Yes, it's been a while since I've blogged. It's sad, really. However, I felt like my life was boring and no one wanted to read about it. I realized that while I enjoy people reading my blog, I think I like writing more. So, here goes:
For the first time EVER....I read an entire book in a single afternoon. This was no easy feat with many distractions around me on a beautiful Saturday. However, this book captivated me, mostly because I still grieve very heavily the loss of Grandma. It is encouraging to read about Heaven. And why not? After all, can't we dream about the place we hope for? Through the grieving process, I've heard it said that we shouldn't long for Heaven because our loved ones are there; we should long for it to be with God. While this is a very obvious realization, it occurred to me that it is not that I want to see Grandma more than God one day. It's that my hope in the afterlife gets to include one of my favorite people. I've only known her to be chronically ill. To think that one day I will see her well for the first time is an incredible hope. This is not only encouraging, but it should encourage us to share the Gospel with everyone we love.
What is this book you ask? Why, it's "Heaven is for Real." It's a fabulous true story of a near-death experience of a 4-year-old boy, retold by his dad. Their horrific incident of almost losing their son to appendicitis provided a blessing to many as retold through this book. I don't want to give anything away, but it paints a beautiful, realistic picture of Heaven. It makes it more real than our imaginations could, because the boy actually went there. We all know we ask ourselves these questions: Is there fun in Heaven? What does Jesus look like? Will we recognize each other? What do angels look like? Can we still learn things in Heaven? How old are we in Heaven? Do babies go to Heaven? You know you want to know. And while God has chosen to keep the details private (probably because we can't handle how great it will be), He can and does reveal bits and pieces in His own time and way.
If you know me, I have really odd analogies, but that's because my mind works kind of strangely. Just stay with me. Have you ever found something to be interesting and even exciting, but when you are actually face to face with it, then it becomes a thousand times more special to you? For instance, I like Carrie Underwood. She's one of my favorite singers, and her CD was on repeat in my car for a while. Before long, I tossed the CD aside after wearing it out and thought about giving it a listen every now and then. The time came to go to her concert, and I was listening to that thing like crazy. When actually at the concert, I couldn't have imagined anything in music comparing to her vocal performance. I went around telling people how amazing she sang and how great the concert was. In a similar way, this book renewed my love and amazement with Heaven. By no means am I comparing our eternal fate to a Carrie Underwood concert. What I am saying is that when something becomes more real to you, you can't help but want to share about it and reflect on it. That's what this book did for me.
