Prologue

What goes around comes around,” the humans on Heavenly Daze tell each other, and I have to smile each time I hear this saying. I’ve seen the circle of mortal life spin out so many times—a child is born, he grows to maturity, he ignores the wisdom of his elders and learns through painful mistakes. The young man marries a woman, they bear children who grow to maturity, ignore the wisdom of their parents, and learn through painful mistakes. . . .

No wonder the Father is patient with his human creations.

Greetings from Heavenly Daze, where the Creator has blessed us with an unusually mild winter. I am Gavriel, captain of the company of angels who guard this tiny island in accordance with a believer’s prayer uttered more than two hundred years ago. Together with Micah, Abner, Elezar, Caleb, Yakov, and Zuriel, I minister to the humans who dwell here, serving them as joyfully as I serve the Master of heaven.

Our people talk about heaven as it if were some distant place . . . but it is within speaking distance to those who belong there. More than they know, heaven’s boundaries are but a breath away.

On my last visit to the third heaven I saw the Lord Jesus sitting on a lofty throne before the crystal sea. Hovering around him were mighty seraphim, each with six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with the remaining two they flew. In a great chorus they sang, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” As the twenty-four elders produced music on their harps, the glorious singing of one hundred million angels shook the Temple to its foundations, and smoke filled the entire sanctuary.

I shall never cease to marvel at the holiness and love of God. Because I have spent thousands of years observing humans, I have learned that any man can fashion a philosophy that supposedly rewards good people with an eternal heaven. Only God, however, could devise a plan through which sinners can enter this blessed and holy place.

I left the highest heaven filled with an urgency of purpose. The things the Lord revealed to me there were too momentous to be lightly received, and I know this coming month will forever change the lives of those who dwell on our little island.

God is faithful. Every heartache he meets with comfort, every tear he repays with joy. Life moves in a spiraling circle, and each created being must tread his path with wisdom, which the Lord freely gives to any who would ask.

As the winter winds chafe our island and hearts huddle around the hearth, I hope you’ll join us for another month on the Island of Heavenly Daze.