Howard started off his NDE in a very dark realm where he was attacked by beings until he realised that mention of God or prayer to God pushed them back. He was left in a bad state and so called out to Jesus (from Chapter 4 – The Light):
I desperately needed someone to love me, someone to know I was alive. A ray of hope began to dawn in me, a belief that there really was something greater out there. For the first time in my adult life I wanted it to be true that Jesus loved me. I didn’t know how to express what I wanted and needed, but with every bit of my last ounce of strength, I yelled out into the darkness, ‘Jesus, save me.’ […]
Far off in the darkness I saw a pinpoint of light like the faintest star in the sky. I wondered why I hadn’t seen it before. The star was rapidly getting brighter and brighter. At first I thought it might be some thing, not someone. It was moving towards me at an alarming rate. As it came closer, I realized that I was right in its path and I might be consumed by its brilliance. I couldn’t take my eyes off it; the light was more intense and more beautiful than anything I had ever seen. It was brighter than the sun, brighter than a flash of lightning. […]
I experienced love in such intensity that nothing I had ever known before was comparable. His love was greater than all human love put together. His love totally enveloped me, and I realized that He had substance. He was indescribably wonderful: goodness, power, knowledge, and love. He was more loving than one can begin to imagine or describe. Jesus did indeed love me.
