Jesus says He’s gone to prepare a place for us (Jn. 14:2-3). Have you thought about what kind of place in heaven He’s preparing specifically for you?
Much to my mother’s chagrin, when I was a girl, I loved blue jeans and climbing trees. I’d shimmy up the trunk of a tall pine the neighborhood boy couldn’t reach without standing on his bicycle. My trees were forts, castles in the clouds, and hot houses for daydreaming.
My arms and legs no longer scale trees or swing from branches. But I still feel the magic when I peek through leafy limbs.
Our kitchen sits over our garage. The Crepe Myrtle growing beside our garage doors spreads its lovely branches in front of a bank of casement windows. When I look out from my kitchen table, my heart smiles. I’m living in a heated and air-conditioned tree house.
I wasn’t thinking about how much I enjoyed the view from trees when we picked out our house plan or when we planted the Crepe Myrtle. But God remembered.
Our round kitchen table, which doubles as my workstation, reminds me of happy times around my grandmother’s kitchen table. Max, my brilliant standard poodle, ties me to Pepper, another lost treasure from my childhood.
Jesus said, “There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am” (John 14:2-3 NLT).
When I recognized how God had restored these long-lost pleasures in my earthly dwelling I got excited. How much more will my heavenly home be filled with special touches that show God’s intimate knowledge of me? What deeper joys await us in heaven?
Seeing how God delights in providing the desires of our heart not only helps us face our own death, but also softens the grief we feel when we lose a loved one.
When our daughter graduated from university she wanted to live in French-speaking Switzerland. A mixture of emotions swirled inside of me when she secured her dream job. I rejoiced with her that her dream was coming true. But, after our final hugs, tears slipped out when she walked through airport security. I didn’t know when I’d see her again.
When we lose a loved one, we grieve. We know how much we’ll miss them. But when we remember they will be living the biggest dream of their lives, we can also rejoice for them.
Heaven will be better than all of our childhood daydreams combined. The landscape will beat any treetop view. And the air will be honeysuckle sweet. For the Bible has promised:
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor. 2:9 NLT).
I share this in memory of my dear friend Susie Browne, who moved to heaven October 1, 2020.
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Cor. 2:9 (NLT) #Hope, #Heaven Click To TweetBlessings,
Resources
For more on how to lose the fear of death you might enjoy this devotional.
Or you may want to read “Good Grief.”
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Ah, yes, Debbie, how sweet it will be! I am old enough now to be far more aware of the little details the Lord has noted in His plans for me. When I was younger I forgot that my timing was not always His, but later saw His timing was always better. One example would be wondering what would lay beyond retirement when that happened almost 4 years ago. But the Lord remembered my joy in writing and though I had no plan for that post-retirement, He did. Learning about a writer’s workshop in CO that would fit nicely at the end of a vacation to WY the summer after retirement was a “God wink”. They required a website be started and several blogs be posted before we arrived. Yikes! I knew NOTHING, but I swallowed and with some help from several people I managed to get that homework down. Now here I am hundreds of blogs later with a book in process and I cannot help but smile about our sweet Lord who remembered the desire of a little farm girl’s heart was to write a book one day!
Hugs,
Pam
Pam, I love that! Your story has me smiling too. I think you’re right that one of the benefits of age can be perspective. Thanks so much for sharing how God has surprised you with the desires of your heart.
This is so beautiful Debbie and God has given me an amazing life so I know heaven will be just incredible! Every year just a day or two before my birthday my irises begin to bloom and the whole front of the house has exploded into beautiful purples, peach, white and rust colored blooms! Those are my favorite flowers and while we haven’t been as successful with other plants and flowers, my beautiful irises always bloom. God is amazing.
Ann, what a lovely picture. I love flowers too. Imagine how sweet and beautiful heaven will be. Thank you for sharing that lovely image. What a special birthday gift!
So beautiful, Debbie! I can sense the Lord’s excitement as He prepares a place for His Bride!! All of our pets will be there to greet us as well, & of
course, friends & family. Every
Birthday reminds me that b/c of
Jesus, we’re one mile closer to
Home. Until then, thankful
for His Joy in the Journey!!
Marilyn, isn’t that a lovely thought, our bridegroom is preparing a place for us, His bride. How wonderful to know our eternity is secure!
This is so good. You made me remember … cry … and smile. Thank you. (I reposted on FB, right after Yvonne Ortega’s article about dealing with the grief of the passing of our last parent.) My husband and I are facing that “someday grief” with our parents, so this was encouraging today.
Thank you, Dawn. It is very hard to let a loved one go. I’m thankful that we can grieve with hope. Blessings to you, dear friend.
Reading His Word gives me great hope and peace. I know His plan is best. He is preparing a home for us.
Amen, Melissa. His word is like rain on parched ground. It refreshes and revitalizes us.
Love your comments on heaven- have thought the same thing- I’m sure I will be near a Magnolia tree. I had one in Cary for 30 years and now here for 18. The way my porch sits, I too have felt like I was in a tree house with all the towering “over 100 year old” trees shading and shielding me. I call “my” tree The Magnolia Airport because of all the variety of birds, that come every day to a feeder with in its branches, all declaring the glory of God with every tweet.
The Magnolia Airport—I like it! Pat, I love watching the birds land in the trees too.
Debbie,
I am so thankful for your wonderful gift of words! That was beautifully written!
I can so relate to the magic of childhood memories and the sweet, tender way that the Lord tweaks our hearts with unexpected joys! No doubt , a sneak preview of greater things to come!
Sending smiles, Kay
Yes, Kay, wonderful “sneak previews of greater things to come!”
This is an uplifting post. And, yes, knowing God prepared a place for my daughter gave great comfort when she went to her true home. Almost nine years later, it still does.
Oh Debbie, I can only imagine. Thanks so much for sharing.
Love this! What a beautiful picture your words paint here! Blessings!
Thank you, Liz. Fun to think about.
Debbie,
you will enjoy reading my post Eternity & be sure to click on my Excerpt link to a brief chapter of my book “I go to prepare a place for you” John 14:2 to read my experience that answers the question you pose to us perfectly.
Jennifer
Thank you, Jennifer. I look forward to reading it.
What a beautiful way to look at this Debbie. I absolutely love it!
Thanks, Ann. Brings me hope.
Debbie, I’m so sorry for the loss of your friend.Though I rejoice with you that she is in heaven, I’m praying for your heart as you process through the pain of missing her.
Thank you for such a beautiful reminder of how far beyond our daydreams heaven will be.
Thank you Jeanne. Blessings to you.
A hopeful and loving message that brings comfort to those of us in mourning. Thinking of you after the loss of your friend, but rejoicing at her new home in Heaven. Like you, Debbie, I was a tree climber and still love trees, whether when on my daily walks, or standing in the shade of those that surround my house. Thanks for sharing this uplifting message.
Katherine, I look forward to strong arms and legs that would enjoy a climb again. I don’t know if we’ll still enjoy climbing trees, but I know heaven will be wonderful.
I’m not sure what heaven will hold for me my friend, but I know it’s where my Lord and Savior is; and that is enough for me. Whatever my mansion, whatever my role, let me be near you Lord. That’s all I ask. God’s blessings for this wonderful moment to dream my friend.
Amen, J.D. I’m sure that will be more than enough. Blessings.
Beautiful, Debbie. I recently had a conversation with a friend on whether our beloved pets will be in heaven. Then, I remembered a Bible study on Revelation our life group completed. The author made his case that animals are all throughout Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. Why would the Lord create them if they were for this world only? And He had Noah save 2 of every species. Even in Revelation it mentions the Lion will lay down with the Lamb in the new Jerusalem.
Either way, I’m thankful heaven will be better than any of our childhood imaginations!
Karen, I feel the same way. I wrote a blog on my musings. Romans 8 says all of creation is groaning waiting for the day of redemption. God obviously cares for the animals more than we do.
“Heaven will be better than all of our childhood daydreams combined.” Amen and such an encouraging truth. Thank you for this reminder!
Thank you, Jed!
I love to ponder the idea that no one can imagine heaven. We know it’s a beautiful, comfortable, happy place, but we can’t conceive of its reality, its detail. So much more than we are capable of imagining.
Nancy, isn’t it fun to know that no matter how creative we think we are in our imagining, it will be better than anything we can dream up?
Thank you for this encouraging post. I recently lost a friend who I know is in heaven. Although I miss him there is great comfort knowing he is with Jesus.
Mary, I’m so sorry for you loss. What a gift it is to know we have a reunion waiting for us.
Oh yes, nothing like knowing someone who moved to Heaven to quicken that part of us that yearns for it! I am so very sorry for your loss. My Dad moved to Heaven 2 years ago and picturing his blue eyes when he opened them to Jesus’s face bring s me such excitement to get Home!
Mariel, the stories some have shared at their loved one’s passing hearten me. I know they see Jesus!
You know my struggle over the last year with Multiple Myeloma, Debbie. When I was getting discouraged at one point, I read Randy Alcorn’s book, “Heaven.” I was filled with such joy, and that joy often brought me to tears. The same thing just happened when I read this post. Happy tears. Thankful to God who loves me tears. 1 Corinthians 2:9 is special to me, as is “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). I remember reading your words about heaven a few years ago… but thank you for this fresh, sweet reminder of one big reason we can anticipate heaven.
Dawn, I listened to his audio book on heaven many years ago and found it inspiring! I know Jesus has prepared the perfect place for each of us. Heaven becomes more inviting as we face our own maladies and say good bye to our loved ones. Praying for your health, joy, and peace.
This is a beautiful post and picture of what is to come with Jesus. I am sorrry to hear about your friend but what a blessing to reflect on what a better place we are going to.
We mourn with hope. That makes all the difference. Thank you, Mary.
Debbie,
I am so sorry for your loss. It is never easy losing someone we love. My prayers are with you.
Lord, Surround Debbie with your undeniable presence as she grieves her friend. Amen
I love pondering what God has in store for us. When I am out in God’s creation, enjoying the beauty, He blessed us with here; I almost always take my thoughts to heaven.
It is going to be spectacular.
Thank you for sharing with Grace & Truth.
Blessings,
Maree
Thank you, Maree. The memorial service was today. And yes, it will be spectacular!