Heaven and Hell (25 page)

“Of course,” confirmed Jennifer. “We are all brothers and sisters, children of God. We all recognize each other, even if we have never met before. I told you all about that on the first day, remember?”

“Sure, but I guess I’m having trouble accepting the fact that there are going to be things about my life on Earth that I won’t remember. It makes me, well, uncomfortable. I don’t know how to put it other than that. The last few years are the worst.”

“And that troubles you?”

“Very much,” Chris said. “Because I feel like something has been removed, something important.” Chris hesitated. “Maybe it is someone important.”

“Like who?” asked Jennifer.

“That’s the thing, I don’t know. Sometimes, in my dreams I can see this face, the face of a woman. I know that she should be familiar. No, more than familiar, but she fades away. I reach out to her, but she dissolves like a phantom. Three mornings ago, I awoke with tears in my eyes. I must have been crying in my sleep. I think I’ve dreamt about her most every night I’ve been here.”

A look of concern swept across Jennifer’s face. “Bad dreams…here?”

Chris nodded. “Mom, has anything like that ever happened to you?”

“Never, not like that,” replied Jennifer. “I know what you mean about the blur, but it never troubled me. You remember what you need to remember. Now that doesn’t mean that you won’t remember some of the unpleasant things. Going through some of those experiences on Earth made us stronger people. Somewhere I once heard ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’ What you don’t remember about your life on Earth are the things that would only bring you unnecessary grief. Jesus told you all about that, remember?”

“Yes, I remember.”

“What I can’t understand is why you’d have a portion of a memory,” continued Jennifer, “something bouncing around in your head. Just give it to God, things will work out. They always do.”

“Sure, Mom, I guess you’re right,” said Chris, a smile appearing. “If God has a purpose in it, I’m sure that it will become clear to me in time.”

“Sure it will. Hey sport, why don’t you get dressed and come out to the dining room. I’ll make you and Ebbie some breakfast.”

Chris smiled. He loved his mother’s cooking, he always had; and she loved cooking for him. It wasn’t work to her; it was part of the joy of Heaven. Far be it for him to interfere with that. “I’ll be right there.”

“What do you say we take a trip to the big city later? I think it’s about time I took you there. I’ll give you the grand tour.”

“Zion?” asked Chris.

“Of course,” giggled his mother. “Is there any other city? You haven’t been there yet, and it’s high time that we made the journey.”

“I’d love to,” Chris said.

“Well, put on your best clothes. By the time you get dressed, I’ll have breakfast on the table. Then we’ll head out after breakfast. And let’s stop worrying about those dreams, OK?”

“Sure,” Chris said, his smile growing.

Jennifer picked a few ripe peppers from the garden, along with a big red tomato, and headed back through the large French doors, leaving Chris and Ebbie to contemplate the world around them. And about the dreams, if there is something about the mysterious young woman, something to be learned, God will make it clear in His own time. After all, Chris certainly had an ample quantity of time.

C
HRIS pulled on a long white robe he found in his bedroom closet. It seemed the most appropriate attire for the journey ahead. His mother was also dressed all in white. At breakfast, the trip to Zion was the center of conversation.

“You can really lose track of time in Zion,” Jennifer noted, as she poured Chris a second glass of orange juice. “With no night in the city, no darkness, things are just bustling all the time. A person could spend days there, and hardly realize it. Believe me, I know. I once spent nearly a week there. The time passed so quickly. There is just so much joy, so many things to experience and do.”

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Chris said. “It will be wonderful to go somewhere special with you, to go on an adventure with my favorite person in the whole world, again.”

“Such flattery,” giggled Jennifer. “You’ve gotten so much better with it over the years.”

Chris only smiled. It wasn’t flattery, it was from the heart. He meant every word of it.

“I should have taken you on this journey days ago,” said Jennifer, as they were finishing their meal. “I suppose I was being a bit selfish. I wanted to have you all to myself for a while before introducing you to the wide world beyond.”

“That’s OK, Mom. I wanted to be with you. I’ve wanted to be with you ever since…well, ever since you died.”

That sounded like such a strange statement to Chris; so very alien to his earthly experience. It would take some time to become accustomed to heavenly realities.

There was excitement in the air as the two walked out the front door, hand in hand. They stopped just beyond the front porch. Following closely behind them was Ebbie, “Ebbie, you’re going to have to stay here. Mom and I will be back, I promise,” Chris said.

Ebbie sat down, her eyes never turning from her best friend. It seemed as if she had understood every word—she probably had.

Jennifer looked toward her son approvingly. She couldn’t get over what a man he had become in the years since their separation. “Well, are you ready to begin?”

Chris smiled broadly. “Whenever you are, Mom.”

Jennifer turned her attention to a point just ahead of them, closed her eyes, and stretched out her hands. Almost immediately, a field of sparkling, star-like luminaries materialized, quickly growing in brightness and number.

Chris watched the entire process in amazement. Yes, he had watched Jesus do it, yet, to see his own mother perform the same act, filled him with wonder. Eventually, he hoped to be able to do such a thing himself. His mother had told him that it simply took practice. The power was not within her, but with God. Jesus had drawn upon this power when He entered a closed room where the apostles had been hiding from the Roman and Jewish authorities after His crucifixion and resurrection. God had granted that same power to all of His beloved children. The power is there, it comes down to a simple matter of faith and knowledge.

The lawn beyond the sparkling blue and green stars faded into a fog. Before them was a portal which led to the destination of Jennifer’s choosing.

“Let’s go, sweetheart,” said Jennifer, who took a step forward, leading her son into the mists.

For a moment they were walking through a bright fog. Chris could feel the love that surrounded them; he was at peace. When the mists parted, they stood before a tall archway that allowed passage through a mighty wall of the whitest marble. Chris gazed up in awe. The glistening wall must have stood over 100 feet high, with the archway being about half that tall, and at least 100 feet wide. A great multitude of people dressed in bright white robes, swept in and out of the great portal. To the right and left, the wall extended as far as his eye could see.

“It’s magnificent!” gasped Chris, who realized that simple words could not possibly describe the glory of what he saw.

“This wall completely surrounds the City of God. It marks the boundary of the most holy place in all of Heaven, the most holy place in the entire universe,” explained Jennifer. “There are twelve entrances like this, one for each of the tribes of Israel. There are three of them on each of the four walls that surround the city.”

For a moment, Chris turned his attention to the land surrounding the great city. The city itself sat atop a sort of high plateau, surrounded on all sides by the green forests and peaceful meadows of a wide valley. Beyond the valley were lofty mountains, many of whose peaks held great reserves of white snow, glistening in the sunlight.

“What a place!” Chris said, overwhelmed by the vista.

He turned his attention toward the great throng entering and leaving the city gate, some 50 yards away. People were materializing and dematerializing just outside the gate, making roads beyond the city unnecessary. Everywhere spirits were high and the praises of God echoed from all around.

“Well, lets head on in,” Jennifer said. “There is so much to see. We won’t have time to see it all during this trip, but there will be other days.” Jennifer laughed. “Many other days.”

Chris and his mother blended into the crowd entering the city. The group was amazingly friendly and relaxed. None appeared to be in any particular hurry; and all around, groups of three and four stopped to speak to one another. In fact, all those around had a friendly hello to offer the pair. Though Chris had never met any of them, he knew them by name, every one of them, and they knew him.

As they walked through the vast arch, Chris looked down to discover that the smooth roadway was glistening gold. It looked like gold, yet it had a strange translucent quality that gave the thoroughfare an almost glassy appearance. Chris couldn’t help but chuckle as he thought back to his chemistry class in college. He seemed to recall the professor mentioning that gold was practically inert. It didn’t tarnish or rust, it kept its luster even under the most grueling of conditions. Gold could lie at the bottom of a creek bed or ocean for a thousand years, and come out little the worse for wear. If it were plentiful, it would make an excellent material for building roads.

The streets were filled with people, and many of them were singing their praises to God out loud. No vehicles of any kind traveled the wide avenues, which were reserved exclusively for pedestrians. The architecture of Heaven was, to say the least, unique. The predominant building materials were blue and white cultured marble; gold, reddish brown tile; and glass, both stained and clear. The architecture bore some resemblance to that of the Greeks, yet there were evidences of Middle and Far Eastern influences as well. Even aspects of modern architecture were evident in some of the buildings with vast amounts of glass.

No, maybe he was looking at it all wrong. This was the original architecture, developed by the original architect. Perhaps it was the mind of God that had inspired the world’s many architectural forms in the first place. Perhaps the great creations of the past and present were simply reflections of God’s creativity.

Above them, an occasional winged angel robed wholly in white passed over the streets. Jennifer had explained that the angels were servants, messengers, and guardians all rolled up into one. They rarely slept, and were constantly vigilant, a perfect army, holy, wise, and pure; and their dominion wasn’t restricted to Heaven alone, but included Earth as well. On Earth they took on a more subdued role, often appearing indistinguishable from normal humans. Yet even there they were guardians of righteousness, intervening on humankind’s behalf in matters both spiritual and natural, defending and inspiring humanity. Indeed, many humans had entertained angels unaware.

Some of the buildings around him were the mansions of the saints who had more urban inclinations; yet most were public buildings, houses of worship, schools, art galleries, open air theatres, museums, and many libraries. As the two made their way through the joyful streets, it was the numerous libraries that caught Chris’s attention. Since the time of Adam and Eve, humans had an intense desire for knowledge, and sometimes that desire had gotten them into trouble. Yet, that quest had also carried them to the depths of the sea, and lifted them to the stars, allowing them to glimpse the glory of creation. God recognized that need.

“And the truth shall make you free,” he whispered.

Chris also noticed shops along the avenues. Now that was curious, something he hadn’t expected. But that made sense too, didn’t it? Some people loved their work on Earth, loved it to the point where it was no longer work, it was a joy. There were also the hobbies of humanity; work turned to pleasure. To some people, their labors in Heaven and their hobby on Earth were one and the same.

Chris and Jennifer visited some of the shops along the way. The handicrafts practiced here were diverse indeed. There were weavers, bakers, cabinetmakers, makers of musical instruments, silversmiths, and carpenters. There were even trades unique to Heaven; crafts and technologies to be found nowhere else. For example, there was a sort of horn that could take music from the mind of whoever held it, and transform the thought into audible notes. Anyone could become a composer.

Chris thought back to the music he had heard within the anteroom of the great judgment hall, music that had sounded so very familiar. Perhaps the same heavenly technology in play here was responsible for that as well.

The wares in Heaven were neither sold nor rented, but given freely, a gift of beauty from one to another. People here weren’t working because they had to—only because they wanted to. They took pride in their work, and that sort of pride was not a bad thing. Just as Jennifer loved to cook, these merchants loved to build and create, and there was no point in creating, unless it could be shared with others. Their unifying goal was to spread the beauty of their creations throughout Heaven.

“Within us is the desire to create,” Jennifer said as they walked through a shop offering fine crystal figurines not fashioned in a kiln, but fashioned by means of pure thought. “Perhaps the desire to create was a result of man’s own creation. God made man in His own image and likeness. It was in God’s nature to create beauty. That aspect of God has been passed down to us, much as a father’s trade is passed to his children.”