I believe though that people can convince themselves of almost anything. Just as a superstitious person will attribute getting fired to the black cat from earlier in the day, a religious person will praise God if they have a child when the doctors said they couldn't. I feel that people are much stronger than they realize, and that a dramatic turn in their lives does not have to be the work of God. While I'm not trying to imply that people who have personal experiences with God are less than sane, there are many other types of personal experiences. Many people will refuse to walk under a ladder.
Some people claim to have met and even interacted with aliens.
Several people will swear that they have seen Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster. Surely skeptics and people of other religions are not barred forever from heaven. I would bet that many have, and have attributed them to the god that they are most familiar with. I ask Him something and supplicate Him and He answers in words full of power. If this should happen a thousand times, He does not fail to answer.