t is not uncommon for pediatric patients to tell me that they speak with God. Something about the innocence of that age makes me believe children can—and do—hold conversations with the Lord. Although each story of a child conversing with God is unique and special, one story was of special significance to me. The miracle involved a boy, 15, who had suffered more than anyone in this world should have to endure before he was eventually taken in by charitable foster parents.

The boy, who suffered from schizophrenia, had the mentality and emotional maturity of an eight-year-old. One day I heard from another person on the floor that this child claimed to have spoken to God the night before and was drawing a picture of what he saw. I went to his room to speak with him when I saw the boy lying on the floor, drawing a picture of a house. I asked him what he was doing, and he responded: “This is the house that God is preparing for me.”

When I asked him to tell me what happened the night before, the boy ran across the room and jumped into bed in order to recreate the activities of the night before. The child said: I was lying in bed when the ceiling opened up and God came to visit me and asked me if I wanted to go with Him. He showed me a two-story house He was preparing for me where “the sun would always shine and there will never be a cloudy day.” Soon after, the boy died of a massive stroke.

The nurses and I scoured his room until we found the picture he drew. The house, which featured numerous sunlit windows, was surrounded by green trees. We gave the drawing to his foster parents and told them the story behind the picture. I think they took comfort knowing that their son had gone to the house God built for him.

Terelyn Santos
Chaplain, Pastoral Services Department
CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health Care