'For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.'
(Hebrews 13:14 NLT)
Do you ever dream of traveling the world?
My friend and I share a wonderful sense of adventure. Look for us on any given day and you're likely to find us hanging out in some pretty cool places. Together we've explored every inch of New York City's Empire State Building, had lunch in the nicest cafes in Europe, and searched far and wide for the prettiest wildflowers to photograph.
The kind of traveling we do doesn't require us to be there physically; we've never had to invest money, nor is a lot of time involved. It may seem rather strange that our trips occur only in our imagination, but for us it's a very normal activity; on many days it's what I use to help get me through a super stressful day.
'But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.'
(2 Peter 3:13 NLT)
Experiencing Heaven During one of our more recent trips, we enjoyed a lovely cup of "proper tea" and strolled slowly along the banks of a beautiful water lily garden in Dorset. While chatting up a storm, we talked about all the wonderful things we most enjoyed about life, especially our love of wildflowers and all things nature. As we came to a pause in our conversation I asked her what she thought heaven might be like; did she believe heaven would contain some of the things we had been discussing earlier?
As much as I like to imagine and daydream about life, nothing fills me with more excitement than the thoughts of what heaven might be like. In the words of MercyMe "I can only imagine," and boy do I ever do so.
'I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.'
(2 Corinthians 12:4 NLT)
I believe God plans to delight our senses in heaven with beauty far greater than our tiny imagination could ever come up with here, but I still love trying to picture what it's going to look like. If I close my eyes I can see our water lily garden the way it looks in heaven, except next to this garden row after row of all my favorite wildflowers are blooming in a brilliant display of color.
With my eyes still closed, my friend and I are no longer walking slowly around the edge of the pond. In heaven we are running past the pond through all the wildflowers, moving freely with nothing to hinder or hold us back. We are carefree and childlike.
I believe this kind of imagining was what prompted David to write, 'Just one day in the courts of Your temple is greater than a thousand anywhere else.' (Psalm 84:10 The Voice) I could never be content with just one day spent running through the flowers of heaven, but I do understand how a day there could never be compared to a thousand here.
'I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the LORD. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God.'
(Psalm 84:2 NLT)
Oh how I do long to be with our Lord, but I know I still have work to do here. In the meantime I will be dreaming of all He's planning to surprise me with. One day I will forever be running through my favorite wildflowers. I told my friend that if I arrived first I would wait for her at our water lily garden and vice versa for her. We would love for you to join us. Until then, may God richly bless you.
Please pray with me:
Father,
My heart is already there with You in Your eternal kingdom, but I know it's because this world is not really my home.
Thank You for giving me a small taste of what forever might be like through the beauty I'm blessed with here. I look forward to seeing all You have waiting, and I'm excited with the knowledge that the flowers You have waiting for me in heaven will never fade; they will bloom for eternity.
In Jesus' name,
Amen
Salina T Gibson
MercyMe "I can only imagine" Almost There, 2001
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18 comments:
Beautiful post! I'm homesick, but content with the beauty God has provided here until we meet Him in the air. Thanks for the great post and for hosting the linkup, & God bless,
Laurie
http://savedbygracebiblestudy.blogspot.com/
What a great post! I love that MercyMe song "I Can Only Imagine". I get the goose bumps! I love how you and your sweet friend take trips together! Thanks for blessing me today!
Thank you Dawn for reading and commenting. You'll have to go on a trip with us sometime soon ;)
Thanks Laurie. I think it's only natural for all of us to be homesick, but like you said the beauty He blesses us with is enough for now. Thank you for linking up.
this is just a lovely post and wonderful reminder :) I just found your beautiful blog through the covered in grace link up & just love your heart. now following and looking forward to reading more!
xo
erin
sweetnessitself.blogspot.com
Lovely post my friend :) Thank you. Just think of all those wildflower meadows we can run through, where will we go next? I am excited by His perfect plan, and comforted by His glorious presence, who stands by us through the hard times.
How glorious it will be when we finally see our LORD face to face.
I love this verse -'I was
caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be
expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.' (2 Corinthians 12:4 NLT)
Wow, praise our precious Lord.
Thank you Erin for making me smile and for following this blog. God bless.
I too am excited by His plan and I can't wait to see the glorious beauty He has waiting for us, especially those wildflowers that I'm sure will never stop blooming (or fade, or wilt).
I'll meet you at the lily garden my friend. :)
Lovely....the photo...the water lily garden...pondering Heaven. What blessing when GOD grants such a gift as you and your friend have!
Thank you Connie. I've been blessed beyond words by God this year. Looking forward to heaven :)
I love this post... so endearing...especially what you said about meeting at the garden. Lifts my heart with joy. Thanks for sharing this.
I'm so glad I found you at the Christian Mommy Blogger link up. Beautiful words...I love the adventures you take in your imagination. What a wise way to break from the day and just let go-a blessing. Looking forward to reading more and getting to know you,
God's peace and good to you.
Beautifully said, Salina. Amen and may we remember where we truly belong, and to Whom we belong.
Salina, Salina, Salina......Thank you for taking me on this beautiful journey through heaven with you. I love this post on so many levels. First of all, I love flowers too but you make me love them even more with your beautiful pics and the way you express your passion for them. Also, challenging me to imagine what heaven will be like makes me think of how beautiful the praise and worship music will be. Next, the verse that you shared from 2 Corinthians. I have never reflected on this one so I'm really glad that you brought that to my attention. And finally, the plan that you and your friend have to meet each other at the water lily garden. This brought beautiful tears to my eyes and gave me the audacity to dream of meeting my own friends and family somewhere special in heaven. This makes me think of the special bond that you and Anita have with each other through the beauty of God's garden. Bravo, Bravissimo. Lovely, lovely post.
From now on, whenever I see water lilies, I will think of you both. How beautiful.
Thanks for stopping by and reading. I'm so happy to meet you and look forward to getting to know you too. :)
Thanks Leslie. Yes, please let us always remember.
Thanks Starla. It's rather hard to put into words what heaven really is going to be like. I think of the best possible scenario and then magnify that by tens of thousands.
I'm looking forward to the praise and worship music too. :)
Be sure to stop by the lily garden someday and we'll show you around (but you'll have to take us to your special place too)
Love you
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