Soul Tracker

Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN-10: 0310201209
ISBN-13: 978-0310227564

About the Book

Book 1 of the Soul Tracker series

What if you could visit heaven and hell, traveling when and wherever you wish . . . without ever dying?

What if your teenage daughter, the joy of your life, had died a tragic death and you discovered a way to visit her?

What if there were people and beings, on both sides of the grave, who want to stop your return? These are the questions facing novelist David Kauffman. As a single parent he is devastated when his young daughter meets an untimely death. Desperate to contact her, he meets Gita Patekar, a beautiful and committed Christian with a scarred and shame-ridden past. She works for “Life After Life”—an organization dedicated to tracking and recording the experiences of the soul once it leaves the body.

Despite Gita’s warnings that God is opposed to contacting the dead, David uses the organization’s computer to try to find his daughter. In the process they discover Gita’s organization has some very deep and dark secrets. A suspense-filled game of cat and mouse begins—both on earth and beyond the grave—as the couple work together, fall in love, and struggle to expose the truth . . . until they come face to face with the ultimate Love and Truth.

Copyright 2024 Bill Myers

Soul Tracker

The Light’s power threw Gita to the ground. She covered her face, screaming, but she could not hear herself over the thunderous roar: “HOLY! HOLY! HOLY!”

Like the Light, the words had substance, a reality more real than anything she’d ever experienced.

“HOLY IS THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!”

Clenching her eyes, she rolled onto her stomach, keeping her face to the floor, covering her head from the awful Light, the terrible booming voices:

“WHO WAS AND IS AND IS TO COME!”

She didn’t know how she got there or how long she could survive. One minute she was in the tunnel, the next she was before this terrifying Light. But it was more than light. And it was more than reality. Every fact, every figure, every certainty she had ever known was only a shadow of this crushing, overpowering Truth.

“HOLY! HOLY! HOLY!”

Power roared from the Light–smashing against her body, sucking air from her lungs. And yet, as terrified as she was . . . she felt an attraction. A compelling. Though it would destroy her, she was drawn to it. Like thirst, like hunger, like needing to breathe. The compulsion spread through her mind, her body, all that she was. This is what she had pursued her entire life. This Perfection. This Absolute.

“HOLY IS THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!”

It had been her passion, her purpose. And if being destroyed by Its power meant her death, then she would be destroyed.

“WHO WAS AND IS AND IS TO COME!”

Slowly, she pulled her hands from the top of her head. The Light assaulted her with hurricane force. But it was not wind. It was Truth. A Truth she had to see. Experience.

Shaking, eyes closed, barely able to breathe, she used all of her strength to lift her face from the ground.

The Light pummeled her. But she would not look away. She would open her eyes. She would be overwhelmed, she knew that. But overwhelmed by the only thing she had ever desired. Mustering her will, crying out in terror and exertion, she forced them open.

But the Light was too intense. She could not look into It. She could only look to Its outside edges – around It, below It, above It. High overhead, through the blinding glare, she caught glimpses of giant, multi-winged creatures. A lion, an ox. Another was an eagle, another a man. But instead of skin or hair or feathers, each was covered in eyes. Every part of their bodies, eyes. Always watching, always seeing. These were the creatures who continued shouting:

“HOLY! HOLY! HOLY!”

She’d read of them in the Bible — how they surrounded the throne, how they cried out the same phrase over and over again. Secretly, she had always thought their existence to be boring –flying around shouting the same phrase again and again. But as she watched, she realized how wrong she’d been. These were the most privileged of all creation. Not only did they fly closest to the Light and Its Truth, but the words they shouted were anything but mindless repetition. Instead, each shout, each cry of holiness seemed to come from their amazement, from their utter astonishment. For every time they cried, they saw yet another aspect of the Light, another aspect of Its infinite Truth.

“HOLY IS THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!”

Then, as she continued to stare, a most amazing thing happened. Through the brightness, the form of a Man appeared. Before her eyes, a human being condensed out of the Light and walked toward her. She watched in astonishment.

He continued forward, His eyes blazing with the Light, His feet glowing with Its power. But He was human, definitely human. And it was from that humanness that she felt understanding. More than that, she felt . . . compassion. Truth and power were still very present, but they had reshaped themselves into the form of this Man. And in that reshaping, she no longer felt the terror. Now she felt . . . Love. His Love. It wrapped around her, delighted in her. But it was more than that. It . . . adored her. He adored her, He treasured her . . .

“. . . more than His own life.”

Gita’s head reeled. Though the Light blazed and thundered around her, she was safe. As long as she focused on this Love, on this Man, nothing would harm her.

At last He arrived. But His Love, like the Light, was more than she could endure. Suddenly she was weeping. Deep, gut-wrenching sobs. She didn’t know why – maybe the release of so many emotions, maybe the understanding she no longer had to try, that she was loved regardless — whatever the reason, she could not stop sobbing.

She caught a glimpse of movement. Through her tears she saw the Man kneeling. Kneeling to her! Lowering to join her! The action brought even more tears . . . until she felt His hand brush against her hair and touch her cheek.

She stopped breathing.

He moved his hand to her chin and gently raised her head until their eyes met. To her fear and amazement she saw that His eyes burned with flames of the Light. Of the Light’s Passion. Of It’s intense fervor . . . for her. She could not look away from the flames. They bore into her — penetrating into her thoughts, her emotions — until they reached the very center of who she was, the very soul of Gita Patekar.

Once inside, they began to expose all of her darkness — illuminating every hidden deed, every careless word, every disgusting habit, every act of dishonesty, selfishness, meanness — there seemed no end. And not just her deeds. Thoughts were also exposed–secret hatreds, jealousies, lusts, envy, greed. And, though she was terrified at the revealings, though she cringed in embarrassment . . . she felt no condemnation. Not from the Man. Not from His Love. There was only the complete and total exposure by His all-seeing Light.

Finally He removed His hand from under her chin and stretched it out to her. She hesitated, still trembling in fear, still trying to catch her breath. But He waited. Patiently. For as long as it would take.

At last she placed her hand in His.

Gently, He helped her to her feet. Her knees were weak, her legs wobbly, but with His help she was able to stand. Then, ever so tenderly, He pulled her into an embrace. He wrapped His arms around her and, as He held her, she felt His Light soaking into her, from His heart to hers, filling her body, flooding her mind, returning to those same areas of weakness and failure and embarrassment. But this time, as the Light touched those areas, she felt It dissolving them . . . absorbing them.

Removing them . . .

Forever.

Suddenly her darkness was replaced with His Light. Where there had been shadow and failure, there was blinding glory. Where there had been shame and embarrassment, there was only His Presence.

At last they separated. Hot tears again streamed down Gita’s face. And, as she looked up into those compassionate eyes of Fire she saw that they, too, were filled with moisture.

He placed an arm around her shoulder and they turned toward the exit. As they started forward, other creatures she had not noticed, some winged, some not, but all glowing with Light, dropped to their knees when they passed. She knew they were kneeling before Him. But because His arm was around her, she somehow suspected they were also kneeling before . . . them.

As they moved for the steps leading to an outside plaza, a question formed in her mind. But before she could even put it into words, she heard His response: We’re going to warn David – to finish answering your prayer.”