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Angela and Ryan walked down the seven steps of the Great Hall to the street named Gilead, where they turned left and continued on wide, golden walkways. They passed other holy people, walking in couples or groups, who always stopped to speak to Angela and were excited to meet and welcome Ryan into heaven.
“I can’t stop smiling, Angela, and this feeling reminds me of how my face felt during sleepovers with my buddies on earth. We would start telling jokes or silly stories and we would laugh so hard and for so long that our faces would ache,” Ryan said. “But here I can’t stop smiling and it just feels good!”
At the corner of Gilead and Matthew, I saw the two holy kids turn right and enter a park, and I listened to them. They walked halfway across a stone footbridge and stopped to look around. Beneath them flowed a clear stream of water.
“There is more water in heaven than I ever thought there would be,” Ryan said.
“Heaven has lots of water, Ryan,” Angela began, “and this one, like the Crystal Sea, is perfect for swimming, cooking, fishing, or drinking.”
Ryan and Angela looked all around the park and could see holy kids picnicking with other holy people by the pure-white shore. Some were building huge sand castles or digging tunnels that weren’t caving in. Others were swimming, wings and all!
They could see holy kids feeding geese by hand and others holding kittens and baby ducks in their laps and petting them. Beyond the pond was a great pasture with horses, tigers, and other large animals running together. And nearby, lying side-by-side, were mother lions and lambs playing with their young. Long-eared and short-eared bunny rabbits of every color hopped about on grass the most beautiful shade of green. There were blooming flowers everywhere that had not a trace of wilting or decay. The trees were giant-size, some growing in groves, and beneath them in the shade sat a few holy people reading books. Others walked two-by-two in the light, reciting poems about the majesty of God and His kingdom. Lastly, he spotted a holy dad walking beside a stream with a little boy riding piggyback. Ryan smiled and watched them for a moment, remembering the many times his brother had mounted up on his back, and then away they’d go for a wild ride in the backyard.
Angela pointed out across the park to a sports complex that including a running path, a track, and a golf course off to the right, and cut into a hillside were tennis courts, soccer fields, baseball diamonds, and even a football field, which was packed with players and loudly cheering spectators.
“Do they serve hot dogs and nachos,” Ryan asked?
“Yep, sure do,” said Angela smiling.
“And look at those holy kids racing down the hillside on their bikes,” she added. “They’re riding so fast that their wings are pinned back! And flying above them, are other holy kids racing along laughing so hard that they can barely keep up.”
“On those mountain back there you can see the snow skiers coming down the mountainside,” she looked at him, “but there’s no ski lift. You can guess how they get back up the mountain.”
“Oh, they’re using their wings to fly back to the top!”
“And over here,” Angela stepped to the other side of the bridge, “are many mansions that God made for His people.”
“Notice how some homes are grouped closely together, but others are farther apart. When I asked Jesus why those homes were not right beside each other, He said they were for holy people who wanted to live out in the country and have horses or a ranch or a farm. Back there are homes close together with porches or patios.” Angela turned and pointed to her right, “And the homes way over there have flat rooftops with cacti growing in the yards are for holy people who loved earth’s desert lands. And all of these, Ryan, are just a few of heaven’s mansions God has for His people.
“And where do you live, Angela?” asked Ryan.
“On earth I lived in a very small flat, which was like an apartment that had no
yard and no trees. So here I live with family in one of those houses out in the country that have horses and we have fruit trees and a creek that runs in our backyard. How about you, Ryan, where do you want to live?”
“Well, I like lots of trees, too, especially oak trees. I like a big yard where I could have a tire swing and a tree house. And I want to live near Jesus.”
“When you get back from your mission, He will put you in exactly the right spot, Ryan, until your parents arrive. He’s good at that, especially because you came here by yourself. But I want you to remember that anywhere in heaven is the best place of all. Here we live in complete perfection and can go anywhere at any time. Love, kindness and goodness are what heaven is made of. We are safe, cared for, blessed, and kept forever.”
“I can see a lot of incredible places from here on this bridge, including homes, horses, holy kids on bikes, and skis. But what I do not see are eyeglasses, hearing aids, plaster casts on arms or legs, no bumps, bruises, scars, or stitches, and I don’t see a watch or a Band-Aid.”
“Yes, praise God, Ryan. These holy kids play together, all of them healthy, God’s children,” she said turning to look at Ryan. “And you are one of them, now. Because you believed, you are one of us.”
“Come on, Ryan,” Angela said. Then the two crossed the bridge and began walking through a patch of tall trees. Looking up, they could see holy kids climbing high and diving out. Just before they reached the ground, they would take flight and squeal from the thrill.
Ryan began laughing, and then told Angela that he wanted to give it a try.
“It reminded me of the Judge Roy Scream, a roller coaster at Six Flags over Texas,” he said.
Angela pointed to a holy kid who was about to jump and said, “That’s Alex. I sang in the welcoming choir when he arrived here in heaven. When he got his wings, he cried more tears of joy than I’d seen in a long time. It was such a celebration for us all.
“On earth he often parachuted with his father, but one day his chute did not open, and he was badly injured. He spent part of his life in a wheelchair and in a lot of pain. He was very anxious to come up here to be with Jesus. He prayed a lot, and many of us could hear him from the balcony and went to encourage him.
“Finally his time came to join us. Since he’s finished his mission back on earth, he spends lots of time jumping and flying and praising God for making him whole again. Ask him sometime what he thinks of his new eternal home, and he will tell you that being with Jesus is the ultimate healing.”
Angela saw that Alex was out of the tree now, and walking with a couple of holy kids, so she called out to him.
“Alex! Hey, you guys come and meet Ryan, the newest holy kid.”
So Alex and the others came running over, and Angela introduced Ryan to Alex, Jackson, and Lucas.
“We saw you when you got your wings and robe because we were singing in the holy kid choir,” said Alex. “We were part of that group of holy kids who were dodging you when you were figuring out how to begin flying.”
“Ha! Well it’s nice to meet you guys, and your choir sounded really nice. I saw you dive from the tree just now, and I’d like to hang out with you after my mission. And I think it might be fun to dive from the white rocks at the Crystal Lake. Have you done that?”
Jackson answered, “Yep, we’ve done that a couple of times, and the cool thing about diving there is that sometimes there’s a updraft from the lake. No matter how hard we try to dive into the water, the wind blows us straight back up, so we just float there for a while!”
The gang of holy kids all laughed.
Lucan added, “But then we take off on a race out to the snowy mountains and fly around and see how close we can get without knocking off the snow caps.” When you can, you’ve got to go with us, Ryan. “We have so much fun.”
“We’re on our way to Crown Hall for Ryan’s meeting,” said Angela. “So we’ll talk to you guys and make plans later. Bye, and have fun!
Everyone said good-bye.
As they walked away, Ryan said, “Sounds like they have great adventures. On earth that kind of sporting would probably be dangerous and lead to accidents. Thank God we’re here and not still there.”
Angela looked at Ryan with her smile and raised eyebrows and said, “Here, we have no accidents. No mistakes can be made, nothing is bad, and no one can do wrong. We holies are free and live to praise God Almighty. Simply put, Ryan, this is heaven, and there is no evil. There is no reason Christians on earth should fear dying.”
Ryan remembered Angela’s story about Alex and realized that the real story was about God’s love and mercy. After watching the holies jumping and swimming and the animals lying in peace, he was again thankful to be part of it all, here in heaven, where there was truly no fear. With sweet tears welling in his eyes, he looked at Angela and said, “I just had no idea how great it would really be in heaven. I guess I never spent much time thinking about it. This place is so incredible.”
“You want to see incredible, Ryan? I’ll show you incredible. Come on. We’re going to the balcony.”
She grabbed his hand, and they lifted up, flying east across the real estate of Heaven.
They flew over a group of buildings that looked much like a twentieth-century shopping center on earth made of white limestone. There was lots of limestone back in Kansas, where Ryan had lived. In front of the shops ran a small babbling brook, and a lot of tall fruit trees shading benches where families and friends sat talking.
holy kids were gathered around eating what looked like ice cream, only it seemed not to melt or drip everywhere.
“Even though we just ate, that makes my mouth water. I knew there would be ice cream in heaven,” he shouted. Angela laughed.
They saw people coming out of another store with books and Angela said it was a library.
“Hey, Angela,” Ryan said with a breeze in his face, “think I could get a book about flying, and maybe read it, and I could practice back in the park where the kids were diving out of the trees?”
“Sure,” she said laughing. “As soon as you return, we can do lots of stuff. There are many incredible places you haven’t seen yet, and, really, there are places I haven’t seen yet. Alex can teach you how to dive.”
“I can hardly wait,” Ryan replied. “Have you been here a long time?”
“Time is not really something kept up with here in heaven, but by earth-time, I’ve been here about two hundred years,” she replied.
“Two hundred years! No wonder you fly so well,” Ryan exclaimed.
“You are flying pretty well yourself, and practice is what makes perfect. Your new body is so fast and powerful that it won’t take long to understand and control it, but your strength could surprise you.” Angela laughed again. “But for now,” she finished, “let’s buzz by the balcony and then get on to Crown Hall. We don’t want to keep our Savior waiting!”