Heaven is Everything

Sometimes I wonder how many times my dad said the following words to me ... "Your word is your bond; never break a promise or go back on your word. If you say you'll do something, do it. If you say you'll be somewhere, be there. If you say you'll give something, give it. Always keep your promises ... your word is your bond." So this afternoon, I went to visit a certain resident at the retirement home because I told my friend who works there that I would. I didn't want to go today ... I didn't want to leave my house ... I didn't want to interact with anyone. But I said I would go this weekend, and the weekend was almost over. So I went to see the sweet little 100-year-old lady I wrote about a few weeks ago ... you remember her ... the lady who quoted verse after verse to me from God's Word.

She was in her bed when I entered her room, and at first I thought she was asleep. But as I stood there trying to decide what to do, she opened her eyes and said, "Well, hello there." I sat in her wheelchair by the side of her bed and asked how she was doing, and when I finally looked at my watch, I realized I had been chatting with her for an hour and a half. She began our conversation by talking about growing up on a farm, and I told her about spending time on my sister's farm when I was in Tennessee a week or so ago. She talked about riding horses and told me she preferred riding with a saddle than without, which made me laugh out loud. And then all of a sudden, she abruptly changed the subject and said, "You know ... heaven is everything."

Thinking perhaps I had misunderstood her, I asked her to repeat what she had said, and she replied, "Heaven is everything. Everything you could ever imagine. I think Jesus is a young man in heaven, and I think God is an older fellow. I don't think much about the streets of gold and those kinds of things, but I do think about Jesus. And I think there will be horses in heaven because the Bible says that Jesus will come back riding on a white horse. There's a Bible in my bottom drawer there if you want to read about it. You'll find it in the book of Revelation. I think if I knew this was my last day on earth, I would want to spend every minute of it in the Bible. We need to dig into it, like digging into dirt with a shovel." I'm sure my mouth was hanging open as I listened to this dear saint talk about heaven and God's Word. When I finally spoke, I said, "I think about heaven a lot more than I used to ... and I wonder about it a lot ... what it will be like there ... if we'll know each other ... if there will be animals there ... how incredible it will be to see Jesus ... yep, I think about heaven a lot more than I used to." Listening intently to me as I spoke, the sweet lady patted my hand and said, "That's because you're closer to being there than you were before."

Yesterday when I was at Walmart, I bought the book Heaven is for Real. I'm sure that many of you have read it or at least know the story ... if you haven't, you should. I laid on my couch last night and read the whole book, completely fascinated with some of the details the little boy related about his view of heaven. Only God knows if the little guy's story is true or not, but I know that I was deeply touched by the simplicity of his belief in a real and literal heaven. The thing that struck me most about the book, however, was the overwhelming message of the love of Jesus for little children and those who believe in Him. First the book last night and then my friend at the retirement home today ... God definitely has me thinking about heaven in a big way.

God has a way of putting the icing on the cake when He has a truth that He wants to be sure I understand. As I walked toward the exit of the retirement facility, I noticed a woman sitting on the couch near the door. I've seen her sitting on that couch every single time I've gone to help with Bingo ... she's there when I come in, and she's there when I leave. In fact, I asked my friend who works there about the woman last Thursday night ... I asked if she always sat by the door and my friend said that she did. I always say hello to her, and she always greets me in return but I've never stopped and talked to her. But today, I noticed that she was reading her Bible, so I stopped and asked what she was reading. Forty-five minutes later, I told her I had to go home ... I bet you can't guess what she talked about ... yep, she talked about heaven. Somehow I don't think it was coincidence at all that in less than 24 hours, God had chosen three times to cause me to ponder the reality of heaven. I also don't think it was coincidence that as I stooped to shake her hand and tell her my name, she looked deep into my eyes and said, "This Book can heal you, you know, if you dig into it."

I managed to get in my car before the sobbing came, and I'm not sure how long I sat in the parking lot crying my heart out and talking to God with my hands gripping the steering wheel. Tonight, I can't get heaven off my mind, and I've spent a good part of the evening reading my Bible. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday, I think, friends ... not a bad way at all.