"Heaven is for Real"

I am probably going to regret the lack of sleep, but after reading Heaven is for Real, sleep is not in my foreseeable future. Yes, I realize that I probably should not have started the book at 11:00 at night. Especially for the simple fact that if I find a good read I will not put it down until I have finished it or have absolutely no choice but to put it down. Let me start here by saying that I believe there is a reason for everything. Today I received a text from a dear friend asking if I would like to meet up and shop. I, of course, said yes. I mean what girl would pass up a chance to shop and spend time with a friend. So we set our plans and met inside Barnes & Noble. I had gotten there first so I got a coffee from Starbucks and started browsing. One of the first things that caught my eye was a bright yellow book with the title of Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back. I right away reached for the book and read the summary on the back. I was ready to start reading it right there. But instead I continued to browse and the first thing I did when my friend showed up, was led her to this book. She agreed that it looked to be a good read. So we headed out to the mall knowing that as we walk back through Barnes & Noble to leave, that book would be purchased. As soon as I got home and got things situated, I began my four hour reading session. (Like I said, I will not put a good book down until I finish it.) Heaven has always been one of those places that I am not too sure about. Yes, we are given descriptions of Heaven in the Bible but knowing that God’s power and grace is much greater than we can imagine leads me to assume that Heaven is also greater than we can imagine. In Colton’s story of his trip to Heaven, I got a little bit of a clearer image of what Heaven is like, although, I will never truly understand or picture it until I see it with my own two eyes. Colton Burpo was four years old when he had to go through an emergency appendectomy, and had come gravely close to dying. Without telling too much of the story, a few months after finally being able to leave the hospital, Colton and his family were on a trip to visit family when he shared the news of angels singing to him. This was the first thing that truly caught the attention of his parents. Other things that the young boy had said were brushed off as good Sunday school teaching (Todd Burpo is the pastor of Crossroads Wesleyan Church in Imperial, Nebraska) and the Bible stories read every night. Todd continues to share the information that his son had given that validated his trip to Heaven. The boy told of how he sat in Jesus’ lap and he described what Jesus looks like. This, for me, was incredible. There are so many different depictions of what Jesus looks like and Colton describes Him so human like. Because of his vivid detailing of Jesus, Todd and Sonja (Colton’s mom) asked Colton if different images of Jesus were accurate. It soon got to the point that instead of asking if the picture is correct, the question became, “What’s wrong with this one?” After sharing Colton’s story, Todd was emailed a link to a news video about a girl named Akiane Kramarik. Also at the age of four, the girl started sharing stories about her glimpse of Heaven. This young girl was growing up in a home that God was not present, His name was never spoken. Akiane started to sketch, paint, and write poetry soon after. Her paintings are incredible. At the age of 8, she painted a portrait of Jesus looking “straight at the camera” (as Todd put it). Todd saw the painting and brought Colton to the computer to find out “what’s wrong with this one.” Colton was silent and said that the picture is right. After finishing the book, I quickly got out my computer to search for a color copy of the painting (a black and  white copy is in the photo section of the book). Colton described His eyes as “so pretty.” I wanted to see what he had seen. And I am in awe of His beauty, and the simple fact that an 8 year old child created such a piece of art. Heaven used to be something that I wasn’t too sure about, and although I do not know exactly what it will be like, I am not afraid of it anymore. From what I read of Colton’s experience, Heaven is a place of beauty and is far greater than I could have ever dreamed it to be. God is absolutely amazing and brought me this book at just the right time. His love for each of His children is far more than I could ask for.

"Prince of Peace"