Heaven

Heaven

But as for me, my contentment is not in wealth but in seeing you and knowing all is well between us. And when I awake in heaven, I will be fully satisfied, for I will see you face to face.

Psalm 17:15, TLB

On Valentine’s Day 2003, my husband and I visited our brother-in-law, David, at Central DuPage Hospital. Just before we arrived, David’s physician had broken the horrible news that he had non-smoker’s lung cancer that had metastasized and permeated his brain. With David in the hospital bed, his wife, Joan, my husband, and I stood next to him, put our arms around one another, and wept for a long time. In spite of about six months of radiation, chemotherapy, and medical consultations, cancer cells eventually took over David’s body.

Several weeks before David died, friends and family members offered to sit with him at the hospital when Joan or the kids couldn’t be there. During one of my shifts, I asked David, “Is there anything in particular you’d like me to do while I’m here?” “Read my Bible out loud, please,” was his gentle reply.

When I picked up David’s well-worn Living Bible, it fell open to the Psalms. I noticed a verse in chapter 17 that he had underlined: “But as for me, my contentment is not in wealth but in seeing you and knowing all is well between us. And when I awake in heaven, I will be fully satisfied, for I will see you face to face.”

That verse certainly characterized David’s life. He had farmed in Kansas for most of his years and had seen his share of financial disappointments. But when it came to his relationship with God, David was rich. The warmth and depth of that relationship was evident to those around him. Now David experiences that relationship with Christ face-to-face. Can we, too, say that all is well between us and God?

Father,

Thank you that we will realize full satisfaction when we see you face-to-face. Amen.