touch of heaven

You light up the sky to show that you are with me. ~ The Afters, from "Light up the Sky"

When I was basking in the pleasant glow of God early in my walk with Jesus, I was so excited about the new life he had given me on earth that I wasn't very curious about heaven. Since then I've studied up on that topic and others, and I've lived a decade of life. I've prayed with and for many people, and have experienced first hand God's YES, and his NO. Things don't always work out as we wish they would down here, but ahhhh... heaven. Wait for heaven.

Thursday at dusk when it stopped raining I went for a run. It was the Golden Hour, a photographer's dream. Rounding the bend at the top of our first big hill, I looked up and saw a hint of a rainbow in the sky off to the left, whispering at me from behind the clapboard houses. As I followed the curve of the road, my vantage point changed as quickly as the color of the sky. I was astounded to see the entire arc of the rainbow, as clear day, with a hint of a second arc glimmering at either end. The few remaining clouds were luminous, rimmed in vermillion, creamy yellow against the glistening amber sky. Like sea glass.

I thought to myself, Where is everyone? And I ran alone, face tipped up, resisting the urge to knock on doors and announce the beauty that was unfolding above my neighbors' oblivious heads. The light, the glow, the aura was other-worldly. For a few moments I was not a professor, or an artist. I was not Fred's wife, or Gray's mom, or... anyone. I was simply in awe, my spirit united with creation in pure worship, without a care in the world.  And the sky cooled, and the rainbow faded, because this is earth. And the rhythm of my feet on suburban pavement carried me home, and I understood heaven a little bit more.

The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less ~ 2 Corinthians 5:5, The Message

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