Thanksgiving Thursday, November 23, 2006

Dearest God,

The joy of experiencing a happy, young grandchild standing at the front door of her home, wanting to break free and run to you but she can't because she still has on her morning pjs and no shoes is priceless. Instead I am met by a "pudgy around the middle" golden retriever who wants to give me kisses. I hug Amber, my granddog, then bolt up the walkway to greet my waiting granddaughter. With a great big smile, Sophie, my five year old, opens her arms, and I lift her upward, swinging her 'round. "I love you, Grandma," she murmurs. "I love you too!" I echo.

Homecomings, wherever and however they take place, are heavenly moments. It feels like you touch heaven, a blend of joy, faith, peace, and love. I bring to mind other homecomings where I felt the same way.

I always remember my grandparents standing at the front door of their old farmhouse in tiny Atlanta, Indiana, population 500. I would drive down the gravel lane (until it was paved) all the while looking from side to side at the fertile fields of corn and soybeans, then turn the corner, and there beside the rolling hill rested the aging white log home where all four of their boys were born in the front room.

I would walk up the very long sidewalk, on the right viewing the pear tree, chicken coop and truck patch (a garden planted to feed all our extended family and half the townspeople) and to the left the cherry tree, hill and valley. As I got closer to the porch where my grandparents stood, they became bigger and bigger into view until I was close enough to see their twinkling eyes and broad smiles. Their arms would open outward to me and I would walk right into them. So glad to be there!

Such visits give me life. I feel every portion of my being taking notice. I am loved and I share my love back. We laugh, sometimes cry, tease and have so much fun. The food is always great but the fellowship even greater. We are making joy-filled memories to be remembered for a long, long time.

I've experienced a lot of homecomings during my lifetime. I look forward with great anticipation to each one, connecting again to people I love. I have forgotten many of the details of those events but the emotions, the joy and feeling of belonging are carefully tucked away in my memory bank. I can revisit them one by one or all together anytime I want.

I suspect that the heavenly reunion will be the best one. Reuniting with God in heaven, an extension of all the reunions with God on earth, will be paradise literally. Not because there are mansions and streets of gold, I couldn't care less about that, but because you are linked eternally with Pure Unconditional Love. We return to where we began...with God.

Joyous Soul of Heaven,
we begin and end with you,
and we celebrate
our relationship
with you
in the middle.
Differing experiences,
happy and sad,
challenging and hope-filled,
we enter your presence
and find our selves connected
to the most important thing
in the world.
Our lives take on greater meaning,
one of our purposes being fulfilled;
we turn to life's greatest joy.

Expectantly, Andrea