Heavenly Moments
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and don’t you love glimpses of heaven?
It might happen to you when you see a stunning sunset, or when you hear your new grandchild giggle for the first time. It could be some grand vista overlooking a canyon or the first snowfall covering distant mountains. A heavenly moment happened to me at a Joni and Friends Family Retreat last summer. I was watching a row of little girls singing praise songs during worship time. Tears filled my eyes because one girl in her wheelchair, another two on crutches, and a fourth little girl had Down syndrome. All of them were in a row singing their hearts out to the Lord. I looked and it was, for me, a slice of heaven, as though I were watching angels before the throne. It was so beautiful, so celestial. I will never forget it. But you know, even as I do recall it and share it now, months later, I am not able to recall the exact experience, the heart-stopping joy and wonderment of that heavenly scene. The moment of watching those disabled children singing praises just flew by. And you know what, as much as we treasure the memory of glimpses of heaven, they are not to be repeated. Even the memory of it doesn’t match the moment – it’s all gone in a flash.
I have a friend who described his first rafting trip down a wild river in the remote back country of Oregon. As the raft swept along in the rapid current, he would fill his eyes with a rugged vista unlike anything he had ever seen. Keeping his eyes pinned on the sight, he soon found himself facing sideways and then backwards as the beautiful tableau swept by. But facing backwards to see what was now departing behind him, he realized that he was missing the next beautiful scene around the next bend in the river. The truth is he couldn’t stop the river. He couldn’t stop the forward movement and freeze the moment. And my friend quickly realized that he had to taste and treasure each scene as it filled his eyes and then quickly let it go – just let it go.
And so it is with those heart-lifting moments when the Lord allows you the tiniest glimpse into your future home. Heaven fills your thoughts, as the Scriptures say, but it’s not like a snapshot you can put on your refrigerator. It’s not like a shrine that you can come back to. It’s just a shaft of grace through a quick opening in the clouds, and there will be more.
That’s the best part – there will be more! Because God never does encores – He always does something new and fresh. And so we live in the command of Philippians Chapter 3, verse 14, where it says, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” In short, set your face like flint like it says in Isaiah 50. Fix your eyes on Jesus, as we’re told in Hebrews 12. “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things,” As it says in Colossians Chapter 3. And finally, ask God to open the eyes of your heart, just as it says in Ephesians. Open your eyes so that you, too, might behold many more glimpses of heaven to stir your soul and strengthen your faith. That’s what happened to me at Family Retreat last summer when I watched those little girls with the disabilities sing their praises to God. And you know what, as we head deeper into 2018, may your heart be blessed with similar glimpses of glory. God gives them so that we will keep setting our minds on things above. When you have a chance today, drop by joniandfriends.org.
© Joni and Friends
