Taste of Heaven

Last night I went up to Jackson's Point. It's one of my favourite places on earth. It's a place where my life always sort of fits together. We used to go there as a family and rent a cabin and spend the days building sandcastles, swimming in the lake and playing croquet. Then I worked there, and went to national music camp there and had some amazing times with God in my teen years. So many memories...

I dropped by to see my uncle Ray, who lives in the neighbourhood. He is 86 and has trouble walking around, but his mind is sharp, and he was so happy to see me. He said I'm all grown up and gorgeous (and his eyesight is still good!) He was the youngest in a family of 12 kids (my late grandfather was the second youngest) and now he is the only one still alive. He was saying that as soon as he goes, the whole family will be gone. It was sobering to think of a whole generation of people gone. But that's life. It was also kind of cool to think that a whole new generation is coming up - and will start by coming out of me (ours is the first baby among all my cousins/siblings). Ray was smiley, gracious and kind. I hope I'm like that at 86.

The reason we went to Jackson's was for a concert and the music was beautiful. All kinds of music bless and touch me - gospel, classical, brass band... There was this one piece that reminded me of Heaven, and I got this vision of being up there and seeing some of my friends from Zimbabwe being seated in the best thrones in the place and given a beautiful, plentiful feast of delicious foods. These friends are humble, hard-working, suffering people, and so they were trying to give up their seats, but they just kept being told, "no, this is where you sit - you've earned it." Of course I cried, because it made me so happy to think that one day there will be no more suffering, and one day those who have had the worst lot in life will have the most wonderful celebration for all eternity. A planet where some of us live here in North America and some of us live in Zimbabwe doesn't really make sense. It's too unfair. But maybe it all works out in the end...