Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, unto an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you, (1Pet 1:3-4)
We moved to Illinois in 1975 and stayed for two years. It was this Florida girl's introduction to snow, icicles, and blizzards, and we are not talking Dairy Queen. We lived 100 miles south of Chicago in flat corn country. Yes, it did get warm in the middle of summer, for a few days until the heat wave "broke," which no matter how hot it was still cannot hold a candle to 5 months of Florida summer. But we also had our first frost in September and snow on Thanksgiving morning, and I even wore a sweater once to a Fourth of July picnic.
But every time something new happened, I stopped whatever I was doing so I could experience it. The first snow was just a "flurry" but I stood there watching it "flurry" in the light of the streetlamp for a good half hour. Keith grew up with at least a little bit of snow in the Ozarks, and had been stationed in Philadelphia for a time, but he says that watching me in the snow made it all new again. I built snowmen and snow tunnels in the six foot drifts between houses, and threw snowballs for the first time in my life. I sledded on those flat, icy roads, towed behind a farmer's pickup truck. I even learned to drive on snowpack to the grocery store. It was new for me, so it was all new again for him too.
The same thing happened when we took the boys to Disneyworld for the first time. Disney opened in Orlando when I was 18, and Keith and I went together, then with my family, and then again on our honeymoon. It was old hat by the time the boys came along, but seeing it through their eyes made it fun again. Watching their smiles and hearing their laughter, seeing them cozy up to the characters like they were real, was the best part of the trip for us. We had seen it too many times before otherwise.
And then it seemed like every State competition they went to in high school was held at Disneyworld. As part of the package they were given free tickets to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. By the time they were juniors and seniors in high school, they brought those tickets home unused. They had seen it all too many times. It was no longer exciting.
That will never happen in Heaven. Do you see that verse at the top? We will receive an inheritance "that fades not away." The glory, the joy, the newness of it all will last forever. You will never tire of it, and never become jaded by the bliss it offers. The thrill of a child's first time at an amusement park will be nothing compared to the ecstasy of being with the Father and the Son who made it possible, an ecstasy that, like the inheritance itself, will "fade not away."
May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. (Col 1:11-12)
Dene Ward
We moved to Illinois in 1975 and stayed for two years. It was this Florida girl's introduction to snow, icicles, and blizzards, and we are not talking Dairy Queen. We lived 100 miles south of Chicago in flat corn country. Yes, it did get warm in the middle of summer, for a few days until the heat wave "broke," which no matter how hot it was still cannot hold a candle to 5 months of Florida summer. But we also had our first frost in September and snow on Thanksgiving morning, and I even wore a sweater once to a Fourth of July picnic.
But every time something new happened, I stopped whatever I was doing so I could experience it. The first snow was just a "flurry" but I stood there watching it "flurry" in the light of the streetlamp for a good half hour. Keith grew up with at least a little bit of snow in the Ozarks, and had been stationed in Philadelphia for a time, but he says that watching me in the snow made it all new again. I built snowmen and snow tunnels in the six foot drifts between houses, and threw snowballs for the first time in my life. I sledded on those flat, icy roads, towed behind a farmer's pickup truck. I even learned to drive on snowpack to the grocery store. It was new for me, so it was all new again for him too.
The same thing happened when we took the boys to Disneyworld for the first time. Disney opened in Orlando when I was 18, and Keith and I went together, then with my family, and then again on our honeymoon. It was old hat by the time the boys came along, but seeing it through their eyes made it fun again. Watching their smiles and hearing their laughter, seeing them cozy up to the characters like they were real, was the best part of the trip for us. We had seen it too many times before otherwise.
And then it seemed like every State competition they went to in high school was held at Disneyworld. As part of the package they were given free tickets to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. By the time they were juniors and seniors in high school, they brought those tickets home unused. They had seen it all too many times. It was no longer exciting.
That will never happen in Heaven. Do you see that verse at the top? We will receive an inheritance "that fades not away." The glory, the joy, the newness of it all will last forever. You will never tire of it, and never become jaded by the bliss it offers. The thrill of a child's first time at an amusement park will be nothing compared to the ecstasy of being with the Father and the Son who made it possible, an ecstasy that, like the inheritance itself, will "fade not away."
May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. (Col 1:11-12)
Dene Ward
RSS Feed