Tuesday, April 17, 2007

The Happiest Place On Earth

My husband and I recently returned from a week-long vacation with our children to Disneyland - known to all as The Happiest Place on Earth. Like countless other parents we spent months planning and preparing for this visit. We bought guidebooks, subscribed to podcasts, visited websites, etc. in order to make the best use of our time and make a "magical" memory for our children.

My husand and I also have a small group from our church meeting in our home. Currently, we are studying the book Heaven by Randy Alcorn. In that book, he talks about how after Christ returns Heaven will come down to Earth and God will dwell with his resurrected people on Earth forever. Heaven will be on Earth. As his people, we will live in the happiest place on earth for eternity.

"I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21: 2-4
Alcorn makes the point that few people prepare for their eternal destination with anything approaching the same intensity or anticipation that we do for a week-long vacation. I would have to agree. Even though we are studying Heaven, I am certain that I thought about Disneyland far more in the six months leading up to the trip than I did about Heaven. Perhaps it is because I don't know when I will be going to Heaven. I fall into the trap of believing I have time to think about, plan for, etc. for eternity - the Scarlett O'Hara syndrome (I will think about it tomorrow) . It occurs to me that my life would be very different if I could keep before me that I am going to Heaven and what waits for me there. If I thought of it and attended to it even only as much as I did our trip to Disneyland, I suspect that I would find an incredible amount of joy and peace in dealing with the "troubles" of this world.

I love Disneyland. I can't wait to return. There is so much I want to experience again and things I've still never gotten around to (Mr. Lincoln). And yet, it is time that I begin to develop the same attitude about Heaven. There are fewer (reliable anyway) guidebooks (okay, only one) to explore. Still, I believe what I learn will color what I do in the meantime, until I get there, with the same grace found there.