Oh Susannah. Your head is misshapen. You are abnormally small in stature. Your clothes need to be repaired or replaced. Your feet are bare, calloused, rough, scarred. Your hands are not clean. You struggle to talk and sing and dance. I can see it in your posture; you are trying so hard to express your joy. I am awestruck by the pure light of Jesus that I see in your eyes. My heart aches, my eyes sting with unshed tears as in this moment I mourn your body’s limitations. I wonder if your mom loved you when you were born. I wonder if your dad even knew that you existed. Do you have brothers or sisters? Who gave you such a lovely name? Where do you sleep at night? What do you eat? Have you ever held a doll or a toy or anything that was yours alone?
You remind me that we are all bound by our bodies’ limitations. In heaven, our earthly bodies will be completely transformed. We will see an incredible spectrum of colors. We will hear a profoundly beautiful range of sounds. We will taste the most delightfully pleasing flavors. We will smell aromas of amazing depth. We will touch and feel and sense what we could never experience on earth. Heaven is our true home: the place that our souls have longed for; the place that our hearts have known existed; the place that is nothing like we could have hoped or dreamed or imagined. I look forward to seeing you there; singing with you, dancing with you, tasting milk and honey with a wonderful sense of what is perfectly delightful and delectable. We will walk down streets of gold, drink pure water from the river of life, and sit at the feet of Jesus daily, worshipping Him.
Susannah…know that you are loved with an everlasting love by your Creator. He knows your name. He has created you to glorify Him. So glorify Him and live for Him and I will try to do the same.