Knowing What I Know About Heaven
Colossians 3:2 (NIV)
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
[This is the 5th devotion in a series of twelve songs that have impacted us during our grief journey]
When you think of Heaven what do you imagine? Stop for a moment and imagine it in your mind. What did you see, smell, or feel? The more that you know about Heaven changes the way that you grieve. The song Knowing What I Know About Heaven reminds us that we do not grieve in the same way as those without faith. Our faith provides hope.
I bet the trumpets played and the angels sang
Every sweet refrain of amazing grace
And that heaven’s hands opened up the gate
And the children danced when they saw your face
As happy as they were to see you coming
I was just as sad to have to watch you go oh but
Knowing what I know about heaven
Believing that your all the way home
Knowing that you're somewhere better
Is all I need to let you go
He is in a better place. Those words are easy to say but difficult to embrace on the hardest days. We know in our minds that Heaven is a better place yet our hearts ache because of our separation. My mind would fantasize what it would be like if my son was still here. After the shock of his loss came the reality of the permanency of our new situation. We dedicated ourselves to learning as much as we could about Heaven. The more that we learned about Heaven, the more our minds started to imagine what Bryce’s current reality is. If you imagine Heaven as a place with harps, halos, and clouds I would encourage you to dig deeper into what the Bible says about Heaven.
I could hope that I could pray you back
But why on earth would I do that
When your somewhere life and love never ends
Knowing what I know about heaven
Where every single voice makes a joyful noise
How sweet the sound when the saints rejoice
To every broken heart and every wounded soul
New life begins on streets of gold
Where every tear is raining here from my eyes
I know the sun is shining where you are
But Knowing what I know about heaven
Believing that your all the way home
Knowing that you're somewhere better
Is all I need to let you go
Our hearts long for reunion but that will come with time. Until that day, Bryce will be exploring, worshiping, and standing in awe in a place that we can’t fully comprehend. He is able to be in the presence of God. We can communicate with God through prayer. The line between Heaven and Earth may be thinner than we have ever imagined. On the day Bryce died, he was instantly ushered into the presence of God. His last breath on Earth was followed by his first breath in Heaven. He is living, We are living. Separate lives connected by the same God. It is easier to let someone go when you realize that they are closer than you could ever imagine.
