My sister Lindy loved my writings. She loved it when I would send her cards and write at length about this or that. We had in the past had talks about what we'd like heaven to be like when we die. She would joke and say if there wasn't snow, she wasn't interested. And so I created a work of fiction that included a character whom had a very strong resemblance to her and I gave it to her to read a couple of months ago. She knew it was her. She told me she loved it and it made her cry (happy tears).
An Excerpt from MY HEAVEN:
Chapter 3
An Excerpt from MY HEAVEN:
Chapter 3
God was there.
Nobody told me where I could find him, but I knew he was there…
somewhere. I felt His
presence. I longed to see His
face. And if this was indeed
Heaven, then wasn’t He supposed to be on a throne of some sort? Should Jesus be at His right hand on
yet another throne? Shouldn’t all
of us Heaven residents be worshipping and bowing down to Him instead of going
about our business and creating our own personal Heaven’s?
The season of winter, which I abhorred on earth, was acceptable
to me here in Heaven. The flakes
were big and soft upon my skin as I trudged my way up my sister’s driveway to
her big, beautiful mansion on the hill.
I didn’t feel cold though, only a perfect warmth. She watched from a dimly lit window
above and when I reached the large wraparound porch she met me at the door.
“Come in!” she said.
She was beautiful.
Her gown was crimson and her blonde hair was in a bun on her head with
just a few curls twirling down the sides of her blushed face. I knew right away that she had been
outside in the snow… enjoying her
Heaven.
Gina filled me in on every detail of my sister Lily, and though I did not really
recognize her from earth I still felt like I knew her.
On earth she had died many years before me. First she had diabetes, then her
eyesight began to deteriorate and she had heart problems. Her kidneys began to fail and she had
fallen and broken her hip. It was
downhill from there. She loved
life, but her joy had left her and her eyes grew dim. Then one day she suffered a severe stroke that left her
paralyzed. Oh how that woman
suffered! The day the angels
pulled her to Heaven was a day of rejoicing for her. But how I missed her on earth! I missed the old times of talking for days on end about everything
from soap operas to Nascar. I
missed the way she would call my children over to her house the minute she saw
them playing outside in the yard so she could give them a cookie. I missed her loyalty as a sister. But though I did not know of her heaven
at the time, I knew she was in a better place than that of her suffering.
“It’s warm in here,” I said. “Feels good…”
“Here, let me take your coat.” She said.
I pulled my fluffy white coat off and handed it to Lily. I could smell dinner cooking.
“Stay for turkey and stuffing,” she said.
“Oh, that sounds wonderful,” I said. “I believe I will.”
She made the most fantastic turkey dinners. This, she did on earth as well. Thanksgiving was her day in the kitchen
and she loved cooking Thanksgiving dinner.
“I have something I want to show you,” she said. “Follow me.”
I followed her through her spacious old-fashioned kitchen
and to the back of her mansion and she opened the door. Five big dogs came barreling in and I
pulled back to let them go through.
“They were mine, when I lived on earth.” She said. I watched as she sat on the floor and played with them and I
felt something in my heart that was not a feeling I had felt before. It was as though I was missing
something.
“How do you know they were yours?” I asked.
“Lorna told me.”
She said. Lorna was her
angel. She and Lily worked
crossword puzzles together every Thursday evening.
“How nice,” I said.
The dogs were shiny, soft, and smelled of fresh lavender. One jumped into my lap when I sat down
on the divan and a tender feeling came over me. I had held that dog before.
“There’s a place just around the bend,” Lily pointed to her
right. “It’s called the Rainbow
Bridge, and there you can collect your pets and take them back to your heaven
with you to live forever in paradise.”
“Is that where you got yours?” I asked. Lily
shook her head.
I must have had pets before, in my life on earth. But still, I wondered.
I asked Gina the next day if she would like to visit the
Rainbow Bridge with me and without saying a word she motioned for me to follow
her.
As we passed Lily’s mansion I could see the snow still
accumulating on her grounds and a snowman now sat proud and tall right outside
the door, complete with a corncob pipe, a button nose and two eyes made out of
coal. Lily waved from her
window. I smiled and waved back,
then gave her thumbs up. I wasn’t
sure why I was going to The Rainbow Bridge; all I knew is that there was
something missing from my Heaven that I needed to be fulfilled.
Christmas day was the last good day Lindy had. Today I was there alone with her when she took her last breath.
I touched her forehead and joked around with her for just a minute. I told her, this is like old times when we'd sit and talk for the longest time... just me and you. Her breaths were shallow and her eyes dim. I am not sure that she heard me... but after I talked to her about her Mansion and the snow and the beautiful place she'd be going to, she took one more breath... then a pause. Then another. And then... nothing.
I am heartbroken.
Christmas day was the last good day Lindy had. Today I was there alone with her when she took her last breath.
I touched her forehead and joked around with her for just a minute. I told her, this is like old times when we'd sit and talk for the longest time... just me and you. Her breaths were shallow and her eyes dim. I am not sure that she heard me... but after I talked to her about her Mansion and the snow and the beautiful place she'd be going to, she took one more breath... then a pause. Then another. And then... nothing.
I am heartbroken.