Almost all of us have experienced the death of someone we love. Whether that is a great-grandparent, a grandparent, a parent, a friend or even someone as heart-breaking as our spouse or child. I hope that you are able to have the assurance that you will see them again in heaven. Personally, I have a couple of great-grandmothers that I adored who I look forward to spending an eternity with, as well as my husband's grandmother who died a couple months ago, and a baby cousin who died when I was a child.
And beyond that, it is also a lot of fun to imagine some of the people we might get to meet in heaven. I personally can't wait to meet the Apostle John or Tabitha from Joppa.
My "imagining heaven" short-story for today(read the first of these stories here)is filled with reuniting and interesting characters. I will, however, put a disclaimer on it as I am aware that some of these past imaginings of mine might be contrary to the passage in Mark that says "For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven." But kindly remember that these imaginings of mine were written when I was a teenager, and did not yet know all the things I know now about scripture's teachings on heaven.
Side note: I believe it is important whenever we are reading or hearing something, especially when it pertains to scripture, that we should ourselves go back and test it against scripture. And I expect you all to do the same with anything you read on my blog.
I apologize for the bunny trails, here is another heaven short story for you.
Peter
was in the middle of reading when he was interrupted by a loud noise. This was
a common practice of his, to read as he sat in front of the pearly gates every
day. Today he was greatly enjoying William Shakespeare's "Hamlet." It
was one of his very favorites. It probably would have never made it past the
scribe angels, however, if Jesus himself
didn't have a certain fondness for Shakespeare. Thus Peter was able to
enjoy the writings of a man that had been born hundreds of years after Peter
had died.
The
loud noise that had interrupted his reading of: "To be or not to be," was two young boys trying to do back
flips. Peter sat down his book, and opened one of the pearly doors. There stood
two boys, the one had just flipped but had fallen on his bottom.
"Hello
Andrew, hello Jacob." Peter greeted.
Andrew scrambled
off the ground. "Hello Mr. Peter, sir."
"What are
you two doing, and why are you making so much noise?"
"We are
sorry, sir." Andrew said.
"We were
trying to do back flips. Methuselah showed us how, but we don't quite have it
yet." Jacob piped up.
"Well,"
Peter said. "Let me show you."
With that, he
bent down before springing into the air, and flipping backwards landing
squarely on his feet. Jacob tried next, and also landed on his feet, albeit a
little wobbly.
"Well
done!"
Their little
conversation ended when Peter heard someone approaching from the outside. He excused himself, and went back outside the
gates. A couple was approaching. Peter recognized them as Andrew's parents, but
didn't tell them this. They were not aware that sometimes people in heaven can
see the workings of those on earth.
"Hello,"
he greeted them. "I'm Peter, and welcome to heaven."
"Thank
you." The man said. "I'm Caleb, and this is my wife, Cathy. We are
very excited to be here."
"Well then
I should probably let you in."
"Just like
that?" Cathy asked.
Peter smiled at
her. "Yes, just like that."
When Peter opened the gates, the first thing
Caleb and Cathy saw was their son doing a perfect back flip.
"Andrew!"
Caleb called out.
The boy turned
and when he saw his parents, he ran straight into Cathy's awaiting arms. Cathy and Caleb hugged and kissed their son
in joyful reunion. Meanwhile, Jacob just watched, and Jesus approached quietly, seemingly out of nowhere. He was quiet until Caleb looked his way.
"I see you
have already found your son." Jesus said.
Both Cathy and
Andrew turned at the sound of Jesus' voice. Andrew let go of his mother, and
ran to Jesus. He grabbed his hand and smiled up at him. Jesus warmly returned the smile.
"Mommy,
Daddy, this is Jesus. He taught me how to walk on water!"
Caleb and Cathy
were speechless. They had imagined this moment all their life, but now that it
was actually here, they ran out of words to say. Finally Caleb held out his
hand. Jesus took it, and pulled him into a warm hug. He then hugged Cathy as well.
"I am very
happy you two are here." Jesus said sincerely. "Why don't I show you
around?"
They could only
nod and follow Jesus through the golden streets.
************************
The
apostle John walked slowly through heaven's library. He was looking for
something to read when his eyes fell on a book he hadn't seen before. He looked at it for a moment.
The
Authors name seemed slightly familiar, but he wasn't sure.
"William,"
he cried to the librarian.
William
Tyndale came in from the other room. He was the head Librarian of heaven.
"Yes
John, what is it?"
"What
is this book? I've never seen it before."
"Which
one is that?" William asked as he headed towards John.
"The
Boy from Glenhaven, by Drew Zahn."
"Ah,
yes. You haven't seen that one because it hasn't been published yet. But Jesus
liked it, so He asked me to add it to the library."
"Is
it going to get published?'"
"I
believe God is working on it right now. But you never can tell what He is actually going to do."
"Except
for when He promises."
"Yes
I suppose so." William said.
"So
have you read the book?" John asked.
"I
haven't. But Jesus said it was full of adventure and intrigue, along with weird
creatures. It even has Lucifer in it, although in the book they call him
Gutach."
"Weirder
creatures than Lewis' faun?" John asked
"I
don't know, you'll have to read it yourself."
"Ok,
I will." John plucked the book off the shelf, thanked William, and quietly
left the library, his nose already in the book.
************************
Laughter
floated gently over the lake, and Moses paused his stroll to find the source. A
group of women sat out on the lake on comfortable cushions that didn't get wet
and were very comfortable to sit on. There were five women sitting there:
Tabitha from Joppa, Miriam, who had arrived only a week ago, Yochabed mother
of Moses, Rebecca mother of Israel
"So,
how do you enjoy heaven?" Yochabed asked Miriam.
"It
is lovely. I wish I could have born here and never have left."
"Yes,
but then you would be an angel, and would have some task. Such as choosing
books for heaven, singing to shepherds, or frightening young virgins."
Tabitha said.
They all laughed soundly as Miriam turned to Abigail.
"I
have always wondered something. How does it work in heaven when a man has more
than one wife?"
Abigail
smiled. "Well first of all, there is no jealousy here in heaven, it
doesn't even occur to us."
"I
suppose you're right, just asking that question sounded rather weird to
me." Miriam said.
"And
second of all, Bathsheba and I are the only ones who made it to heaven. We
don't have it near as bad as Solomon's wives."
Again
the women laughed. As they laughed, David himself came striding towards them
over the water. They all looked up and waited silently as he approached.
"Hello
ladies." He greeted them before turning to Abigail. "Would you give
me the pleasure of dancing with you?"
"Of
course."
David
drew Abigail up from her cushion, and began to lead her around on the lake.
Their feet and the bottom of Abigail's dress didn't get wet. Only a slight mist
seemed to surround them, and made Abigail even more pretty in her simple Ruby
dress and necklace. After a few moments, Miriam spoke.
"What
about us?"
David
smiled. "You ladies will just have to wait your turn."
As
he said this, a group of men also headed their way across the lake. There were
four of them coming: Moses, Jacob, or Israel
Moses
danced with his mother, Yochabed. She wore a long light green dress, and pearls
sat on her neck. Jacob danced with his mother as well. As they danced, Jacob
commented favorably on her springy yellow outfit. Martin danced eloquently with
Tabitha, who wore a peach dress that she herself had made. And Barnabas danced with Miriam, who looked
stunning with a pale blue dress and an intricate diamond necklace.
They
danced across the lake, through a meadow of flowers, and right past the flock
of sheep that David liked to play his harp to every now and then.
************************
It
was getting later in the day, And Jesus knew it was time to finish the
tour. He led Caleb, Cathy, and Andrew to
their eternal home. He headed them towards, and stopped in front of a huge
white box.
"What's
this?" Cathy asked.
"That's
for you to decide," Jesus said. "It's your home."
Cathy
looked at him for a minute before turning back to the box. After a moment, the
box began to change and conform until it was two stories high, had a wrap
around porch, and three dormer windows.
"Wow!"
Cathy exclaimed.
Jesus
and Caleb could see her mind working, and just followed her from room to room
inside the house and watched the rooms take place. Before long, the rooms were
painted, there was a fireplace going in the living room with an inviting rug in
front of it, and furniture was popping up all over the place. Every now and
then, one of the furniture pieces would disappear, and another would appear in
its place. Or a piece of furniture would move from one spot to another,
sometimes only a few inches different.
Caleb
turned to Jesus. "Let's hope she likes the bedroom set-up, or who knows
what will happen during the night."
Jesus
laughed. "Hey Cathy," he called. "I think you would like it better
if the couch was a pale yellow instead of bright."
Cathy
walked in from another room. "You're right, that works a lot better."
"And
the wallpaper in the bathroom has larger flowers than you like, they wouldn't
work so well if the room were dim."
"Yes
I see your point, I like that."
Thus
Caleb and Andrew were left in the living room as Jesus and Cathy went from room
to room. Caleb had this hunch that Jesus had known all along what she really
wanted, but had given her the pleasure of creating it herself. Who would have
thought there could be so much free-will in heaven?
What do you dream about when you think of Heaven?
Other Posts in this series:
Imaginings-Heaven part 1
Angels- Heaven part 3
What are You Excited For(Guest Post from Made Beautiful).
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