A car ride with my 3-year-old niece was an unforgettable moment that made my sister-in-law and me question whether young children might remember past lives.
We were driving along when suddenly my niece yelled for her mom to slow down. She said, “Slow down, I don’t want to be on fire again.” It caught us completely off guard, and my sister-in-law asked her to explain what she meant. And you won’t believe it—she told a story as if she had lived a whole other life before! According to her, she was with her “other mommy,” and they were going really fast in a car when they crashed into another car. Their car caught fire, and she didn’t make it.
At first, we tried to think if she had seen something on TV that inspired such a vivid story. But the way she told it was so matter-of-fact, like it was something she knew for sure. No matter how many times we asked her, she stuck to the same story, never wavering.
A few years later, my youngest son surprised me too. He was just 4 years old when he told me about a time before he was my son. He described a place that sounded like heaven, with a massive castle made of light and glass, and the colors were different from what we have here. He said they didn’t have gray, and everything was so beautiful.
I asked him how he became my son, expecting some cute answer, but he replied seriously, “I asked God if I could be born, and he said yes, so here I am!” He even told me he asked me, and I said YES! YES! YES! That really touched my heart.
Now he’s a high school senior, and he’s still an artistic kid. He draws these amazing fantasy scenes with castles in the clouds and light rays everywhere. He still talks about the colors not being “right,” like the ones he remembers from that special place.
Even though he doesn’t remember much about his “God’s Castle” story now, I’m grateful that there were other people around to hear it too. His memories have left a lasting impression on our lives, making us think about the mysteries of life and the incredible imagination kids have.