“Knowing heaven is what heals us on earth.”
-Mitch Albom, The First Phone Call from Heaven
God desires for us a life that is not only full but a life that overflows even unto eternity. In this we have hope, not only for ourselves, but for our loved ones who have gone before us in the next life. The fullness of life begins right here on earth, but it need not end here. Such a fullness is meant to extend towards eternal life, and death is but a veil that marks a new beginning for us. In this life, we have many joys amidst our pain. We have many blessings amidst our troubles. But in the next one, our fears are cast away, and God Himself promised, that He will wipe away ever tear. It is then a life that overflows, a life beyond compare. Just when we thought all is over and lost, God steps in and makes all things new!
“All endings are also beginnings. We just don’t know it at the time.”
-Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet In Heaven
“If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire: if you want to be wet you must get into the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them. They are not a sort of prize which God could, if He chose, hand out to anyone. They are a great fountain of energy and beauty spurting up at the very centre of reality. If you are close to it, the spray will wet you: if you are not, you will remain dry. Once a man is united to God, how could he not live forever? – C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
“In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. Behold! we are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory.”
-J.R.R. Tolkien
I walked in the garden of life, caressing soft petals here and there. And lo! After a while they are no more, and my heart bled for each fragrant petal that fell.If every flower withers, never to return to its full blossom, then what good indeed is passing by in the garden of life?
Herein lies my hope: That for every flower that withers, another one blooms within me, one that will remain forever fragrant and fresh, never ever to pass away…
THE UNBREAKABLE THREAD
I cannot understand
how two people
who used to be so close,
whose souls were knit
so tightly together
could suddenly
be parted
and stripped away forever
from each other’s arms
mere whispers
used to draw our hearts together,
but now even my loudest cries
fail to bring you back to me
how can it be?
how can you suddenly
be so far away from me?
must I accept your passing
as a fitting end to what we’ve had?
should I accept that from this moment
there will always be a chasm between us
one that I can never cross
to see you
and to be with you again
not even for a single happy while
have you really gone away
have you really left me
all alone
can’t you hear me now as I speak
can’t you see me now as I search the skies
for traces of your smile
O how I wish you could see me now
And how I desire that all this time
that I’ve been praying,
you’re really sitting there, listening
gazing at me
loving me
as you’ve always done before
How I pray
you have not really gone,
that you haven’t left my side at all,
not even for a short lonely while
That all the while I have been weeping
you’re holding out your hand
catching my every tear
that all the while I have been praying
you’re praying with me, too
and with all the angels
in whose company
you now walk amongst
Who knows indeed?
who knows?
maybe you haven’t really left
maybe the love we’ve had
has woven a golden thread
between you and me
a thread that shall remain
as surely as love remains
a thread that shall draw us together
forever
and we’ll never ever need
to say goodbye
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies.” – JOHN 11:25, WEB
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The thing about hope is that it’s a positive force that shines the most when it’s dark. When everything’s going well, we hardly notice it’s there. But when things go against us, when our dreams fade and when we see no immediate reprieve from our troubles, that’s when hope does its best work for us.
"Where Hope Can Be Found"