I am keeping this vague for OPSEC

As the title said, I visited a buddy who was in a horrible accident and is now in ICU and paralyzed from the waist down.  He may or may not live.  A very sad situation.

We used to party together and have done a lot of things that neither of us are proud of -- along time ago.  He has been a chronic alcoholic who recently turned his life around and now through no fault of his own finds himself in this situation.  A couple of years ago during his darker periods of recovery I gently reached out and told him the going back to church has turned my life around and gives me peace. And, that all things are possible through Jesus.  He is not a believer and has firmly rebuffed my overtures.

So, fast forward to now.  He wanted to see me in private.  He cannot talk because of the tubes and such but he can mouth words and write on a small whiteboard.  He wrote that he died twice after the accident and saw God.  He then wrote that in both cases angels brought him back and told him he "couldn't go there".  That is all he could communicate and while I wanted to I didn't press the conversation.  He didn't want me to tell his family about this.

I saw him again later and he told me he is having very vivid dreams about heaven and hell.  I jokingly said "I bet heaven is a lot better than hell" and his reply reply was "hell can't be worse that what I am going through now".  

Before I left I asked him if he wanted me to pray with him and he emphatically said no.  Candidly, I'm not sure what to make of all this and just wanted to share this story anonymously to get any feedback the you guys would be willing to share.

He is in terrible pain and I ask you guys to lift him up in your prayers.  At this point I can only continue to pray the God's will be done, whether that is life or death.  Of course I hope he makes it but I wonder if he would be better off to pass.  I don't know if I would want to live in his condition.

That's all for tonight.

NDE ?

Near Death Experience...

Some See the Light when the begin to Fear the Heat..

I'm praying for your friend.

My experience is that God is very patient and will wait as long as necessary for your friend to make his decision.  Pain and suffering here on earth seem to have little influence on God but He is faithful to His Son Jesus and all that call upon His name will be saved.

Bob i'm praying for your buddy and wanna share a thought. In my life it seems it has been hard to reach my old hard charging party friends and it reminds me of Jesus word's in

Mark ch6
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

1Jesus left that part of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown. 2The next Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
They asked, “Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?” 3Then they scoffed,
“He’s just a carpenter, the son of Marya and the brother of James, Joseph,b Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.

4Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.”
5And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6And he was amazed at their unbelief.

Sometimes the people who have been close to us thru life see the change in us when we are trying to follow Christ, but also when they look at us see there old friend who use to do all those crazy things with them.

Maybe you know a pastor/priest friend who doesn't know your friend who would be willing to go spend some time with him, sometimes its easier to open up to a complete stranger than to a old buddy from your "hometown"

just my 2 cents
praying for your friend

Actual nde left me with the feeling that bible verses that I had heard before, now had fresh meaning and that it was going to take a while before I could fit in this life. Give him space.

Thank you.  This is a very relevant passage to my situation.  I have been a very flawed person so I am very careful to not be preachy or anything with my friends.  I figure that over time they will see the changes in my life and begin to understand.  I just always say something like "I really enjoy going to church" of "it gives me peace and joy" and stuff like that.  

I have always been leery of those who become believers and immediately try to convert everyone around them.  I'm not saying its wrong to do this but for me the evidence of a changed life comes over time.  I've been back in the Christian life for 2 1/2 years now so I believe those around me now understand this here to stay.  They see the changes in me and I can tell they are at least thinking -- even though they may not say anything.

Thanks to you (and others who have posted in this thread) for the prayers.  I sincerely believe that prayer works -- even though we often cannot see it immediately.