This site uses affiliate links to Amazon.com Books for which IANDS can earn an affiliate commission if you click on those links and make purchases through them.
1. About Randy Gehling
Ten-year-old Randy Gehling of Arlington Heights, Illinois, had been begging for a new bicycle for his birthday all summer long. On September 8, 1988, the tenth anniversary of his arrival on planet Earth, he got his bicycle – but he also came very close to changing his mailing address to heaven. Randy’s near-death experience (NDE) testimony appears in Brad Steiger‘s book, One with the Light.
2. Randy Gehling’s NDE
Steven and Kathy Gehling, Randy’s parents, found the accident bitterly ironic.
“For months he begs for a new bike for his birthday,” Steven said. “The minute he spotted it on the porch, he tore off the ribbons, ignored the eight little friends gathered for his birthday celebration, and took off for a ‘quick spin’ around the block. He just didn’t seem to see the teenager from across the street using the alley as a shortcut home.”
Kathy remembered the anguish of the long hours that they spent in the waiting room, not knowing for certain whether their son would live or die.
“He had been unconscious ever since the neighbor boy hit him with his car. His new bicycle was all mangled. Some of the neighbors said that Randy was sent flying fifteen or twenty feet by the impact. All we could do was pray.”
After a three-hour surgery, the doctor visited them in the waiting room and told them that the prognosis looked good. Randy was in a recovery room, and as soon as it was advisable, he would be wheeled to a hospital room where they could wait by his bedside. The doctor could not promise whether Randy would be conscious enough to respond to them yet that night.
The next morning at about seven-twenty, about seventeen hours after his accident, Randy opened his eyes, saw his parents at his bedside, and smiled. He accepted their gentle hugs and kisses in silence, then told them: “Wow, Mom and Dad, what a trip!”
Steve and Kathy chuckled at their son’s first words. Then at a loss for the proper response to such a comment, Steve said: “Yeah, I guess you really went flying over the handlebars, eh?”
Randy nodded, then winced at the pain of the movement. His head was completely swatched in bandages, leaving him with only a peephole around the eyes and a small open space for his mouth.
“Yeah, I flew up to the stars and went to heaven. I saw the angels, and I even think I might have seen Jesus. Oh, and I saw Grandpa Hansen, too.”
Steve and Kathy glanced at one another in meaningful silence. “He’s still under the effects of the anesthetic,” Kathy whispered. “It’s like he’s dreaming.”
Randy protested what he overheard of his mother’s whispered analysis. “It was no dream. I was there!”
Steve and Kathy decided to agree with their son so they would not aggravate his condition so soon after surgery. But over the next days and weeks, they came to have a different opinion of their ten-year-old son’s visit to heaven. They had to admit that Randy may well have experienced much more than a dream. According to the notes taken by Kathy Gehling, here, somewhat abbreviated, is Randy’s account of his NDE:
“I didn’t really know what had hit me. I just seemed to go flying through the air. And then a really funny thing happened. A part of me – I guess my soul – just kept flying, and I saw my body smash into the ground. I knew it had to hurt to land that hard, so I was happy that I was where I was – wherever that was.
“When I got a little higher, I saw that it had been Kurt’s car that had hit me. I always told him that he drove too fast in the neighborhood. He would usually just make a face at me or flip me the bird. He should have listened to me. I figured that he must have killed me and now he would go to jail.”
Randy felt a moment of panic when he realized that he might be dying.
“But then this beautiful angel appeared beside me. She was really pretty. She looked like a movie star with wings. Her voice sounded kind of like Mom’s when she is comforting me when I have a stomach ache or something.
“She told me not to worry. She said that she was with me and that she would stay right by my side. She took my hand, and I felt a lot better.”
Randy said that they soon approached a dark tunnel. When he held back and said that he was afraid to go into the darkness, the angel smiled and told them that this was the only way that they could get to their destination.
I could see a bright light at the far end of the tunnel, so I said: “All right, as long as you don’t let go of my hand!”
She laughed and said: “I told you that I would never leave your side. I have been with you ever since you were born. In fact, I was there at your mother’s side when you were born. I am your guardian angel.”
Randy asked her what her name was. “We don’t have names in the manner that you mean,” she said, “but if it makes you feel better to call me something, you may call me, Areo (ah-ree-o).”
The tunnel did not prove to be such a terrible ordeal after all. Randy and Areo seemed to whoosh through it quickly. “And then we stood before this totally awesome light,”
Randy said. “It was so bright and powerful that you really couldn’t look right at it.
“I looked at Areo, wondering what we were to do next. She said that we would enter the light and become one with it. Before I could ask what that meant, she just gave my hand a little tug, and then we were inside the light.
“That was really cool! I kind of felt as though my body exploded – in a nice way – and became a million different atoms – and each single atom could think its own thoughts and have its own feelings. All at once I seemed to feel like I was a boy, a girl, a dog, a cat, a fish. Then I felt like I was an old man, an old woman – and then a little tiny baby.”
And then Randy and Areo were standing in what appeared to be a lovely park, bedecked with “millions and millions” of colorful flowers.
Randy could hear beautiful music playing somewhere off in the distance.
“Just a little ways off I could see a bridge with someone standing on it. Beyond the bridge, I saw a golden city with towers like European castles. The whole city seemed to be shining with light that shot up into the sky like a giant searchlight.
“I could see that some of the domes of the city were red, others were gold, and a few were blue. The gates and walls of the city seemed to be made of bright blue, red, and violet lights.”
Randy asked Areo if they were going to visit the city. The angel nodded. “That’s to be your new home, Randy.”
They began walking toward the bridge to the city, and Randy saw that the man standing awaiting them was his Grandpa Hansen. Randy ran to his grandfather and felt his strong arms close around him. Grandpa Hansen had been a farmer all of his life in Minnesota. He had died, still a powerful man, when Randy was six. Randy asked his beloved grandfather if he would now be living with him in heaven. “One day,” Grandpa Hansen told him. “But not just yet.”
When Randy questioned his grandfather, he told him that he still had things to learn on Earth.
“You nearly bought the farm this time, Randy-boy,” Grandpa Hansen said with a chuckle. “But you aren’t ready to cash in your chips yet.”
Aero seemed puzzled. “But it seemed to me that I was doing the right thing. The word that I received indicated that now was Randy’s time to return home.”
Grandpa Hansen shrugged. “I was told to meet you at the bridge and tell you to take him back home. He’s got some lessons that he hasn’t learned yet – and lots of work that he hasn’t even started to fulfill.”
Before Areo took him by the hand for the return flight home, Randy said that another figure materialized beside Grandpa Hansen on the bridge.
“I knew right away that it was Jesus,” Randy said, convinced of the majestic visitor. “I knew by his eyes.”
Randy couldn’t quite remember all of the things that Jesus said, but he is certain of some of the words.
“Jesus said that I would never quite be the same as I was before I visited heaven. He said that some of the power of the light would remain within me. And he told me to let the love that I would feel in my heart express itself to all people.
“He said that I should never worry if people doubted my story or could not understand what I was telling them. ‘One day,’ Jesus said, ‘everyone will come to see for themselves what you have seen.'”
3. An Analysis By Kevin Williams
Randy Gehling’s NDE contains many of the common elements frequently reported in childhood NDEs while also emphasizing themes of divine guidance, personal purpose, and spiritual transformation. One of the first elements Randy reported was observing the accident scene from above as an out-of-body experience (OBE). This element is among the most frequently reported components of NDEs. Experiencers often describe feeling detached from physical pain and observing events from a higher vantage point. Randy’s awareness that Kurt’s car had struck him and his concern about the consequences for the driver demonstrate the continuation of consciousness despite separation from the body. An interesting aspect is that Randy retained his personality and concerns. Rather than immediately becoming absorbed in spiritual realities, he first worried about the teenager who hit him, reflecting how NDEs often preserve the individual’s identity and emotional priorities.
The appearance of an angel named “Areo” is significant because many child NDEs involve encounters with protective beings. Several common features appear: (1) The being radiates unconditional love; (2) Fear immediately diminishes; (3) Communication is telepathic or deeply intuitive; and (4) The being provides reassurance and guidance. The angel’s statement that he has been with Randy ever since he was born echoes a theme found in numerous spiritual traditions involving guardian angels or spiritual guides who accompany individuals throughout life. The fact that Randy was given a name only for his comfort is also noteworthy. Many NDErs report that spiritual beings seem to transcend earthly categories such as names, language, and identity.
The dark tunnel leading toward a brilliant light is perhaps the most widely recognized NDE feature. Randy’s account contains several classic elements: initial fear of the darkness, reassurance from a spiritual guide, a visible light at the end, and rapid movement through the tunnel. Researchers such as Raymond Moody identified the tunnel phenomenon as one of the most common NDE features in modern reports. Symbolically, the tunnel is often interpreted as a transition zone between physical and spiritual realities.
One of the most profound moments in Randy’s experience occurs when he enters the Light and merges with it. He then experienced being a boy, a girl, a dog, a cat, a fish, an old man, an old woman, and a baby. This resembles reports of mystical unity or cosmic consciousness found in many NDEs. Rather than merely observing other forms of life, Randy seemed to experience existence from multiple perspectives simultaneously. Such experiences often lead NDErs to conclude that all life is interconnected. This aspect parallels reports of oneness described by NDE researchers such as Kenneth Ring, who documented experiences in which individuals felt united with all living beings.
Particularly notable is the appearance of a magnificent heavenly city of light. Randy described towers like castles, colored domes, brilliant walls of light, and radiance extending into the sky. This imagery resembles descriptions found in many religious traditions such as the New Jerusalem in the biblical Book of Revelation, heavenly cities reported in Christian NDEs, and cities of light described in NDE literature. The city functions symbolically as both a destination and a spiritual home.
Randy’s meeting with a deceased relative, Grandpa Hansen, is another classic NDE element. The experiencer recognizes a deceased loved one. The loved one appears healthy and vibrant. The deceased relative provides guidance and explains that the experiencer must return. Grandpa Hansen’s humor and familiar personality are especially striking. Rather than appearing as an abstract spiritual figure, he remains recognizably himself. This continuity of personality is frequently reported in NDE encounters with deceased relatives.
A central feature of Randy’s NDE is the revelation that he must return. His grandfather explains that Randy’s “got some lessons that he hasn’t learned yet.” This theme appears throughout NDE literature. The discussion between Grandpa Hansen and Areo is unusual because it portrays a kind of heavenly administration in which spiritual beings are responding to information about Randy’s life path. Such reports often give experiencers a heightened sense that life unfolds according to a meaningful purpose.
Toward the end of his NDE, Randy identifies another figure as Jesus whom he recognized by his eyes. Many NDErs report recognizing spiritual beings immediately without needing introductions. Recognition appears to occur through direct knowing rather than physical appearance. Jesus’ message centers on three themes: (1) Randy will never be quite the same – a prediction which mirrors a common NDE aftereffect where many experiencers report profound personality changes after returning; (2) Some of the power of the light would remain within Randy which reflects the idea that individuals retain a connection to the divine Light after their NDE; and (3) Jesus tells Randy to “Let the love that you feel in your heart express itself to all people.” This emphasis on unconditional love is perhaps the most universal message reported across NDEs. The most important message may be Jesus’ reassurance that skepticism should not trouble him: “One day everyone will come to see for themselves what you have seen.”
