NO ONE KNOWS

This is a thought or perspective that has been "percolating" for a while and it's amazingly comforting:

NO ONE KNOWS exactly what happens to us after we die. NO ONE.

We do know that as believers we are in the presence of the Lord after death which in itself is wonderful and beautiful and sufficient. But this world is not what it is all about-there is more than we can see and we know that God has something far better planned. There are things going on in Heaven right now that we cannot even imagine, fathom or comprehend. The happenings of this world (non-salvation-related) are nothing compared to what awaits us in eternity in Heaven.

Hayden's life was not cut short. That WAS his life as planned by God. He was given 17 years, 10 months and 3 days here-no more and no less! He is not missing out on anything that he "should have been" doing. That was his story. That was and is part of our story, FOREVER from eternity past and for eternity future.

Some people die before they're born, some only live a few minutes after birth, some live only a few years, some barely make it out of their teen years, some live until 100-that's just how it is! No one is guaranteed a "full" 70-80 years. We all can hope for that or assume it or presume that our children will outlive us, BUT THAT IS NOT HOW IT WORKS! (I am not yelling with the caps-just emphasizing points).

People, there are things we DO NOT KNOW! Praise God for that! The world tells us-your child died, that is horrible, heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, you'll never get over it, etc. You can be sad and act however you want the rest of your life without excuse or that is your excuse. You can lay in bed all day, feel sorry for yourself, mope around, etc. "Everyone grieves differently" (I hate that phrase). Everyone needs time to grieve in their own way, but the sad part of all of this is the separation and the people left behind. The person that is with God now HAS IT MADE. No more sin, sorrow or sadness for them. They are already where we are all headed as believers. If you love that person who died so much, you should be happy for them that they are in the best place ever now. No more problems, nothing! Just pure happiness and joy in the presence of the Lord.

The possibilities of what our loved ones are doing right now are endless! They could be helping God run the universe for all we know! (Not that God needs any help!) They could be right beside us and we just can't see them. They could be watching everything we do and assessing, assisting, etc. Those are lame ideas but my point is that WE DON'T KNOW! God tells us very little in the Bible and few if any have been back to tell us what happens after death.

Anyway, even though we miss Hayden terribly (this ended up in third person for some reason-sorry) we have to let it sink in that he is WITH GOD and he is FINE. He is better than FINE. He is even more AMAZING than he was here, even though that seems impossible. His death drew a TON of attention to Christ and the Gospel. I know that many, many people were saved at his funeral and continue to be or at least contemplating the things of God as a result of this unimaginable situation. He is safer than he ever was here and he will NEVER DIE there!

If someone told me a year ago that I would feel like this hopeful some day, I would never believe them! I would think that I would be curled up in a corner somewhere wishing I was dead and buried with my sweet boy. Believe me, I have been in those dark places. Day after day, for so many months, every fiber in my body screaming inside my head, "He died! He died!" It still seems hard to believe, but that is my reality. I have to accept that. There is still not a day that goes by that my eyes don't tear up for some reason or another-usually while listening to music, but that's beside the point.

When our circumstances change, the only way to effectively deal with them is to alter our perspective. That's the only thing we can truly change and control anything. (The song, "Just Be Held" is on Pandora right now-it isn't on very often-thank you!) I read somewhere-I think it was on the Max Lucado calendar at home-(I know I'm going to botch this up): When we don't know what God is up to, can't we assume it's something good? Come on! This is so true. God MADE us. He MADE Hayden. He MADE everything. He knows what he's doing! He loves us! Thank you Lord! Give Hayden another giant kiss for me today!