Faith
Does not Need to be Blind, and I Have Proof!
Read:
Psalm 23
I
am a lucky man. I have a wonderful family. I have loving parents and
In-Laws, an amazing brother with a wonderful wife and two beautiful
children, I have an aunt and uncle and cousins who love me, I have
another aunt who is, as most of you know, an angel on earth, and last
but certainly not least, I have the most amazing wife in the world
who has shared some great adventures with me for the last four and
almost ½ years.
This
past year has been tough in terms of the eldest generation of my
family. Both my last surviving grandmother, Charlotte, and my great
aunt Agnes have passed away. My grandfathers have both been gone for
more than 17 years now, and my Grandmother Mary Jane has been gone
for more than six years. I miss them all terribly, but losing these
two has been surprisingly difficult and eye opening.
Shortly
after my granny (Charlotte) passed away, I had an amazing and
comforting dream. There she was, standing up! This was not possible
in the last few years of her life due to many health issues, not to
mention two broken hips, what a strong woman! She looked younger and
healthier, the granny of my youth back in full form. She said some
simple words to me. “You don’t have to worry about me; we are all
up here eating breakfast!” And just like that I was awake and
shaken, but in a good way. For any of you that knew my grandparents,
especially my granny and granddad, you know that meals, especially
breakfast on a Sunday morning, were important to them. For me, this
was confirmation. “Confirmation of what?” I hear you cry.
Heaven
Such
a beautiful concept. Something we are told exists but have to rely on
blind faith in order to believe in it. We can use the words of the
Bible, or our pastors and friends for re-assurance, but for some of
us it takes more than that. I have always believed in God, the
message of Jesus, and the journey of the human spirit until it
reaches that final and amazing destination. But there are always
lingering doubts. I am human, and like most humans, when something
bad happens, there is sometimes a questioning of faith. The world
around us is filled with tragedy and despair; some believe that Earth
is actually hell. It is not, because there is beauty, love, hope, and
family that a hell would not allow. We believe in what is happening
on this Earth because we can see it, smell it, touch it, taste it,
and feel it. But because of a dream, I don’t just have blind faith
that heaven exists, I know it because I have seen it in the face of
my granny.
James
F. Van de Putte
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