Keeping Heaven in Sight

Grieving can be a positive process.

This weekend, for some reason unknown to me, prompted a return to the grieving process for Miss G.  Initially, I thought my girl was getting sick.  She does have some seasonal allergies, and she did have a stuffy nose.  But her eyes didn't have their usual sparkle; her affect was flat.  Her appetite was gone.

She asked D-man to show her where Ethiopia was on the globe.  She said, "Oh, that's were my little Zeritu lives."  Zeritu is G.'s birth mom.  True, Zeritu never raised her daughter, but that really doesn't matter to a little girl's heart.  She misses her mom.  She remembers the good, and has forgotten the negative--- thankfully.  How difficult it must be to love where you are and who you're with, but miss those you've left behind.

It's kinda like dying.

My boys' birth mom is dead.  My youngest saw her die.  He was the one who had to yell for the rest of the family to come, to help. Death, sadness, grief--- it's so much a part of our kids' make up.

But with death, sadness, and grief comes an opportunity to talk about Eternity.  My boys remember their mom reading the Bible to them. They remember her prayers--- the prayers of a dying mother preparing her boys to live on.  Grace says her mom is also a Christian, a woman who regularly prays and attends church.  All of the kids were telling me about how Jesus is going to return to earth and "take us up," and that the "bad people go down."

Now, their theology may be a bit simplified, but their thinking is right on. We talk about the day that they will be united with their mom in heaven. We talk about the day that their will be no more dying, or sickness, or pain, or crying, or starving.  All Christ's children will be together, celebrating and living on.  Every time we have these discussions, their eyes get big and wide--- full of hope.

G. knows her mom is sick.  She cries because sick equals death in Ethiopia.  We pray for her mom twice a day; and we pray that G. will have the opportunity to visit her on this earth when she's older. That makes her smile.  But we also talk about the possibility that visiting in this world may not happen.... that visiting will be up to God... but living together in heaven certainly will happen.  She can count on that.  G. cried a little more, hugging her mom's photo one more time.  Then she turned to the bedroom wall and fell asleep.

She woke up bright-eyed and ready for life the next morning. Talking--- really talking, and then praying, turning life over to the Lord--- makes all the difference to a broken heart.  And I know from my other daughter, the process will continue.  Grief and loss is simply part of my children's reality. Being armed with compassion and the Word of God turns grieve into hope.

...Heaven will be the home of relentless joy.  The greatest joy will be marrying our bridegroom, Jesus Christ. If we love Christ, we long to be with him. The next greatest joy will be reuniting with our departed loved ones... For Christians, death is never the end of a relationship but only an interruption to be followed by glorious reunion.... 


Heaven is the Christian's certain hope, a hope that can and should sustain us through life's darkest hours. But this doesn't happen automatically. We must choose to think about heaven and center our lives around it:  "Set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God's right hand... Let heaven fill your thoughts" (Colossians 3:1-2, NLT)  
                     from Randy Alcorn's Money, Possessions, and Eternity (p. 115)