My dad is no longer here on Earth with us. He is gone. Gone — almost like he was when I was growing up. He was often away from home on business trips. He was gone. Somewhere else. Well, the same is true now. He has gone somewhere else. Heaven. And when I dwell on that fact, I find great comfort (and a little envy as well)!
When I was growing up, if my dad was in Monterey, California — one of the places he used to travel to for business — I would be able to picture that. I’d been there myself, so I knew what it looked like. If my dad was in Ohio — another place he often went to on business trips — I would have had to find books with pictures and descriptions of the place, because I’d never been there. But I would have been able to get a pretty good idea of what Ohio was like.
My dad is in Heaven. I have never been there. But I do have a book that tells me about it. My Bible. I will admit that a lot of it (the parts about Heaven) are confusing. I think that’s because Heaven is so hard to describe with human words.
But this is what I am confident of: He is present with the Lord.
“So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” (II Corinthians 5:6-8)
He is dwelling in the house of the Lord.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:6)
He is living in complete and perfect health. He will never experience pain again. He will never be sad again. He will never cry again.
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)
My dad is still who he was. Same personality. He is just now in Heaven instead of here with us. So…
He’s busy greeting people with his smile and finding out everything about them. He’s having indescribably happy reunions with family and friends. He’s singing with the Heavenly choir. He’s tending to the gardens. He is playing with the children. He’s learning. He’s running. He’s laughing.
He’s finally seeing himself as God has always known him. And all the layers of regret and the limitations of sin and imperfections are gone! He is worshiping God. He’s in awe of the beauty around him just as he was awed by nature here on Earth. He’s happy! He is complete.
I miss him so much. But as long as I remember where he is and the fact that I will see him again, I can bear the temporary loss of him much easier. And like I already said, I’m a little envious!