Wednesday's Winning Words

In really sad news, a dear friend lost her husband to cancer over the weekend.  Normally, I would not have wanted to share it with Justus because it's obviously a very difficult and sad thing to lay on a child.  But Justus prays for "Glenda's husband, Darrel" every night.  During prayers Sunday night, he said it as usual, and I about lost it.  Kidd and I looked at each other and he asked me if I was going to tell him.  After we finished prayers, I did.  He only sought clarification as to whether that meant he was never coming back, which I confirmed.  He was very sad, but did ok.  The discussion was over.  I should know better than to think that, right?

Monday morning, on our way into town for errands, Justus asked me about it again.  Not specifically about Darrel this time, but about heaven and angels.  He asked me why, when we die, we have to go to heaven.  I talked to him about how nobody HAS to go to heaven, but people who believe in God *get* to go to heaven, and become angels.  We talked about how they watch and see everything, and how awesome it must be to live in heaven where nobody hurts or is sick or is poor or starving.  We talked about being reunited with loved ones we've lost before.  He really seemed to get it.  He understood that people on earth are still sad because we miss the person who died, but that we celebrate that they go to heaven and how heaven is the biggest reward we can imagine.

Next thing I know, he says:  "Mommy, I can't wait to go to heaven and be an angel."

Apparently, I oversold it.

On the inside, I feel my heart in my stomach, screaming "NOOOOOOooooo!  I need like 100 more years with you."  Then, he says "But, after 10 days, I will come back to Earth."  Whew!  I inquired as to why and how, to which he replied "because people will miss me.  I will just bounce really high and jump back to the Earth."

Ok, so maybe he doesn't get ALL the mechanics of the whole going to heaven thing.  And that's ok.  Because he's five, and sadly, he will probably have several more times in his life to grapple with the concepts of death and heaven.  Hopefully I will be there each time (maybe except one) to help him.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,

that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16