At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven?" he called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore however humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Tonight Jenna Claire (6) rode in the barrel race and won 2nd place on her pony! She had an amazing run and she was so excited. I couldn't help but think about how proud Jackson would be of her. When she was very small I recall how excited Jackson would get when she was able to accomplish something new. "MOM, Jenna just opened the fridge ALL by herself!!" I mean he was such a great big brother. He would truly be excited saying "Yay sister you did it!" It breaks my heart that Jenna Claire and Jett are being robbed of that kind of support in their big brother.
I used to firmly believe that people in Heaven could not see us here on Earth, nor would they want to. I have been questioning this theory more and more lately, almost on a daily basis. I think I must have placed that belief on Rev 21:4 (my favorite verse in the entire bible) It specifically says there will be no more tears in Heaven. I guess I just assumed that if Jackson could see that he was separated from us it would cause him pain and I know there is NO pain in Heaven.
I don't fully think that way anymore. I think God may give them glimpses of us when it's the good stuff, like Jenna Claire placing in the barrel race. I am not sure of that, but its a feeling I have now. I am reading a book written by an author who works in a Children's hospital and counsels the family's of dying children. She wrote the book to tell of the wonderful faith of those children and the encounters some of them had as their time on earth grew short. One story struck a cord with me. There was boy who had 5 little sisters, he was 10 years old and he was dying of a rare blood disease. He was a wonderful big brother and his little sisters all absolutely adored him. This boy was not afraid to die, his fear was leaving his little sisters. He said he felt his purpose in life was to help guide his little sisters and he was torn about leaving them to go to Heaven. The counselor was paged by the hospital one morning to this child's room. He was very close to death and he wanted to see her. He proceeded to tell her that Jesus had visited him and told him not to be afraid for his sisters, that he would be allowed to guide them from Heaven when needed. This boy drew a picture of he and Jesus looking down on his sisters and that little boy was able to let go and go to Heaven.
Now I don't know what that boy saw, but I guarantee he saw Jesus. There is no peace on Earth like the peace only Christ can give. I have no doubt Jesus Himself told that sweet boy to let go and that his sisters would be taken care of. This particular story of many in this book really got me thinking again about what the people in Heaven see. There are many amazing accounts this woman shares in the book about children seeing angels and talking to them right before death. There is no doubt that those children saw peace, not one of them was afraid for themselves. They were all concerned about the family they were leaving behind.
We have so much to learn, we need to learn it from children. The reason we can't see angels among us is because we are so jaded by what the world tells us we should be able to see. I told Jenna Claire that there are mermaids in the lake we go to because she likes mermaids and its fun story. When we are riding along in the boat we will point and say "Look I just saw one jump out of the water!"She loves the thought of that and she believes that because no one has told her that mermaids are not real. The reason people don't experience the love and peace of Christ is because they are to worried that He won't or can't do what He says He will do. We are to grown up, and that's the problem. I think I'm able to SEE things a little more clear because of my longing to learn anything I can about the place I'm headed. My son is there, and that part of me is there. I know its real because part of me LIVES there. I would feel it in my bones if it were not so. I believe it because I have seen Christ in my despair and let me tell you HE LIVES. We do not serve a dead God, our God is alive and as Jenna Claire sings on a daily basis "He's living on the inside roaring like a lion!" She knows that and Jackson knew it, because they feel him and no one has dared tell them it's a lie. If you don't believe come talk to me, I know Him. We have to resist the temptation to understand everything. We don't need to understand it we need to trust Him and believe Him. When the time comes and I take my very last breath I know where I will be when my eyes open again. I can assure you this is not all there is, and I'll say and AMEN to that any day.
John 20:27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach our your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
Have you read Randy Alcorn's book on Heaven? It's huge. I haven't read the whole thing but know he believes that our loved ones can see us and uses scripture to support his ideas. I don't think it would make our children sad to see us going through hard things.. because they would see the Holy Spirit and the angels that are with us helping us.. and the exceedingly good ending to the story that makes it worth it all. :)
ReplyDelete