First of all, let's just say I took a week off from blogging. I wish I had a really good reason like I was out saving the world, but I was actually in West Virginia last week for work and really got out of my routine so no posts were written. Today begins a new week though, and so we will start fresh and get back into my routine. I might be starting to sound old with all this "in my routine" talk.
Yesterday at church, the pastor started a new series called, Glimpse. He is going to spend about three weeks talking about Heaven and Hell and what's next for us after we die. In preparation for the series, he mentioned a book entitled, Heaven Is For Real. I had heard about this book before so while I was out of town, I bought it and read it in about two days. It has been on the New York Times Bestseller List for over twenty weeks. It is by Todd Burpo who is a pastor in Nebraska. To give a brief overview of the book - when Todd's son, Colton, was three years old, he became very ill and was hospitalized. He progressively became worse and the doctors were not sure he would even survive, but eventually Colton did get better. In the weeks and months after Colton left the hospital, he began talking about things that happened while he was sick. He spoke of being in Heaven, seeing Jesus, and how being healed when he almost died. Of course his parents were skeptical at first, but as Colton told more stories they were convinced that a three year old could not make any of this up. The book goes on to tell about all the things that Colton experienced and how his story has now affected millions around the world. I do not want to tell too much of the book because I hope that you will take the chance to read it sometime.
Of course many people believe that this is not true and I wanted to read the book myself to see what I thought. Our pastor actually went and interviewed both Todd and Colton and we watched the interview yesterday as part of the sermon. I find it hard to believe that a kid so young could make all of this up and describe things in perfect detail. One of the things I took away from the book was the power of a child-like faith. When Colton describes Heaven, and seeing God, and meeting family members that had passed away - he does so in a very matter of fact kind of way. He does not need to try and explain the how or the why - it just simply was. So many times, we make things so difficult and need an explanation as to why things happen. This need for "big word answers" distracts us from the simplicity of life and seeing it the way children see life.
I also began to think about what happens next after we die. Our pastor said that many times we do not think about Heaven or Hell because we do not know enough about it. I know that many people have various beliefs and views on the afterlife. As a Christian, I do believe that I will go to Heaven when I die and yesterday I thought a lot about what that will be like. It will be a place of perfection, a place to fully see God and understand the depth of His love, and it will also be a time that I can see those people in my life that have made it there before me. These thoughts do change my perspective on life here and what happens next. Reading Heaven is For Real was an encouraging time for me. Whether or not this story is true is not for me to say - but why couldn't it be true? It definitely has sparked a conversation around the world about Heaven and what it is like and I think that's a good thing. I would encourage everyone to read it for themselves and see what you think!
Today I am grateful for: 1. A fun, productive weekend 2. Getting to hang out with family and friends Saturday night (while eating Mexican food!) 3. A great church service yesterday 4. Being very encouraged about what happens after we die 5. A day off today to hopefully be productive!
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