A Soul's Journey

I was listening to a small Baptist radio station and heard a song about a man who lost a close relative. He was sad but said that he would shake that person's hand again in heaven (boiling it down). I thought about how I felt about losing Diane and could relate. Shortly after, I began to think about how she was now and how she arrived in heaven. This is what I came up with:

As she felt her life on earth slipping away, she spoke to her husband Rob, her soulmate. "I'm ready to go now" she said. In a short time she allowed herself to breathe one last breath of the earth's poor offering of air. With that she closed her eyes.

In less than a second she opened her eyes again and saw Jesus. He was both a part of God and separate from Him in some unexplainable way. The Father said,"Diane, it is now time for your judgment." She thought herself unworthy of heaven, wanting to become undone in God's presence as Isaiah was. However, the Father said, I see no sin in you. Proceed to the Son. As she turned to face Jesus, He spoke to her. "Welcome my precious child. Diane, you now know your Father. You have done well in serving Me. Please enter into my kingdom."

As she entered this new place, it was so overwhelmingly bright- it made the sun seem dim. It was so bright, but it did not even cause her to squint her eyes. Immediately she felt no confines of flesh to hold back her desire to worship God. It became such a passion, like she had never known! Diane raised her arms and began to sing with a voice sweeter than she had ever heard. She began to dance in front of the Lord and to praise His name with more words than she had ever known before. She was, for the first time, unlimited.

The Lord revealed things to her in a personal way that she had always wondered, but even these things were much less important now. All she wanted to do was to be in His presence. She was greeted by her grandfather and grandmother in a glorious reunion. They showed her so much love that her whole difficult family life on earth paled in comparison: the good of this reunion was infinitely better than the bad of her family life was bad. Healing had come.

Diane thought back to her husband and children with love and looked forward to meeting them soon. Time meant nothing to her, the presence of the Lord overshadowed everything in such a wonderful, blessed way, the years would seem like seconds. No sorrow could enter her heart. No tears would ever again stain her face. She thought of her friends and the family God gifted to her for the last third of her life: Rob's parents and grandparents, brothers, and sister; her foster family; her Uncle Gene- the one family member who she felt cared; my wife, my girls and I; friends from church who were "adopted" family; the Hospice worker who took a special care for her; and others. She thought of them all with a deeper love than she ever had before and was grateful for them all. She did not remember any arguments or bad things, none of that mattered. She felt loved and at peace.

Now Diane continues to serve God in ways that we can only imagine. She sings, shouts, praises and worships continually with passion and without ceasing. It is what she wants to do. She is whole.

Diane remains an inspiration to those of us who knew her, and to some who have heard the testimonies. For me, I will never stop loving her, and I will never forget her. She is and forever will be my sister.