Heaven - How Sweet it Is!

If you've known Mike & me for 5 minutes or more, you probably know he was widowed at a very young age before meeting me. His precious first wife died of Osteogenic Sarcoma (bone cancer) 2 years before we met & married. They lived in Houston, Texas & had access to incredible medical staff & facilities & yet, the disease overtook her health & she passed from this world on to heaven.

What I didn't realize is that I would get two in-law families in marrying Mike. Since the very first day, no moment, that I met Mike, I've been the recipient of blessings upon blessings from her. Though I never met her face to face, her legacy long lives in the people who loved her. She loved the Lord & was strong. She was human & didn't want to die so young. She was from a large family who laughed & played hard & enjoyed life all together. She was - & is- one of the reasons heaven is just as sweet as can be to me now! The phrase in a song I know that "heaven gets sweeter & sweeter as the days go by" is so true to me!

Don't know if you've ever been in a position to be told or if anyone has ever shared with you that YOU are an answer to their prayer. Been told they had been praying for someone in their lives & when you entered the picture, it was clear God had sent you there. That's what Mike's parent's told me. After her death, they'd prayed for their son. That he would know love again & marry if that's what God wanted, since he was such a young man. The first thing each of them said when Mike took me home to meet his family, was just that. That I was the answer they'd been praying for. Humbling for sure! Wow! Think about that! Praying to Almighty God & His answer in a person, is you! So, right away, I heard God was in this family & working to restore joy & love again. What a blessing is that? I'm a young woman hearing these words from my soon-to-be in-laws who were thrilled to welcome me into their family! How could I have asked for more?

Then, there was the matter of meeting her family. This had potential to be a completely different story for they had said good-bye to a beloved daughter full of life in every way- except cancer. There were some tears shed upon meeting them. Sweet tears of happiness. You see, they were so incredibly happy for Mike to fall in love, again. They loved him like their own son, for he had loved their daughter. They wanted the very best for him as he continued living his life. So, the blessing of acceptance that her parents poured out for me - with NO hesitaiton- was one of the greates gifts I've ever received. An immediate love & joy came from them. An immediate acknowledgment that I was their answer to prayer for Mike whom they loved so dearly!

That has never changed. Not one time in these 35 years together have I felt they were sorry I came along. Not one time have they ever done anything but love Mike & me. How can we be more blessed? Besides phoning Mike's immediate family & my own to tell them a diagnosis of"breast cancer," was calling her family. You see, they are that close to our hearts & always will be since such a strong bond was built many years ago, a very hard journey was walked together & an unwavering faith shared through thick & thin!

Through all these years, many, many joys have been shared, but there's also been truck loads of tears through the hardships. When you walk with loved ones this long, they completely understand you, & you, them. So comforting to know the Lord's bond will never & could never weaken- can never be broken.

Not one day or minute have I felt jealous or begrudged Mike's deep love for this godly woman & wife. You see, I'm the benefactor in this relationship. His marriage & physical loss helped mold the man whom I met & married. That journey helped make him the man God intended for him to be. He's incredibly equipped to minister to me now because of previous experiences, & I'm grateful!

She makes heaven sweeter to me. I know there's thousands of people I want to find right away when I get to heaven so we can hug & talk. There's people I don't know, yet, but will know soon & we praise God together. But, she in particular, will be found straight-away. I look forward to loving a woman who loved Mike like she did. Who shared her life's journey with him & then had to leave. I can't wait for her to show me around heaven & witness her beauty in the Lord since nothing can hurt her anymore! She's got her new body & is who God meant for her to be. I'll be in the same position, so we'll do a lot of praising & laughing & loving together!

With all the physical beauty of heaven described in the Bible, the most attractive aspect of heaven to me are the people who live there! I'm going to be seeing & loving God, praising Him & sitting at His feet just soaking Him up! I'm gonna understand things I don't get right now. I'm going to be who He wants me to be without sin, sin & more sin getting in the way & messing up my beauty!

Yes, there are golden streets, gates of gigantic pearls & every gem through the city that we can imagine & maybe have never even seen! Beauty beyond what our minds can grasp! But, people, give me the people any day. I hope my mansion is the gathering place, maybe the place to hang out & enjoy, because I can't imagine my mansion empty of people!

Even as a little girl, I always wanted to hear sermons about heaven. Other subjects or issues could come & go, but heaven was always uplifting & encouraging. Heaven gave meaning to the here & now. Heaven has always been sweet but gets sweeter as the days go by! The picture of heaven with the river of life flowing right down the middle of the street is great to me! The fruit & healing of nations, the worship together & no need of light thrill my soul! He's the Light- no need of a lamp or even the sun- for He's the Light! Wow!

Revelation 22: 1-5, "Then the angel showed me the river of life. It was shining like crystal & flowing from the throne of God & of the Lamb down the middle of the street of the city. The tree of life was on each side of the river. It produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month. The leaves of the tree are for the healing of all the nations. Nothing that God judges guilty will be in that city. The throne of God & of the Lamb will be there, & God's servants will worship Him. They will see His face & his name will be written on their foreheads. There will never be night again. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, becasue the Lord God will give them light. And they will rule as Kings forever & ever."

Heaven is sweet to me for there are so many people I love who are already there. She, in particular, makes it's sweeter for me. Praising God together is the sweetest of all.

Blessings!