Love a Promise, Not an Emotion
When my boys were 5 and 6 years old, after the successive passing of two acquaintances and our family pet-
S2: Why did they die?
Me: When our bodies grow too tired and weak, our bodies die and we go to Heaven.
S1: Does it hurt?
Me: I don’t think so. We arrive whole and healthy again in Heaven-a place where all things are good, nobody is sick, mean, afraid or hurting. In Heaven, we are with those whom we love and who love us.
S2: Will King Simon get his eye back? Me: Yes, he will have both of his eyes.
S1: Do bad guys go to heaven?
Me: They do. Doing bad things is part of their brokenness and in Heaven, they are no longer broken.
S2: Do we still have to take naps?
Me: Only when we feel like it.
S1: Will you will get there before us?
Me: Typically mommies and daddies go first.
S1: How will we find you?
Me: It will be like when I pick you up from school- you are waiting behind the gate and we just find each other. I will be there. They were satisfied with that. So. Am. I.(This makes me cry each time I consider it) (more…)
A lovely couple, from two doors down, welcomed us to the community with a platter of warm, loving cookies-and have remained consistently kind-hearted, available, and interested. To me, this is both humbling and remarkable. People often present as “friendly” for the sake of the optical but are often simultaneously disinterested and unkind.