not afraid

I recently watched a TV episode where a couple of young doctors sat with an older gentleman as he was dying. It brought up a lot of the emotions that I felt as I sat with my Pa and watched him die. But there were definite differences (besides the fact that one was a TV show and the other was real and personal).

The main difference was this: 

I did not sit in fear as I watched my Pa pass on. I was not afraid of what was going to happen to him or where he was going. I had no doubt that his destination was heaven. And although I don't know exactly what heaven will be like, I'm trusting that God has it all figured out to be beyond our understanding of what amazingness is. My Pa is there. And I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm jealous. I'm going there someday to experience unfathomable amazingness...

I like to picture my Pa on a lake, fishing, plaid shirt and black jeans, and snacking on a roast beef and mayo sandwich. I like to picture him in his earthly joy. But honestly, I'm not sure God allows fishing in heaven. Or mayo! 

But none of that matters. I believe that heaven is full of joy, that deep-down satisfying joy that comes from knowing a Father who loves you so much, that He created heaven for you. And created a way for you to get there, even with all your black spots.

I miss my Pa desperately some days. I'msad for the hole in my family. I'm sad for those who knew him well but don't get to experience him any more. I'm sad for those of you who never got to meet him. You would have adored the man. I'm heartbroken that my kids spent little to no time with him before he passed on to heaven. 

But I'm not sad for my Pa. 

Because:

Heaven is a wonderful place,

Filled with glory and grace,

I wanna see my Savior's face

Because heaven is a wonderful place.

(I wanna go there!)

 

(I hope that gets stuck in your head today because it's a good one!)

KC