Heading to Heaven

October 1st
Really? October 1st.  I thought we had at least another week of September.  At this rate I am sure to make heaven before 2013.
My husband was helping to launch our 3 year old grandson and me out for a kayak ride, when our grandson looked at my husband and asked, "Pop, are you old?"  A quick and proud reply of "Yes, I am!" came forth.  The next honest inquiry..."Will you be in heaven soon?"  An upbeat answer of "I certainly hope so." was taken in stride.

Paddling off in our kayak, this little one who loves construction equipment informed me that in heaven they are going to have excavators, build dozers, and front end loaders.  I told him the Bible says there will be streets of gold.

Snuggling down for a story at bedtime this inquisitive child (who is going to do great things for the Lord) brought up heaven again.  "Mama Boo, I don't want to go to heaven.  I just want to stay here."
Hoping to sooth this precious one, who is not fond of nap time or bedtime,  I assured him that most likely he wouldn't be going anytime soon, but I did want him to know some good things about heaven that I thought he would enjoy.  One, that it is never dark there, so he will not have to take naps or be told to go to bed.  Also, I asked him if he had ever met any mean people/children.  An affirmative, "yes" came from those little lips.  The next question was if anyone had ever made him sad or made him cry.  I gave him the good news that there are "no tears" in heaven.  Those were good pondering points on which to fall asleep.

Looking back on September, life on this earth has ceased for the man who lived next door to my husband growing up. I believe he was 88.  Yesterday, we learned the husband of the "girl next door" on the other side of my in laws, dropped dead in his driveway at 61 years old.  A young thirty something mother of four and breast cancer survivor, delivered that fourth child and had a hysterectomy  following the delivery.  Four days later she was dead from a blood clot.  And families, who were visiting the lake this summer and lost a 12 year old and another a 6 year old to drownings, must still be in deep grief.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every action under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Our son and daughter in law are doing an awesome parenting job by talking to their children about heaven as a part of life. This little fellow most likely doesn't want to go off to college and have to live in a dorm with strangers at this point in his life either, but a time will most likely come when he longs for the opportunity. Likewise, if we are educated well in the ways of the Lord and his love for us, and if we are in tune with the Holy Spirit's actions in our lives;  a time will come when we long for our heavenly home.

Randy Alcorn's books "Heaven" and "Heaven for Kids" are excellent family reads on this topic.  Personally, I hope you all are rejoicing when I get to go there!  :)
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An add on!
"Know it!"
Opening my email, there was a devotional from James MacDonald.  I thought,"Oh, I do hope people do not think I am arrogant, because I am sure I am going to heaven."
 

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.  -1 John 5:13-15 The apostle John didn’t leave us guessing. “Hey John, why did you write this letter?” Read his answer above again. “ I write these things . . .  so that you may know that you have eternal life.”   You can know it. People say, “I think it’s kind of arrogant when people claim they know they’re going to heaven.” No, it’s not arrogant. It’s biblical. If God wants you to know, it’s okay to know. So the Holy Spirit inspired John to write so “that you may know that you have eternal life.”