Heaven...

I am going to start this post with a little bragging... my husband can sing! Sure he has a nice voice and all, I mean people ask him to sing at weddings, funerals, special programs, etc... all the time. Actually what I am talking about is "SINGING!" You know the kind when you feel the emotion behind the song, singing? Well, he blew me away this morning. I was torn between not paying attention to the message of the song because i was so proud and forgetting to listen close for how he did, because I was listening to the "heart" behind the song. Did that sentence even make sense to anybody but me?

Our pastor has been doing a series of messages on Heaven. Right now Kevin is filling in as our worship leader at church, until we can find someone. He decided to sing one of his favorite songs, sung by one of his favorite singers, David Phelps. The song is called "No More Night." It is a pretty powerful song in itself...it can make you weep just reading the words.

I've heard Kevin sing it many times. Every time it touches my heart...it is beautiful. Today, though, I had my wife radar on. Kevin practiced at home perfect and told me later that he had practiced this morning perfect. However, after a few bars during the service, I could tell something was up. Don't get me wrong, he still sang it beautifully. I could just tell he was working hard at not crying, to the point that he choked up a couple of times.

The minor flub was no big deal, for you could tell it had to do with him keeping his emotions in check. However, wait until I tell you what was the cause of his emotion. He told me after church today, that while he was singing about Heaven, and no more pain, he looked out and there was this young man that goes to our church, singing with him prayerfully. The thing that got him, is that this certain young man is in a wheelchair and can not walk. Here, was an individual, who will never walk and live what we would consider a "normal" life, singing about Heaven. Kevin said, as he was singing on stage watching him, it shook him up... Heaven for this young man represented, something even more special than I can personally imagine.

It got me to thinking...Heaven. What does it represent for me? What do I picture or long for when I think of Heaven? When I was young I liked to think of it as this super duper golden playground, probably because I had a brother who passed away as a baby. When I was in high school, I didn't want to think about it much at all... teenagers tend to believe that nothing "bad" will happen to them until it does and then they just want to be angry! As a young adult, I came to believe it was a place for the very sick to go... to find peace. My Nanny, a few years ago called it "home, and that she was ready to see Jesus!" I like that definition. HOME.

As Kevin was singing and my pastor was preaching, I realized that Heaven is something beautiful. Something we should be longing for, not dreading. There should be no fear, but a true longing for, like our young friend in the wheelchair. All the little problems that surface in day to day life seem insignificant when you think about Heaven. What are we striving for everyday, anyway?

I don't have any deep thoughts today or words of wisdom that will change your life and how you think. All I have today is the testimony of a young man that has suffered a lot in this world, yet finds the time to praise God daily. He lives for HEAVEN!

I am now challenged to, too...

Lord, I truly want to live to glorify you and look forward to that beautiful place you have prepared for me...

Oh, and Lord, I really do hope there is no jealousy in Heaven, among your angels, because MY HUSBAND REALLY CAN SING! :)