Category Archives: Heaven

A Happy Home Life

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Some children grow up without a traditional home, but most of us lived at one address for several years at a stretch, moving only a handful of times while growing up. We were fed, cared for, kept clean and given proper rest in those homes, and we were loved.

Moving away from home can be traumatic for children and adults alike. But the bottom line is not about where but who. If family relationships are grounded in love, a move with the right people is all it takes to calm us.

Linnea and Adam arrived in Michigan this week bringing a home along with them, a motor home. Their borrowed RV made the 1200 mile journey part of their family vacation fun, especially for 3 year old Skylar and 18 month old Micah. This mini-home had everything needed to cover the miles without leaving home: a refrigerator, stove, bathroom, table and benches, couch, cabinets, microwave, shower, even a queen size bed.

And as excited as Skylar was to give me a tour of their home-on-wheels, her most important point was letting me know where Daddy sat to do the driving and what Mommy did in the back. Nice as it was, without those two, it wouldn’t have been a home at all.

Maya Angelou said, “The ache for home lives in all of us,” a good way to describe the desire each of us has to belong to a group bound together by love. I think it even goes deeper than that. All of us want to be accepted as we are, in an environment where no one tries to change us. We want a place to go where the love shown doesn’t depend on our performance like it does when we’re away from home in the work place, in school, in the neighborhood, in certain friendships. We know if there’s a chance for love to be unconditional anyplace, it’ll probably be at home.

Unfortunately, most homes can’t offer that kind of flawless love. We often expect more from each other than can be given, and a perfect home doesn’t exist. Well, that’s not quite true. Those of us who believe in heaven have a perfect home life awaiting us.

I often think of Nate in this regard, not quite sure what phase of heaven or paradise he’s experiencing but quite sure he’s surrounded by unconditional, perfect love. He’s made a big move away from our family home here on earth where love was flawed and is now dwelling in something Jesus labeled “paradise.”

We’ve all heard the expression, “Love begins at home.” That’s literally true. It begins.

Thankfully it doesn’t end there, since disappointments and imperfections are found at every address. Instead we can look forward to an eventual home of loving perfection and complete acceptance. And most importantly, the right Person will be there, ensuring that this place will be the home we’re all aching to find.

And we won’t even need a well-equipped RV to get there.

“They [Old Testament people of faith] were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” (Hebrews 11:16)

Beaching it

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Today the mercury reached for the 100 degree mark on my kitchen thermometer as it did in much of the country. Without AC, my two best options were the basement or the beach. No contest.

Floating in the cool water looking back at the sand dune, I thought about Nate’s last beach visit. In the summer of 2009, just before we learned of his cancer but well into his back pain, Mary and I wondered if we should leave him to go to the beach that day. He was settled in his favorite chair at the cottage, his back resting on an ice pack, with his two favorites next to him: the newspaper and a mug of coffee. “Go ahead,” he said. “I’ll be fine.”

It was a coolish summer day, so Mary and I settled into our low beach chairs away from the water line at the base of the dune. Thirty minutes later, we were surprised to see Nate struggling down the sand, coffee and newspaper in hand. I was delighted and jumped up to get him a chair.

“You came!” I said, knowing the 10 minute uphill hike to the beach must have taken a toll.

He didn’t last long, but I admired the way he wanted to participate, despite substantial pain. Surely the cancer was secretly doing its damage by then, and his misery must have been extreme. Did he sense that day’s beach trip might be his last?

When life gets raw and options narrow, most of us cling to life’s ordinary things. If we suspect death might be coming, we adhere to our regular routine as if that might hold it back. A perfect example was the morning after Nate heard the words “terminal, pancreatic, stage 4, metastasized.” He got up and went to work…. as usual.

If we had even a blurry picture of what awaits us after cancer “wins”, we’d rush to our death beds. It may be psychologically healthy to hold onto our earthly lives, but heavenly-speaking, it’s absurd.

As Nate neared the end, he had one foot in each world. He held onto the commonplace, newspapers (unread), coffee (undrunk) but finally settled into his hospital bed like a beach-lover fits into a comfy beach chair. Peace enveloped him as he gradually curtailed his involvement with the ordinary and committed to the extraordinary.

Today as I looked at that little dune, I found the memory of Nate’s last visit to be sweet and felt deep satisfaction in knowing he’d been moved from the comfort of earth’s regular routine to the glories of eternity.

And it happened as smoothly as slipping into a cool lake on a hot summer day.

“Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.” (Isaiah 57:2)

Holey Living?

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This morning my neighbor showed me her unique key ring: a beach stone with a hole through it. She and her granddaughter collect these holey stones, and their finds have been lavish enough to create a long garland of them above her kitchen sink.

Often we think of holey things as being broken or deficient. For example, when our bones get holey, we have osteoporosis. Holey teeth mean cavities, which can lead to root canals and crowns. A hole-in-the-wall refers to a dingy, unimpressive room or apartment.

Just as often, though, holes can be positive: the holey sponge used to seal my slate floor; the holes in notebook paper used to anchor pages to a 3-ring binder; the holes in board games like Chinese Checkers or Parcheesi; holes in lace, handmade by skilled grandmas; a hole-in-one.

There’s also the category of holey items that were negative at one point but have now become positive, like holey jeans. Once considered ready for the rag bag, expensive jeans wear designer labels these days and are marked by well-placed, professionally cut holes.

Some holey things can’t be seen at all but are significant nonetheless: a hole in someone’s heart (sadness); a hole in my head (irrationality); an ace in the hole (hidden advantage); holes in an argument (unsound reasoning).

Worst of all, I think, would be holes in my thinking about the way to God, an inaccurate analysis of the way to have eternal life in heaven. To be wrong on this would be to suffer severe, never-ending consequences. We don’t want any holes in our thoughts about what comes after death. Happily, God doesn’t leave us guessing. In Scripture he details clearly the route to heaven:

1.  Every one of us does wrong things, which are sins. (Romans 3:23)

2.  Since a perfect God can’t live with sinners or their sins, we’re doomed without a way to get rid of them. (Romans 6:23)

3.  That’s where Jesus comes in, having voluntarily sacrificed his flawless life for our sinful lives. (Romans 5:8)

4.  When we admit we need his forgiveness, God cloaks us in Christ’s righteousness and saves us from eternal death. (Romans 10:13)

And that’s the unholey way to get to heaven.

After we’ve followed these steps, we can begin learning to live a life that is not holey (full-of-holes) but is, instead, holy. Not that it’s easy! But some good starting points are to choose impartiality over judgment, humility over arrogance, and forgiveness over vengeance.

Although none of us can do all of that, all of the time, we can all make an effort in those directions. And when we do, we’ll gain holiness a little bit at a time. And best of all, when we get to heaven we won’t need a key ring or a key to get in, because Jesus himself will open the door.

“What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)