The grave is a gateway.

• Author: Kegley, Charles W.
• Position: Literary Scene

A STROKE CAN STRIKE anyone, anytime, anywhere. One out of every five people will suffer a stroke by the age of 50. Strokes are the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. Our tale is a true story about what happened in the wake of a life-threatening stroke to a particular victim at a particular time in a particular setting.

Near-death experiences provide an eye-opening education. After looking death in the face, we almost are grateful for the adversities and anxieties we withstood. Catastrophic crises brought us closer to God. We found renewed faith and also began to find our "true selves"--who we were always meant to be. Moreover, when all seemed lost, we found out just how much we loved one another.

Sometimes it takes a life-threatening experience to confer meaning on an otherwise meaningless existence. That is what happened for us as we walked through the valley of the shadow of death. In the wake of a series of near-death crises, many thoughts within thoughts surfaced, and we discovered that what happens is less important than how we think about and respond to them.

Our story is not solely for stroke victims and their loved ones, but for everyone--because, sooner or later, all will experience a life-threatening crisis, contemplate ultimate destiny, and seek understanding and comfort. Anyone, therefore, might benefit from learning what we learned. The larger picture beyond what happened to us is applicable to what can happen to anyone. You, too, can emerge from crushing medical crises forcing you to face death more confident of God's miraculous power and more resilient than ever imaginable. Follow the path we took, and you might restore hope and expand your spiritual imagination.

After a stroke strikes, dark dread follows. Fright smothers light. All appears lost--especially hope. Overwhelmed, survivors and loved ones cannot help but wonder what the future will bring. Our story opened with a citation of Eugene O'Neill's dire words in A Long Day's Journey into Night. "No one can help the things that life does to us." How true. Much of what occurs is beyond our control, but that does not mean, as O'Neill concluded, that what happens to us drives us irresistibly downward, deeper and deeper into the dark until we lose our true selves forever.

On our long journey from night into day, light was cast on a very different conclusion. We learned that we can shape, but not determine, the things that happen to us. If terrible things happen, we can choose how to respond and select a path to follow, which powerfully will affect what will happen next. Adversity creates opportunities to rethink life's purpose and to chart new paths. We will lose our "true selves" and become victims of our past only if we accept our victimization.

In the aftermath of Debbie's strokes, some of the darkness hiding our identities was lifted by the Holy Spirit's light that illuminated our roadway. We began...