Going Home

Brian stood. “I am going to release the spells I placed on you because what I am about to tell you will be most unsettling and may cause you a wee bit of anxiety. You will have questions and helping you answer those questions is one of the reasons I am here with you.” He waved his hand and released the spells. “God sent me to let you know you will soon be joining him for all eternity. That is the good news. The more problematic part is you are going to die tonight. I work in the Angel of Death division and I have been sent to bring you home.” After the spells were released, Joe fell forward onto the table. His eyes were wide in disbelief. “Me die? W-w-w- what do you mean I am going to die? I’m only forty-one years old. And in pretty good health! I even quit smoking,” said Joe, “even though I do sneak one occasionally.” At this point, Joe was focusing more on the “you’re going to die tonight” part than the “you’re going to Heaven” part of Brian’s message. “The reason you are going to die is you have developed an embolism in your brain which will burst in a few minutes and kill you.” Bile rose from Joe’s stomach. He placed his hand on the table to steady himself. “How can God do this to me? Why can’t he cure me? Why won’t he cure me?” Joe was panicking. “Boy, if I had a nickel for every time someone asked me that,” said Brian laughing. “Everyone wants to know why he can’t be spared. The truth is God set the universe in motion but doesn’t alter the details of how each world or the people who live there live or die.” “If he is God, why not cure everyone who prays to him for relief?” “Think about it, Joe. If God cured every single illness, there would be billions of doddering old people roaming each planet. No one would die except by accident and almost everyone would live a long, long time. I’m pretty certain that is not the kind of life that God wants for his children.” “But Brian, living is all I have ever known. I am afraid to die like this.” “Joe, God wants his children, the people of faith, to be with him for eternity. Life, my friend, begins on earth and, if you have followed God’s laws, lasts forever. In the most important sense of the word, Joe, your life is already spared,” said the angel. “You may feel this sounds somewhat caustic but what more could you want than eternal life?” Joe was becoming light headed. “Sit down,” said Brian. “You will feel better.” “But what about work?” Joe said, still clinging to his obsession about his job. “I am never late for work”. “Your friends at work will soon be getting the word you died last night at your kitchen table.” “You mean I’m going to die here?” Brian held out his hand. “Come with me, my friend. We’ve got places to go.” Joe touched the angel’s hand and stood. He looked down and saw his body lying, head down, on the kitchen table. “Brian,” Joe said softly as he looked at his now lifeless body, “That’s me?” “No, Joe, what you are looking at is only your body. It will decay and return to the earth,” said the angel of death. “What you are looking at will soon be worm food. Your soul has left your body and you now have a one-way ticket to eternity. I’m sure that by now you to realize everything I have told you is true. My friend, the best thing that could ever have happened to you has just happened. Now you need to start being joyous.” “This is going to take a good bit of getting used to,” said Heaven’s newest angel. “You have a lot to learn, Joe, and later, a lot of important things to do,” Brian said. “In Heaven we don’t just sit around and strum on our harps. Come with me because my time with you is limited. I need to try to provide you with as much detail as possible about your new life in Heaven before I move on to my next assignment. The Holy Father needs all of us to help bring the living into the Light of Heaven.” “This is astounding,” said Joe. “Astounding is an understatement, Joe. You have just entered Paradise.” 6 Joe’s New Home Like a bobble head doll, Joe looked left and right as they sped through galaxies too distant from Earth to be known to human beings. “Are we there yet?” “Are we where yet?” Brian said. “Heaven. I mean, are we in Heaven yet?” “Joe, the minute your soul left your body, your soul was in either Heaven or Hell. I am here to help you transition to your life after life as an angel. Heaven is not simply a place. It is a dimension stretching from beyond the ends of the universe. However, my new friend, Heaven was only a step away from where you were when you breathed your last breath on Earth. Heaven has always been all around you. The Holy Father wants nothing more than to have all of his children with him for all eternity. He sent his son, Jesus, as well as countless angels to help humankind find His peace.”