"What Heaven Maybe Like: Part 2"

  “What Heaven Maybe Like: Part 2”

BY: Linda Foster

   As you begin your trek up the winding, golden path the sky seems to be just a bit brighter, the air just a tad fresher and on either side of the path are lush green ferns and bright blooming orchards of dazzling purples, yellow, oranges and colors beyond your experience.  The path is wide here and the uphill grade easy to climb.  You find yourself getting lost in the beauty of this wild garden-like setting.  There are even small marble benches dotted here and there beside the path if you want to stop and take in every exotic sight, sound and smell.

       High above you in the tall pine trees you hear larks song and an occasional squirrel crosses your path without fear or trepidation of you.  After turning the third or fourth corner of the spiraling path up the mountain you notice a vague mist just beyond the farthest point of your vision.  From below it could be that cloud you saw before starting your climb.  As you approach the next turn you see an alcove to your right with a large fountain of bubbling cool water.  In the middle is a statue of an eagle at rest so you walk over and admire the beauty and craftsmanship before getting a handful of water to drink.  The taste is like nothing you have ever tasted.  Boldly cool but soothing to your throat.  In some way the water invigorates you and you drink some more.  Strangely this time it has a slightly fruity flavor and you can actually feel it go through your body and refresh and renew your lungs, muscles, heart and lungs.  It’s as if the water contains a special healing property designed specifically for your needs.  The fountain is lined with more marble benches and you take a moment to sit and rest, reflecting on this amazing place.  First the enormous gate of entrance made from one single pearl, the splendid market places, the delicious looking café’s with the rich aroma of hot coffee and fresh baked goods.  The pristine rows of mini-palaces and the roads of agriculture and livestock and now this golden path up this glorious mountain!  It is so beautiful and wonderful in perfection.  The very air you breathe felt different but delightful.  This place was filling all your senses with such fullness and satisfaction you couldn’t recall every being anywhere else.

     It is at this moment a reality you hadn’t considered before rises to the forefront of your mind and a stab of panic strikes your heart. 

"What if I’m dead and this is heaven?” You wonder to yourself. 

The question is followed by a dozen more questions.  Suddenly you desperately look around for someone to tell you where you are and what is happening.  But you are halfway up the mountain and have left what civilization you saw behind hours ago.  You are along.  You have only what you believe to comfort you.  You are too aware and conscience to imagine this as a dream that you will wake up from.  For the first time you are in silence and thoughts of a life elsewhere are all you have.  It is then that your faith, which you had nurtured and tested in Christ, rises to overcome the fear that could have taken you away from this remarkable place.

     Alone but never forsaken.  Heaven was the reward you believed in all of your life.  These two truths sustain you now and you rise to finish your quest up the mountain.  Why?  Because you must.  How?  With renewed strength from the life-giving water you just drank.  What is ahead?  You look behind you with a clear vision of the pristine, beautiful city you have left behind and can only imagine that whatever is ahead must be more glorious and only get better and better.

   TO BE CONTINUED….