God’s House and Mac and Cheese | Heaven? What’s That?
Enjoy this insightful and faith-filled guest post written by my daughter, Erin.
Matthew 4:16-17
the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light.
And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow,
a light has shined.”
From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
I pray you all realize that Heaven is right here with us. Thinking about this reminds me of a time when I was younger, probably between the age of four and six.
It was warm and nice outside, and I was home alone with my dad. He suggested that we take a walk. I was so excited, and begged a question of him, “Where are we going?” He said to me, “We’re going to go to God’s house, and then we’ll eat macaroni and cheese.”
This excited me, one because I was imagining a wild cottage and meeting God and Jesus, and two because I adored mac and cheese. My dad and I walked out and I hopped along giddily. I was so excited, I was going to go to God’s house! I was thrilled. After all, I’d never met Him, and I was so ready to do so!
We walked down the road towards the nearby bike trail. We walked along, talking happily, and then we reached the end of the trail and turned around. I kept talking because I never stopped talking then, and I actually still never stop talking now; I was confused. I kept the confusion to myself, but I didn’t understand. When were we going to Their house? We kept on walking and eventually came back to our house; it had taken about ten to fifteen minutes total. I finally asked because I was dying to know, “When are we going to go God and Jesus’s house?
He looked at me and laughed, “Erin, we were just at their house.”
I was so confused, “What do you mean, Daddy? All we did was walk on the bike trail!”
My father looked at me the way most parents look at their children when they’re learning something, “Sweetie, we were out in nature. That’s where God and Jesus live, in nature!”
I looked up at him adoringly, then settled down and ate some mac and cheese.
I still think about what he said to me that day. The kingdom of heaven is right here with us, not years and years away, not miles and miles above us. It’s here. It’s something that we’re in right now, right this very second, minute, hour! It’s always been here with us, and it always will be here with us.
Heaven is beauty, and beauty is the love that God puts inside of us. Beauty isn’t the newest hairstyle, or the latest fashion trend, beauty is that quality in people or things or places that you love, that makes you feel so full of love and happiness that you just can’t stand it. And that feeling, that happiness and that beauty and that love – THAT is what Heaven is.
Heaven is always right here with us, just like God is always right here with us. We just have to choose to see that Heaven is here, and to enter into it with love and happy hearts. God is always right there, nudging us to do the right thing and be good people and enter into that kingdom with Him, to see and hear him with open arms. Everyone can be accepted into heaven; the only person keeping you from entering is you and the choices you make.
God sees you, and even though He’s sad when you do bad things, He’s never really mad at you, and His love for you never, ever wavers. The one holding you back is you- you’re the one who sits there and says, I stole a pack of gum in second grade, I’m not worthy to be in Heaven. God may not feel happy when you do bad things, but he’s always waiting to greet you with open arms, whether that be right now, today, or years and years from now when you close your eyes for the last time.
Heaven is always here, and God is always here.
Amen
Erin