Garry R. Kennedy

It was around Christmas time in 2001 and I was preparing to start my first novel “The Jesus Tree Ornaments”.  My daughter Laura had some friends over and I was discussing with one of them the first part of the book.  I had only worked out a brief outline of the first couple of chapters in my mind.  I would have to develop it further upon my return from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia.  I was going there for a couple of weeks training in January of 2002 for my new position as a Criminal Investigative Analyst with the Internal Revenue Service.

When I returned I was assigned to a Lead Development Center with other analysts in downtown Fresno, California.  It was our job to investigative possible leads for IRS Special Agents and to assist them with any requests for research on other possible criminal cases.  Many of our leads also came from informants or taxpayers concerned about suspected criminal behavior and/or fraud.  It was our job to sort through all the information utilizing various government resources to determine if the case met civil or criminal criteria.  If we believed we didn’t have enough information to proceed we might contact the informant or send the case to Examination for an audit to further develop the case.

In addition to working with IRS Special Agents we would  work with the FBI, DEA, Homeland Security Agents, or any other Federal Agencies that might need our assistance on information regarding income and taxes.  We also did research on some suspected potential terrorist and terrorist supporting organizations.

I found the job to be very fulfilling but it didn’t leave me very much time to think about my book except  when I took walks on my break during the day.  During one such walk I will never forget what happened to me.  It was the commencement of many strange events that were soon to happen to me, family members, and friends.

I would usually eat a quick lunch at our office and then I would walk the downtown outdoor mall in Fresno.  After walking the mall one day I was only about two blocks away from our building where the mall had ended and vehicle traffic resumed.  I was walking on the sidewalk not paying much attention to the some of the various deserted buildings that I was passing by.  Downtown Fresno like a lot of other cities has suffered from the flight of people to the suburbs.  I didn’t notice any traffic or people on either side of the street nor was I aware of anyone behind or in front of me.  There were small walls obstructing my view of any doors leading out from the building I was walking by until I was actually in front of the entrance.  The walls did present a small alcove where someone could hide from another person’s view and it would be easy to miss them unless you were actually looking for them and I wasn’t looking for anyone to be hiding in wait for me.  My mistake.

Suddenly I heard this extremely loud and angry shouting feminine voice, which was actually more like screaming, coming only a few steps from behind me to my right.  I was quite startled yet I felt impressed not to turn around.  It was like an inner voice had warned me to just keep walking.  Foul four-letter words were spewing out from an unknown woman’s mouth so I thought she must be directing them to another man with her.  I don’t know why I thought that I just did, but I still felt that I shouldn’t turn around to find out.  She was calling him some very disgusting names.  Now, she was only a few feet directly behind me and still screaming vile words of attack.  I quickly concluded that she was following me and there was no other man.  Her hysterical verbal assaults were being directed at me.  I have been around a lot of people who use bad language in my past and I could match them word for word but this woman was about to reach a new level that even shocked me.  She then proceeded to shout she knew how much I wanted to have sex with her and how she was going to mount me and bring me great pleasure.  (Of course her language was much more colorful in wording and sexual description.).  Once I reached a plateau of excitement she explained to me how she was then going to enjoy killing me.  She went into horrid detail about how much delight she was going to have in gutting me straight down my middle and how she was going to rip out my various internal body parts.

This whole sickening tirade had been going on for probably close to thirty seconds when I finally reached the intersection and stopped at the corner.  Only then did I feel led to face her.  I turned quickly around and in front of me was a small woman, maybe in her thirties or early forties, it was hard to tell as she was poorly dressed and in disarray.  I’m around six feet tall and at that time I weighed around 230 pounds.  It would have been no contest for me to physically overpower her however that didn’t even enter my mind as I looked down upon her. A look of fright and panic was evident on her face as I looked into her eyes and she immediately quit screaming.

“God loves you,” was all I said to her.

As she turned away from me she replied, “No, he doesn’t. I’m in torment.”  She then walked away from me to the other side of the street, and I returned to work in shocked disbelief at what had just transpired.

Later I remembered having seen this woman before on the mall talking to people and frightening them but in no way was it even close to the manner in which she had shouted at me.  It was obvious to me that she was disturbed and it was very possible that she had severe mental problems.  Nevertheless, it is my opinion that there was something dark and sinister about her, and it was haunting her.  If she was not possessed then at the very least she was being demonized.

I did not see her again until some months later.  I once saw her sitting at a bus stop and another time I was standing waiting to cross the street to the other side of the outdoor mall when I glanced down at the person next to me.  It was her.  I said nothing to her and she acted like she was unaware of my presence.  I followed some distance behind her as she walked the mall and I prayed in the Spirit for her.

A few months later on the same street only a few yards from where this encounter took place I had another strange occurrence with another woman.  This is when I knew for sure that what was happening to me was of a supernatural nature and I was not just dealing with people with mental problems.  This experience was in one way more shocking than the first, and I will discuss it more in my next posting.

“What is my spirit?’ asked Thomas.  ”And how does it take control of what is supposed to be my spiritual destiny?”

“Your spirit is that part of you that communes with God.  God is spirit, and to understand God and His ways, you need to listen to Him with your spirit.  The spirit innately knows and seeks God continuously.  Your spirit is that little voice inside of you that you can choose to listen to or not.  Are you listening to it, Thomas, or are you trying to drown it out?”

Thomas knoew immediately what the angel was talking about.  His little voice was the one that made him feel guilty every time he left his family to satisfy his need to escape from the pressures of the world.  Everey time he spent a dollar for a drink he felt awash in new guilt. However, Thomas had learned long ago that the more he drank, the less often he heard the voice.  It was always easier the next time not to listen to the voice.

“Sounds like you are talking about my consciene,” answered Thomas.

“Listen to that little voice inside of you and not to the voices of the world.  You will find your spiritual destiny when you surrender your life to God’s voice.”

“Victory through surrender?” asked Thomas with raised eyebrows.

“The choice is yours,” smiled the angel.

The Jesus Tree Ornaments, A Father’s Offering, Chapter 12, page 201.