We're Not Firing on All Cylinders

I have been thinking about Heaven a lot lately.  I’ve been wondering what it will be like, feel like, smell like….What will I do in Heaven?  I suspect it will be something animal-related, maybe tending to critters, playing with them, feeding the penguins fish (yes, please!), maybe organizing Corgi conventions…that sort of thing.  I wonder what each day will bring and whether or not I will spend a lot of time interviewing the great Biblical and historical figures to find out more about their lives.  Will we sleep?  What will we eat?  How will we spend our time and interact with others?  What will it be like to see Jesus face-to-face?  It’s fun to ponder, and I know that my little pea-brain can’t possibly fathom what is in store.  But I’m looking forward to it.  For one thing, my knees won’t creak and pop in Heaven.  That’s a total bonus.

I might have one little analogy that helps you to think about Heaven (I’m an analogy girl; must be the literary nerd in me).  My paternal grandfather is in his late 80’s.  He is a kind, gentle, funny man who is honest and whip-smart.  I love hearing stories about his life because I feel that I have much to learn from him.  When he was in his 60’s he had to have a surgery to fix a deviated septum in his nose.  Over dinner one night he told the story of his surgery and said, “I didn’t even know that I had a deviated septum.  When I finally healed I realized that breathing is a whole lot easier.  I thought everyone experienced breathing the way I did, but after that surgery I realized I had been struggling to breathe my whole life!”

                                                                                                              
This story struck me because my grandfather spent over 60 years of his life having to work hard to breathe through his nose.  For over half of his life he didn’t realize that breathing was much easier than he realized.  So for over 60 years this hard-working Kentucky bluegrass farmer probably had a much more difficult time in the heat and exertion of farm life.  But then he got to experience breathing in a whole new way:  easier, more effective, simply better.

The more I thought about this story, the more I began to equate it with Heaven.  Here on earth we humans are living in a land that we don’t belong in.  Our true home is with God, but while we are here on earth we have work to do.  Our eyes probably don’t see as perfectly as they were designed to see.  Our taste buds are perhaps not fully appreciating the foods we eat.  Our brains might not be processing information as quickly as they could.  And our hearts might not experience emotions with the purity that God intended.  For all we know, breathing is even harder here on earth. 

So, when you wake up and feel your knees creak or your body groan, take heart that down here life can be a challenge, but in Heaven we will be running on all cylinders just as we were designed.