Almost Heaven
By Karen Makishima, Director of Ohana Ministries
Someone told me that his spiritual director encouraged him to live on earth as if he lived in heaven. I thought about it and decided that, yes, I want to try that.
I recently had my birthday and thought that this would be a good day to act as if for this one day I was living in heaven while being on earth. I wanted to see and savor all that God had planned for me to enjoy for this one day.
I had my day all planned out. One of my BFF’s picked me up and we drove out to the North Shore. I had a playlist on my phone with music that feeds my soul that we could sing to while driving. We had a banana chia pudding breakfast on Haleiwa Beach––enjoying the sounds of the waves, seeing the colors of the ocean and the sky, smelling the salt in the air, all the while having our feet grounded in the sand.
A hike was next on our agenda at the monastery in Wailua. There were a few gates that we had to enter to get there. I didn’t see any pearls on this gate, and we needed a code to enter (this is definitely not heaven). When we finally made it to the top of the mountain, we saw and savored fruit trees and other plants. My thighs ached as we climbed the hill, and my sweat reminded me that I am not in heaven. We did not see streets of gold, nor did I see angels ascending and descending on a stairway reaching to heaven, but there were moments that felt like we could have been in heaven. The large male peacocks showed their incredible beauty given to them by our Creator, but their constant caaaahhhh caaahhhh was quickly annoying. (Wait, I can’t be annoyed in heaven.) These earthly reminders kept seeping into my heaven day reminding me that I am not fully home yet.
My other BFF who lives on Maui called to say she was going in for surgery for melanoma. I began to tear up. No, this was not a part of my heaven. Cancer was not in my heaven. My mind could not go there. I quickly gave it to Jesus so that I could put my full self back in heaven mode.
Revelation 21:4 reminds us of what heaven will be like: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
On my birthday I had a taste of what this side of heaven is like. It was wonderful but I could not fully experience heaven yet. The sadness and inconvenience I experienced along the way reminded me that I am not fully home yet. But what I tasted was so onolicious! I savored what I could get.
Sometimes when things are just really hard, I remind myself that I have a cloud of witnesses cheering me on. I think about who is in my cloud saying, “You can do it!” I want my dad to be in that cloud and my grandma and my nephews and tons of others. Who is in your cloud of witnesses cheering you on until you finally get home?
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us...”
Prayer: Lord, thank You for giving us a glimpse of what our final home will look like and for the cloud of witnesses who cheer us on while we are here. Help us to keep our eyes on Jesus the author and perfector of our faith. Amen.
Here’s one of the songs on my phone that I hope helps you look forward to what awaits those who put their trust in Jesus: When We All Get To Heaven by Casting Crowns
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