Just Heavenly

Since November of 2009 when death took Nate out of my daily life, I’ve missed him continually. His picture sits on my desk, and when I look at his smiling face, it’s natural to smile back. Of course we can’t communicate anymore, but I’m just practicing for the future when once again we will.

Heaven is real to me. I believe everything God says, and he says heaven is a specific place. I know Nate has gone there and one day I will, too. When I smile at Nate’s picture, part of my pleasure is in visualizing the togetherness heaven promises. But Nate isn’t the only one in my mental picture. Jesus is, too, supremely so.

I remember watching a video of Erwin Lutzer’s mother on her 103rd birthday. Her husband had passed away several years before, and she longed to go to her heavenly home, too. Someone asked if she was looking forward to being reunited with him. She smiled in acknowledgment but said, “I want to see Jesus.”

During the last 2½ years, I’ve received 9 books about heaven. One was inspired by the experiences of a 4 year old who seems to have briefly visited heaven during a surgery. Because I agreed with the title, “HEAVEN IS FOR REAL,” I was eager to read it. While trying to be mindful that the report was given by a young child, I enjoyed possibility-thinking as I read. What impressed me most was Colton’s attitude. It seemed easy for him to take in all he experienced, at face value. No skepticism. No yes-buts. Just of-courses, and why-nots!

The Bible tells us flat-out that we can learn from children, and Colton taught me, not so much about heaven as about accepting what God says about it without superimposing my own opinion over it. Children are pros at literal thinking so that what they hear is what they believe. Even Jesus pointed this out in his teachings. So maybe we ought to think about heaven like children do.

And what do they think? First and foremost, Jesus is there.

One of my own children, as young as Colton was, made a statement about heaven I’ve never forgotten. Little Louisa came to me, looking concerned. “You’re not going to heaven very soon, are you Mom?”

“No, probably not till I’m really old,” I said.

“Well, when I get to heaven, where should I look for you?” she said.

While thinking about what I should say, she came up with her own answer. “Just be standing next to Jesus. I know I’ll be able to find him real easy, and then I’ll find you, too!”

Colton, Louisa, and Mrs. Lutzer are 3 fine examples of how we’re to think about heaven: it’s a real place, we’ll go there someday, and Jesus will be waiting to greet those of us who believe in him.

Jesus said, “I am coming again to welcome you into my own home, so that you may be where I am.” (John 14:3)

6 thoughts on “Just Heavenly

  1. I love thinking about my REAL HOME, Heaven! Thanks for writing about it. Many songs come to mind, but this little chorus popped up first tonight: “Heaven is a wonderful place, filled with glory and grace; I’m gonna see my Savior’s face, ’cause heaven is a wonderful place — I wanna go there!” 🙂
    “Oh that will be glory for me! …When by His grace I shall look on His face, that will be glory — be glory for me!”

  2. Margaret, someone share this book “Heaven is for Real” while much husband was in the hospital. After I finished reading it there were several things in the book I had planned to share with him. Before I was able to share he went to be with the Lord. My thought was – I don’t have to share he KNOWS! because he is there. Thank God for the HOPE we have. I saw a church bill board the other day that said – A Christian spells heaven – H-O-M-E. So true. This is not my home!
    God Bless you and your family.

  3. There is a little booklet that written many years ago by the wife of the then-president of Multnomah Bible Institute – ‘Mixing Bowl Musings’. Doris Aldrich was the mother of young children at the time, and wrote about spiritual lessons learned through them. She related the story of a conversation about heaven that she had with one of the children. ‘Momma, do you think God will have a bag of candy there?’ ‘I’m sure He will.’ ‘Will it be a big bag of candy?’ Doris says she thought for a minute, and then being confident of God’s abundance, she said, ‘Yes – it will be a big bag of candy.’