We are taking apart "The Lord's Prayer" and learning what each part of it means. Today was..."Thy Kingdom Come", so we talked about how Jesus was coming back to take us to heaven, and that we should be excited about that, not scared, just ready and excited.
Grace: "Will we ever get to come back home?"
Me: "No, but we'll be with Jesus. Once we see Him and what an awesome place heaven is, we won't want to come back home."
Grace: ...pausing in thought.... "Can I take my blanket?" (her favorite possession since babyhood)
Me: "Well, we'll be so happy and full of love that we won't miss anything we have here, but my Grandma said that she thought we'd have the things that made us happiest there, so you might...but the Bible says that we don't sleep there, so you won't need it for bedtime."
Grace: "We don't have a bedtime??? We get to stay up all night and eat candy and drink cokes whenever we want???"
Luke & Grace: "I want to go to heaven NOW!!! Me, too! Woo-hoo!!!"
And there it is. "Thy Kingdom Come." That's why Jesus threw in that part of the prayer. God wants us to be excited about going home to be with Him. He wants us to be so ready, and so at peace in Him, that we're asking Him to come asap. I love the song by Russ Lee that says "When I think the best is yet to come, I smile."
The night before I sang at a funeral of a 43 year-old man in our church, I wrote out what I want at my "memorial". (I don't want a funeral.) I don't want my family to wonder and try to figure it out for me. Plus, I like things a certain way, and even from heaven I will want it done right! Thinking of my favorite songs, and writing out my last wishes for my kids and husband was a mission statement of sorts that brought heaven closer to my mind, and the time I have with them a little more cherished. I hope I see my grandchildren's children, but if Jesus came back now I'd be saying "Woo-hoo!!!!!" too!
