I had a glimpse of Heaven this past Sunday. I hadn’t anticipated it, but it just happened. A few weeks ago Brad, my best friend in High School, mentioned that he had caught some of my lessons online and thought about coming up and catching one live. This past Sunday Beth, his wife, had a Sunday off on a week that corresponded with Brad not needing to be in the sound booth where they attend, so they drove over from Jackson for our service. I know some of you were able to meet them.
Afterward, rather than going out to eat, we invited them over for lunch. Going out is great, but it is harder to visit and it isn’t as comfortable as having someone in your home. They came over and after meeting Ladybug, we had a nice meal together as we visited. And though I hadn’t anticipated it, that is where this glimpse of Heaven started.
We finished eating around 1:00 pm and then suddenly, it was almost 8:00 pm. We had sat there and talked for almost seven hours (hmm, an interesting number of hours). I probably did, but I don’t remember looking down at my watch once during that time. In other words, there was not the usual awareness of time that usually accompanies almost everything I do. Time had just flown by and as it started to turn from evening into night, we said a prayer and they drove off toward their home.
What was interesting were those seven hours. The four of us would be talking at times. At other times Brad and I would be reminiscing about this or that from high school or the years we worked together at Michigan International Speedway. Holly and Beth were involved in their own conversation about, I don’t know, because I was so involved with my own. Now and then the four of us would all be talking together about life, kids, or grandkids. Then again conversation would slide back to Brad and I talking as Holly and Beth carried on their own conversation.
But there was one other aspect of this that wove itself through these conversations. It didn’t matter if it was just two of us talking or the group of four. Discussion surrounding Whose we are was the most prominent aspect of the conversation--talking about how great our Heavenly Father is, what He had done in our lives, and different aspects of His word that He inspired men to record for us almost 2000 years ago. The conversation kept returning to our Heavenly Father.
Now, how was this a glimpse of Heaven? We were with others that loved God and time was, well, nonexistent. Seven hours had passed as we talked about the greatness of our Heavenly Father. We talked about struggles and overcoming them. We shared together not only who we were but also Whose we were.
And isn’t that what Heaven will be like, talking about things that are of a spiritual, non-earthly nature as time has no hold on us. I hope you will get some of these glimpses of Heaven on earth, as we look forward to the conversations that will be one day be timeless!
Grateful for the Glimpse,
Randy