Bridging the Gap: A Spiritual Journey to Heaven and Back

By Calvin Cassady

How does one transcend mankind to a heavenly being, the known to the eternal mystery? One spring day in 1971, Calvin Cassady, a southwest Missouri teenager, was a victim in an unexplained automobile accident on a curvy Ozark mountain roadway. The impact caused the car t

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookTrail Publishing
• Release date: Jan 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781637670026

Calvin Cassady

Calvin is a Christian author and media marketer. He was a former Director of Christian Education and is currently a member of the vestry of his local Episcopal Church. He has experience in Native American tribal government. He is a retired career educator with over forty years in public schools, private schools, and university service. He has worked with both print and broadcast journalism. He and his wife Vicki live in Carl Junction, Missouri.

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Dedication

Vicki, my wife and my daughters Sarah and Rebecca

Prologue

At the Easter Sunday service in 2010 God hinted at a new project for me. At the church service the priest spoke about recognizing our God given talents. He spoke of special moments we experience with God in our lives. This was almost forty years after God scraped my body off the asphalt of a curvy Ozark Mountain roadway and allowed me a brief glimpse of his world. That experience was the beginning of a spiritual journey that spanned years as an educator, a church leader, a tornado survivor, and a missionary.

The priest insisted that it was a Christian duty to share these experiences with others. Until that point I’d shared my special times with only small groups, friends and family. This sermon left me trying to decipher God’s message.

The next week, the Catholic Bishop addressed our school group and shared the same message. The message was clear, I was to share. I volunteered to be a speaker at the Spring Senior retreat. At that event, following my testimony, I announced my intent to publish this book.

It was God’s intervention that accompanied me on my spiritual journey and He was always there to celebrate the good times and to lend support during the challenging times.

God challenged me to share with the world. I accepted his challenge.

Introduction

I was just an ordinary teenager. I was not an over achieving Christian, but I did believe. I was not in preparation for church work. I was just an uptight college kid looking for a new direction. I had no intention of being a messenger of God

Then one spring day in 1971 I was on a day outing to an area amusement park with my two best friends. We were all in college and while we had varied backgrounds and varied interests, we enjoyed each other’s company. The events of the next twenty four hours would change and define my life forever.

It was an unexplained automobile accident that occurred on a curvy Ozark mountain highway. The impact caused the car to burst into flames and plunged me into a clouded existence that included a walk through the valley of the shadow of death and I emerged on the threshold of eternal life. While eternity surrounded me and filled me with an absolute certainty of heaven, I walked away. I walked away because I was not satisfied with my earthly service. I was assured that I was accepted unconditionally into the eternal kingdom, but I could see a future with an opportunity to fulfill the service gap.

Following a miraculous recovery, and a lot of guidance from my parents and a loving relationship with my soon to be wife, I completed my college training in three years and continued my journey as an elementary school teacher. It wasn’t long until my gift could be shared. That was the beginning of a thirty year career in education that offered numerous opportunities to use my new God given talents. During my teaching years I was blessed by the marriage to my wife, Vicki and the birth of my two daughters, Rebecca and Sarah.

It was also during these early years that I had a role in my local church. I served in many capacities but was most proud of the 11 years I served as youth minister. During those years I spent a lot of time working and ministering to young people in middle school through high school. Using my position I presented my story in the context of the church. It was well received by the youth. Following a change in church leadership and the calling of a new priest I was asked to resign my position without a reason or cause. This was a very disturbing time, but prayer allowed me to set this aside. I continued my work quietly in the schools.

Other challenges occurred along the way but my first faith shaking experience in my new life occurred when my mother died suddenly in an automobile accident. I had spent the last ten years helping others through this kind of tragedy but now I was to experience the need for that kind of assistance.

The depth of grief was doubled by the fact that my father was driving the car, blamed himself, and was consumed with guilt. In the twinkle of an eye I was losing the foundation of my family. It became clear now that it was part of God’s plan that I set aside my church duties. I needed to allow myself time to grieve.

This event strengthened my spiritual foundation. With God’s help I survived this bump in the road and continued on my journey with an even greater persistence and conviction. After my mom’s passing I knew I was placed here for a special reason.

I completed my career in public education in 2002. This was a difficult year for the nation with the destruction of the World Trade Center and I had weathered some personal difficulties that year. My wife and I both retired from teaching in the public schools. We felt the need for a new direction.

The following years were full of changes. My oldest daughter Rebecca was zeroing in on her teaching degree, engaged and married. My youngest, Sarah was taking her first teaching position and it wasn’t long until my first grandson Calvin arrived. A short time later God blessed us with the birth of my second grandson Wilson. There is nothing more spiritual then grandchildren.

For me the next year was a struggle to find an existence. I enjoyed the role of pappy, the name the grand-boys selected for me, but I missed the fulfillment of a ministry. I did some work substituting but that was different. I was working with different kids each day. Not enough time to make a difference.

The Sunday after Easter in April of 2003 I sat in a church pew listening to the priest talk about changes in our lives, and finding God’s purpose for our lives. This was troubling because I thought I knew what I was to do for God. That day I knelt and prayed that God would change my life and help me define his goals for me.

Later that evening, after attending a Mexico mission trip meeting I returned home to find most of my house destroyed by a killer tornado that struck our community. A new chapter in my spiritual journey of growth and service was opening.

Since that day in May 2003, my Christian journey has taken me to Mexico on two mission trips. I have weathered potential high anxiety health events involving my brain, my heart, and my vision. After each scare I thanked the Lord and I knew that there was more of my journey.

I was employed as a teacher in a Regional Catholic High School for six years. I rejoiced the opportunity to again serve young people. I also ventured into the realm of adult ministry. I have launched a blog that chronicles the presence of God in my daily life.

I have also recently been blessed with the opportunity to have knee replacement surgery and cataract surgery on both eyes. Ironically these are the areas that were most damaged in the 1971 automobile accident.

There it is. That’s how it happened. The story that follows connects the dots. It Bridges the Gaps of my life and more importantly Bridges the Gap between our earthly existence and our spiritual destination.

Chapter 1

The Journey Begins

I was a crisp clear spring morning. It was the 28th day of May in 1971. Mom and dad left for work as usual, my mom was an elementary school teacher and my dad was a junior high guidance counselor in Joplin, Missouri.

I was having some reservations about the day’s activities. I was not totally honest with my parents as I had reported a day trip to the lake. That is all I said. There was an assumption that we would be fishing on Grand Lake in Northeast Oklahoma about forty-five minutes from my house in Joplin. In truth, we were planning to visit a Midwest amusement park west of Branson, Missouri on Table Rock Lake.

While I was dealing with my anxiety, a brand-new Ford Mustang rolled up in front of my house. I dismissed my uneasiness for the moment and welcomed my friends. After a walk around and some comments of admiration for Stan’s new wheels, I climbed into the back seat and settled in for the first leg of our trip. I was picked up last and just took the back seat as a convenience. Don was the front seat passenger. We made our way through town feeling for a day of freedom.

As we pulled onto I-44, I countered my feelings of guilt with the knowledge that we were not skipping school today, there were no classes. Ironically, it was dead day a day when there were no classes or activities scheduled. It was to be a day to spend in the library or at home studying for finals that would begin on Tuesday. Monday we would celebrate Memorial Day.

For me this activity was the finale of a school year that left me feeling like giving up. I had been pressured by my family to take overloaded schedules and summer school classes, allowing me to graduate from college a year early. That sounded good in the beginning, but at this stage I hated going to school. I did turn in my projects, but I was counting on my finals to pull me though. I was a good test taker. All may have been saved, but the finals weren’t going to happen.

Stan, the driver, and Don were two of my best friends. We had gone to high school together for two years. During our senior year we were separated when the city opened a new high school. Don went to Memorial and Stan and I continued at Joplin High School, now named Parkwood High School.

After graduation we were reunited at Missouri Southern College, a new four-year institution in Joplin. None of us were overjoyed with the idea of staying home for college and truthfully Don and Stan weren’t really overjoyed with the whole idea of college. It was clubs and activities that made college life acceptable. Don and I had an interest in music and enjoyed being in the college band. It was on the marching field that I met my wife, Vicki. I was involved in student government and was president of the junior class. All three of us were committee-member of the college union board with Vicki. We were also all involved in college political clubs.

The road sign showed the next exit was Sarcoxie. We still had 53 miles to Springfield, our first stop. It was a beautiful spring day and it was already warming up. We were moving on down the highway, road testing that new white pony. Our comments were random as we jumped from one subject to another. The mood was light as we moved on with our adventure.

Don, the front seat passenger, and I met during my sophomore year at what was then Joplin High School. That was my first year in Joplin as our family had relocated so my father could take a job as a guidance counselor. Don’s parents and mine were friends on a professional level as they were also members of the teaching profession. Don’s dad was an elementary school principal and his mom Dora was an elementary school teacher.

His parents were those people in my life that would fill in when things in my own home world were cloudy. I spent many afternoons with Don at his house, one of the diversions from my classes. We did a lot a running together. Don had a younger sister and with him in college, the sister’s life was in the spotlight. That didn’t seem to bother Don much. He and his dad were two of the most laid back individuals that I have ever met.

I don’t think he was anxious about the day’s activities like I was because he had a more open relationship with his parents than I did. He was allowed to make choices for himself. I can’t say they were always the best choices but making decisions is a life skill. When one makes the choices one also, must understand that there are consequences and responsibilities that go with the decisions. As a career goal Don was pretty much uncommitted, but leaned toward an education major.

I don’t know what he told his parents about the day’s activities but I knew we all were to be home by 5:30.

We were reaching our exit and the Shoney’s sign was in sight. We were all hungry as we had not eaten breakfast. We all liked to eat. Eating lunch out was a trademark for this threesome. We had eaten at every restaurant in the four states and what if it did run over into my afternoon class schedule. That was another one of my sinful diversions that kept me from reaching my pre-established goals.

The only goal that mattered now was the buffet line. Pancakes and eggs and don’t forget the sausage and bacon. I believe they even had ham. My favorite was the biscuits and gravy. We enjoyed a little strawberry shortcake to finish up.

We talked as we ate about the next part of the adventure. Truthfully we would not have much time to spend at the amusement park as we had to be home by 5:30. We had all been to this amusement park on a high school outing when we were juniors. At that time the park was in its infant stage. Since then, it had undergone its first real expansion with new rides. It was just opening for the season and we planned to experience as much as possible.

With full stomachs we were ready for the hour plus ride through Branson to our destination. We all climbed into the car and the front seat passengers snapped their seat belts. This was the beginning of an era when all car came with factory equipped seatbelts. The car also was equipped with high back seats with head rests. This was supposed to be a safety item as well as adding to the comfort of the front seat passengers.

The new seat design probably did add an element of safety if the back seat passengers were belted in behind the high back front seats, but what kind of social exchange could occur if you were in the back. I opted to ride in the middle of the back seat free from the seat belt. This enabled me to see what was going on and participate in the dialogue.

The next part of the trip was a bit more of a challenge as the highway between Springfield and Branson was only two lanes. There were steep grades and curvy cut backs as we went up and down the Ozark hills.

We fashioned ourselves as masters of the road and one of our dream projects was to organize a road race. We spent afternoons driving the country side looking for an acceptable road racing course. That was another of the diversions that haunted me.

With the roads as they were it would take a full hour to reach the city of Branson..

As the rubber of the tires met the challenges of the road ahead, my mind returned to thoughts of dishonesty and while I had not told a lie, I knew that what I was doing was wrong. But what could I do? I couldn’t back out now. We were almost to our destination. We just had to be home by 5:30. If we made it back I could avoid talk of the day and still not have to lie. If we could just get home on time everything would be OK.

Stan, the driver, lived at home with his mother Mary and his brother Charley. Mary was a registered nurse. Stan’s dad was in the military and had died. I never knew the story, but a picture of his father was proudly displayed at his house. One of his main interests in high school was ROTC. He was very dedicated to that activity. This activity instilled responsibility and leadership. That’s why Ma Mary could depend on Stan and his brother to help maintain their household. That is why he probably had less anxiety over today because he seemed to make many of his own decisions.

We became friend in high school and when we hooked up in college we just