Angel Almara, what is this place?” Joyce asked in her most inquisitive thought-voice.
“You are in the womb of your Earth-mother, Joyce,” Angel Almara gently explained to the pre-born. “This is the place where your Earth-body will grow into being an infant.”
“Hey, what happened to the rest of my identity?” she asked, wondering what was going on with herself. She felt different, a strange but good different she couldn’t explain.
“Oh, so you noticed did you, little one?” asked Almara, smiling at the precociousness of the pre-born. “Once you leave the Heavenly-realm and enter the in-between place, the womb, you have a new identity. Your spirit, the very essence of who you are, enters into the seed of your Earth-mother and Earth-father. In the womb, you begin to acquire your Earth-identity,” explained the angel.
“Oh,” Joyce said tentatively. “Am I wearing clothes yet?” she asked, remembering this word from when she observed her (what were the words again?) birth family.
They had those skin-coverings over their spirits just as Adam and Eve had when they were first created on the Earth. These coverings were their protection from the elements of the Earth—heat, cold, and other things they would encounter as humans. They also wore clothes over their skin so they wouldn’t be naked in front of each other. Joyce already had an eye for nice clothing and couldn’t wait until it was her turn to wear these things!
As pre-born spirits, Joyce and the others discovered during their training classes on Earth that they could see straight through a person’s exterior to their interior. Many times, what they saw frightened them. They could see either the dark or the light side of a person’s spirit. Even while in Heaven awaiting their assignments, they often saw darkness in the spirits of other pre-borns, which was very frightening. Almighty God tended to separate dark spirits from light spirits quickly so no tainting would occur before their Earth assignments.
Because the pre-born spirits were able to see those who had gone on before them, they knew that many of the same ones they played with in Heaven would become their parents, grandparents, and other important people in their lives on the Earth. Many of the same ones they had cavorted with had already returned after their season on the Earth. Oh what great stories the returnees had to tell when they came back to Heaven! They had amazing adventures! That’s what Joyce was looking forward to—her own amazing adventures!
Joyce remembered seeing her Earth-mother’s spirit. At the time, she thought the woman had a wonderful spirit. She also saw the covering over her spirit, her skin. It was warm, brown, smooth, and very rich-looking. She noticed she also had pretty hair covering the top of her head. Joyce knew she would eventually have the same skin, hair, and coloring. She mostly remembered the beautiful clothing the woman wore. She was a very nice-looking Earth-mother. Joyce knew they would have fun together.
When Joyce observed her Earth-father’s spirit by contrast, it was the exact opposite. His spirit was dark, dead-looking. She didn’t like what she saw when she looked into his spirit. Although he had a very handsome face, he was not very nice at all inside. Joyce shuddered, hoping she would not have to spend much time with that one.
“No, Joyce, you are not wearing clothes yet,” Almara explained. “But skin now covers your essence.”
Before the angel could explain any further, Joyce exclaimed, “Angel Almara, what’s happening? I feel … hey, I can feel things—funny. Yes, that’s it. I feel strange, weird, funny.”
Pre-born Joyce’s essence took on more of a definite shape as her body transformed within the womb.
“You’ve just experienced your first growth spurt, Joyce,” Angel Almara explained. Watching in amazement, the angel considered the work of the Creator in this pre-born infant he was in charge of.
Joyce floated in awe in this new place. Since she had never been enclosed in anything as a spirit, she found this feeling of closeness … well, kind of comforting. And she liked it. As her body grew and changed, she felt more than she had ever experienced before. As she experienced these new feelings and changes, she became more excited, knowing she would start her adventures soon. Then she noticed she had company.
“Angel Almara,” Pre-born Joyce mind-whispered. “What’s that? What’s in here with me?” she questioned. She was aware that she was not alone in this place, this womb. She felt the presence of another like her.
“It’s not a what but a who, Joyce. Meet Jeffrey, your twin brother,” Almara explained.
“Twin? What’s a ‘twin?’” she asked, words tripping from her mind faster than the angel could answer. “A twin brother? Am I going to be his brother, too?”
“No,” laughed Almara. “You are his sister. You are a girl and Jeffrey is a boy. A twin is someone who shares the same womb with you until your birth on Earth. You will have the same birth date and share similar looks, qualities, and characteristics. Joyce, say hello to your brother, Jeffrey,” Angel Almara instructed.
“Hi, Jeffrey,” Joyce greeted joyfully, wondering who this spirit was going to be. But it didn’t matter because … she had a twin!
“Hi, Joyce. I’ve heard a lot about you. My angel Kalem has told me all about your adventures. I look forward to growing with you,” Jeffrey piped in.
As Jeffrey ended his greeting, something shifted in the womb. Each of the pre-borns felt a change, a transformation happen inside of and around them. Neither knew what it was.
“Another growth spurt,” consulted the angels as they observed the shape changes of their two charges. The angels watched in awe as the pre-borns’ heads became more head-like and limbs extended from their bodies.
“Unnhh,” said Joyce. “What’s going on? Am I stretching?” she wondered. The changes weren’t scary but sure were strange as both Joyce and Jeffrey floated on the wave of change in their enclosed chamber.
“Wow. What’s happening to me?” wondered Jeffrey in his mind. “I feel heavier.”
Almara caught the thoughts from the twins. “Yes, Joyce, you are stretching and growing. You are becoming more of an infant in your mother’s womb. And yes, Jeffrey, you both are heavier because you now have bodies. Your bodies are gaining weight for entry into the Earth,” the angel explained.
Having been weightless their entire existence, being heavy was not something either of the twins had given much thought to. But here they were, heavy in comparison to their former states. They were starting to become … babies! What an adventure!
Although they couldn’t see each other yet, the twins could feel each other. Apprehensive and very excited, they touched the other’s body in comfort, knowing they were in this Earthbound thing together.
“Jeffrey, what do you think our parents will be like?” Joyce asked in a mind-voice that was changing from rich in timber and confidence to little-girlish and slightly frightened. “I remember seeing this woman, our mother. She was very pretty. She seemed nice and kind. Did you see her?”
“Yes, I did,” said Jeffrey, voice also changing. His mind-voice was changing from the deepness it had carried since creation to a high-pitched, little boy voice. “And I saw the man, our father as well. I didn’t like him as much as I liked our mother. His spirit was dark, not light like hers and ours. He scared me,” Jeffrey confided to his sister with a shudder.
“Yes, I remember him, too,” returned Joyce. “He was nice-looking enough, but he seemed, I don’t know, cruel.”
“Joyce, Jeffrey,” interjected Kalem, “prepare for another growth spurt right about … NOW!”
At that moment, both twins felt something strange happening to their new bodies. Those things that would be their hands and feet had something interesting growing out of them—fingers and toes. These new appendages automatically wiggled as though they had minds of their own. Now the twins could touch (instead of head-butt) each other with something other than the stumps that had first grown out of their bodies. They didn’t understand everything they experienced but knew they were becoming larger in their mother’s womb.
“It’s getting crowded in here,” they both thought at the same time. As they realized what had just occurred, they giggled as only children can. Already speaking and feeling the same things, the twins were very excited about being together.
“Children,” said Almara, “there are a few more things we have to go over before you are ready to leave the Womb-realm and enter the Earth-realm.”
Giggling and excited, Jeffrey and Joyce tried their best to focus their attention on what the angels were saying. Although they were not having very good success with focusing, they were having fun!