Look For Me

The house we first lived in when we moved to Kansas City had a formal dining room with a huge window that almost filled one whole wall from floor to ceiling. It was beautiful, but it was also a bear to keep clean with three little kiddos in the house. It's funny how much your perspective changes as you age ... if I could do it again, I'd treasure every little fingerprint I ever removed from that window. My children were young when we first came here to live ... Matt was five; Brad was three; and Meg was a little over a year old. Occasionally, I would run errands alone and leave the three of them at home with their dad ... not often, but once in a while I simply needed to get out of the house and have a bit of time to myself. And many, many times when I returned and pulled into the driveway and pushed the button to open the garage door, I would see three little faces pressed against the dining room window, waiting and watching for me to come home. The minute they saw my van, they would clap their tiny hands, jump up and down, and shout, "Mommie's home! Mommie's home!"

I'm not sure why, but for the last month or so, I've been sort of captivated by old Southern gospel music and have even downloaded several CDs onto my iPod. Many of you may be too young to recognize the names of groups such as The Happy Goodman Family, The Oak Ridge Boys, The Blackwood Brothers, The Gaither Vocal Band or The Cathedral Quartet, but trust me ... those groups could flat out sing an old gospel song. My mom loved to watch the Gaither Homecoming series on video (musical reunions of sorts of some of those old timer vocalists), and last night I spent a couple of hours watching some clips from those videos on YouTube. It's one thing to listen to music playing in your ears, but it really got to me last night ... perhaps because I had already had such a weepy day ... to watch those older folks as they sang, most with tears streaming down their faces and many of whom have now passed away.

It struck me last night as I watched and listened to song after song just how many of their songs were about heaven. And I couldn't help but think about the heavenly choir that is singing praises to God ... a choir filled not only with those famous voices, but with voices from simple folks like my dad, too. What incredible music they must be making together ... what incredible music. I've said before in this blog that I think more about heaven now than I ever have, and as I watched the older folks sing last night, I could sense their understanding that heaven wasn't far away for them. There was no fear or trepidation in them, but rather anticipation and hope for the time they would see their Lord face to face.

As I readied myself for bed last night, one song in particular was stuck in my head ... a song titled Look For Me by The Happy Goodman Family. It's a song about heaven ... a song about looking for those you loved here on earth when you get to heaven. Snuggling into my bed next to my sleepy dogs, I couldn't help but think about my old dining room window and my kids as they watched and waited for me to come home ... their noses pressed against the window, their eyes dancing with excitement when they saw me. The odds are good that I will go to heaven before my children and grandchildren, just as my parents have preceded me in the transition from this life to the eternal. As my eyes grew heavy with sleep, I thought about heaven and wondered if there might be a big dining room window ... a window where I can watch and wait, a window where those I love are watching and waiting for me. 

"You may look for me, for I'll be there,
I'll be there, I'll be there!
You may look for me, for I'll be there!
Glory to His Name!"