Heaven Bound

So, the other night Lauren asks me, “Daddy, am I going to die for real someday?”

How do you answer that? I decided to go with the truth. I told her she would. I could see her bottom lip quiver and the fear in her eyes. I told her that we all will die someday. She asked me if she was going to die in the morning, and I laughed gently and told her that when she dies it will be many, many years from now. I told her that she still had a lot of life to live. Some people die early, like in a car wreck or something, but most people live a long, long time.

That made her feel better, until she thought to ask the other question. “Daddy, will you come with me? I don’t want to go by myself.”

Again, the truth.

“When you die, you are going to go be with Jesus, if you accept Him into your heart. And I will be there, too. I promise.”

“But Daddy, I think I want to stay here, because it is fun here.”

“Well, it is a lot more fun up in heaven. What if heaven is better than being here?”

“That would be okay, then.”

“Yes it will.”

She covered her eyes with her hand and started to cry. I thought I had done a good job up to this point soothing her worries. I asked her if she was still concerned about dying. She said that she was.

I took her in my arms and just hugged her because I didn’t know what to say. I called Kimberly into the room because I knew she wouldn’t want to miss the conversation and I needed her wiser-than-my-own advice. Together we talked with Lauren about the process of becoming saved. We told her that there would be a day when she was older when she will know that she is ready to accept Jesus into her heart. She can let us know, we will pray together with her and then she will become saved. And, once that happens, she will always be safe and can know that she is going to heaven to be with Jesus, never to die again. She got really excited and said that she would let us know when she is ready. It was a precious moment.

Last night Lauren asked if she gets to keep her body when she gets to heaven. I told her she would get a new one, like the angels. She informed me that she liked the one that she has now, so she is going to tell Jesus that she wants to keep it. She is also going to tell him she wants to bring her clothes, because she likes them, too. I told her that would be fine. She doesn’t need to know the finer points yet. She then announced that in the morning we needed to grab our biggest suitcase and pack all of our clothes into it because we were going to heaven in the morning (does she know something I don’t?). I reminded her that it is still going to be a long time until we go. She seemed okay with that, but is anxious to get ready.

I hope that when the day comes that she realizes that it isn’t a bag that needs to be packed, but a heart that needs to be cultivated, that she will be just as excited and ready to prepare. I don’t begin to know what heaven will be like, but I earnestly pray that I get to stand in heaven with my daughter and whisper in her ear…

“See, I’m here too…just like I promised! Isn’t it fun?”