did you discover about yourself during this time?
I discovered that I do not need to worry so much. I tried to control so much about my life. My days were busy raising four small children. I would stress over schedules, bedtimes, and just about everything. It was the beginning of a new school year for my kids and I was asking myself, “are they at the right school?” I had lists galore around me of things that I needed to do, most of which I allowed to weigh me down as I kept adding more to my plate. When I was with God, I felt none of that weight. I felt so much peace. When I woke up, I realized that my control and stress was actually very self focused. When I woke up, all I could do was think about God and His love for this world. It surrounds us. We are here to live that love of God. We are not meant to worry and stress about things. When I shift my focus more on God’s love, I feel more peace.
What did you discover about God’s character through this process?
God is love. He exudes peace through that love. I felt so loved and secure that there was no fear or anxiety. It was beyond any love I ever felt on earth. I also discovered that God is always with us. That day in the field, I was being watched over, along with my daughter and my niece.
What helped you most practically during this season?
I cannot answer this without telling you that I suffered from post concussive syndrome after my fall. I had days that I couldn’t sit all the way up vertically because the dizziness and “off balance” feeling was so bad. I would lay in bed at night and not be able to sleep. I didn’t even feel tired. It was like my brain lost the ability to shut down for rest. I could not look at my phone, TV’s, computers, or be in the room with fluorescent lights without getting dizzy and nauseous. My body would randomly twitch and my words didn’t come out right. What helped me most was the love and support I received through this season of suffering, I truly believe that God was asking me to rest. Without the support, I wouldn’t have been able to make it. I had four kids that were ages 9, 8, 6, and 4. My husband, our parents, and our siblings took over my whole role as a mom. School started that year without a hitch. Kids got to and from, homework got done, meals were made and even sent home for us from our church family. Another thing that I could truly feel was the prayers. I felt so many people praying for me.
What do you wish friends and family knew about where you were at so they could better love you through it?
For months after my accident, I would ask God to take me home to join him in heaven. I walked around this world feeling like such a stranger. I wish everyone knew what is waiting for them in heaven. I got to experience only the feelings, just the love and peace. I didn’t see anything or touch anything. But just the feelings alone was so much more that anything this world has to offer. And I wanted it back. It wasn’t that my life wasn’t wonderful and that I wasn’t thankful for what I had, but it was that I wanted to be with God. I was drawn to Him. Looking back on it, I feel sorry for all the pain that I caused my family and friends when I told them that I wanted to “go home”, especially my husband. Because while that made perfect sense to me, so I talked openly about it, it was hard for them to understand.
How has it shaped your passion or clarified your mission today?
When God wouldn’t “take me home” after my daily prayers, I began to ask him, “ why am I here?” “why did I experience heaven?” “what is my purpose?” The day I asked God those questions, he led me to Mark 4:11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables”. That section of the bible is the story of planting seeds of faith, some planted on rock have no root only last a short time, others planted among the thorns choke out their faith with worry, deceit and desire, and others planted on good soil hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop, multiplying what was sown. It was so clear to me after reading this, that my purpose is to go share my story and plant seeds of faith!
Is there a favorite quote or scripture you have clung to?
Isaiah 43:2: “When you pass through the waters I will be with you. When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am your Lord, Your God, The Holy one of Israel, your Savior.”
What does the word hope mean to you, and what does it look like in your everyday life?
Hope is what we look forward to . This world is surrounded by hurt, grief, and pain. It is the devil’s playground. But this is not our home and we have hope. We have God all around us, too. We see his beauty in the sunrise, we see it in the giggles of a child. It is in the music of a piano, He is here. I encourage all of us to take time to be still and listen for God. Wake up and read the bible. Journal and pray. God is closer than we think.
What are two things you are loving right now?
I am enjoying the Hoopla app on my phone where I can listen to audiobooks for free, by “borrowing” them from my local library. I also enjoy a podcast called, “The Enneagram Journey with Suzanne Stabile”. The Enneagram helps me to understand myself and others at a much deeper level and I am so thankful for it.
