I could not put this book down and as a result I read all 154 pages in one sitting. It was recommended to me by a friend, I ordered it from the library and had to wait six weeks for it since it is in such great demand.
The author’s son Colton, just prior to his 4th birthday, had a misdiagnosed ruptured appendix which resulted in seepage of poison into his abdominal cavity for five weeks before he was correctly diagnosed. He made an unexpected and fast recovery to the relief of his parents, a Protestant pastor and his teacher wife.
Gradually, Colton matter-of-factly mentioned that Jesus had talked to him, that his sister in heaven whom he had never known had hugged him, and that his great grandfather (Pop) who died before he was born had talked to him. His parents were astounded at what he told them, and cautiously asked him questions which Colton freely answered.
He described how Jesus looked and dressed, described how people in heaven looked – all were young and no one wore glasses – and was able to say that Jesus sat to the right of his father’s throne, although he had never been told that fact.
Whenever the family saw a picture of Jesus, they asked Colton if that was what Jesus looked like. He always said no until he was shown a picture painted by a young girl, Akiane Kramarik, who had visions of heaven since she was 4 and described heaven the same way Colton did. He said to his father: “This one’s right.”
You may shed a few tears as I did if you read this book. You will have a renewed interest in death, dying and heaven. It will no longer frighten you. Many stories have been told about near-death experiences, but a 4-year-old’s guileless account has a credibility far greater than any other.
When I checked whether Amazon.com had copies of this book for anyone interested, I came across a dissenting book entitled “Heaven Is For Real, The Book Isn’t” by D. Eric Williams which apparently refutes the entire story told by the Burpo family. I leave it up to you whether you choose to believe Colton’s stories about his short time in heaven.
Source:
Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo