Heaven is the Face

A childhood friend of mine was recently told that the baby boy she is carrying cannot, without a saving miracle from God, survive outside the womb. She named her precious son David Nathaniel. As she shares her journey (at www.sufferingbygrace.blogspot.com.), my heart is breaking for her and her family. She writes so candidly of her feelings, her confusion, her questions, and yet through all of her pain, her faith in God remains steadfast to the core.

The latest entry references a new song by Steven Curtis Chapman, who 18 mths ago lost his 5 yr old daughter Maria in a tragic accident at their home. The song is called "Heaven is the Face" and after hearing it for the 15th time in the past 2 days, I'm still finding it hard to express how powerful/wonderful/outrageously devastating/hopeful the lyrics are.

Listening, I think of my father in law, who lost his 5 yr old daughter (Jason's sister) Judy to leukemia. There is pain in his voice each time he talks about her life, her sickness and her death. Thirty five years later, his heart still hurts...A line in the song says "Heaven is a place where she takes my hand and leads me to Your arms" and I can't help but imagine the moment when he sees her again and the joy unspeakable that moment will bring....

I think of the many people I know who are suffering - so many people in my family, my friends, my church, co-workers, strangers, the world...suffering from loss, disease, financial stress, family dysfunction...While this list could wrap the earth many time over, the answer is so clear. There is a place where all the "cancer is gone, every mouth is fed and there is no one left in the orphan's bed."

In my own life, I know I forget about Heaven all too often. Sometimes the fear of being labeled a religious zealot or utter hypocrite distorts my focus, and the pain of leaving those I love behind or the agony of watching those going ahead minimizes my anticipation of the real purpose of this life. We are not home yet, and all the materialistic goals I have fare nothing compared to being the person I am meant to be - hopefully a person who is a bridge of Jesus' gift of love and sacrifice to those I meet.

If you haven't had a chance to hear this song, I encourage you to seek it out. It's a beautiful reminder of all that lies ahead...and of those we will see again...