Knock, knock

image found at: https://3scape.com/buy/metal/10639/St-Cyriacs-Church-Doors

Hello everyone! I hope you have all had a good week! I wanted to treat this week’s article a bit differently than my other ones. I remembered an extra credit opportunity that I had available to me when I was a senior in high school. It had the following prompt: “You’ve found the key and can finally unlock the mysterious door. What do you find on the other side? Is it spooky? Is it magical? Is it beautiful, ordinary, or just plain out of this world? Tell us all about it!” It was for a local library competition, and I wrote a shorter version of the following story and turned it in. Unfortunately, I did not win, but I found that this writing is still one of my favorites I have ever done, and I hope that it brings a bit of comfort and inspiration to us this week.

There they were: the doors. I had been staring at those golden doors, with all their glorious carvings and locked hinges for what had felt like a lifetime. They were bright, shimmering with a light from behind them, and they looked strong and safe at the same time. Every time I would get down, I held close the possibility and the hope to discover what was behind those giant doors. The promise of uncertainty kept me pushing through struggles that presented themselves to me and the curiosity that persisted through my veins for all these years allowed me to lift my head to the sky and see those golden doors every time I looked for them. The most special thing about these doors was that I did not need to tell people I saw them. They did not understand why I cared so much, why I always looked towards them for hope when there were so many other places to turn. The doors were there, glowing, no matter how grey the billowing clouds appeared or how heavy the rain poured. They were always there and I knew I could not talk about the doors. I was unable to explain to others how bright they shone and how they glowed with happiness and a mysterious eternal promise. Those doors were nonexistent to some, duller to others, and black to a few, but to me, they were the most important destination. I absolutely had to discover what was behind those doors.

As I finally came to the day where I found the key to those golden gates, I walked with anticipation and anxiousness. I finally reached the point where I could touch the doors. I did not, but rather I took my key and gently clicked it into place. I waited with growing anxiety and fear overcame me. My mind raced with what if I, in fact, did not find the right key? What if I never get inside? But as soon as I almost gave up hope on my lifelong quest, I heard the doors opening. I heard voices singing to me, a choir of people in white dresses and slacks, with smiles upon their faces and joy in the melody they sang. It started very softly, but as the doors completely opened up for me, it was all I could hear. I forgot my doubts and my fears and I ran inside. As soon as I did, I took a moment to listen to the beautiful music and the orchestra of instruments, mainly trumpets, that announced to everyone living behind the doors that I had arrived. The people’s faces were lovely, shimmering with a happiness that caused them to glow. I became happy very quickly and I felt my spirit lift higher and higher as the bright horizon shone in front of me. I loved the light, warmer than the sun in springtime, and I wanted to appreciate its entrancing comfort. After enjoying this moment of peace, I decided to walk around. As I did, I took notice of my clothing. My burgundy fleece nightgown had been replaced with a white dress that had layers of fabric that reached the floor. It was covered in lace and had long sheer sleeves that fanned out at the wrists. In the golden light it glistened with fine glitter. My worn-out slippers had transformed into new silver flats, embroidered with pearls and shiny beads. I felt brand new and I felt happy. The happiest version of myself that I had ever known.

I moved gracefully as I observed my surroundings. I took notice of two young schoolgirls running with similar dresses as mine to an outdoor classroom. They held books, but I recognized the book they were carrying. They were grasping so tightly the word of my Savior. They laughed together and it sounded like tinkling bells in the soft breeze. As I watched, they made their way to a giant tree and under this tree were other children enjoying themselves. They all were smiling, reading over their books or practicing songs full of amazement and gratitude. Their teacher was there too. He was wearing a robe of white and His eyes were a deep caramel brown color. His hair was grown out to His shoulders and it appeared to be soft and He smiled with a peacefulness that made me stare. He noticed me and called to me, “My child, come listen and ask,” and I followed the sound of His voice. Once I heard Him speak, I realized I knew His voice and I had been following His voice for my entire life. I walked up to Him, I embraced His open arms and He smiled to me as He spoke the words I had been waiting to hear: “I am so proud of you.” He released me and asked me to sit with the others who had congregated. We talked about the oceans and the endless sky and how we should greet the next arrival. I asked questions and I talked and I laughed. When the questions slowed down, I took a moment to consider my day. I realized that ever since this first time I sat with my brothers and sisters and engaged in conversation with the most powerful force to exist, I knew I was home. I had been waiting for this. I had just discovered heaven behind those doors.

This writing, as you can see, really took me to a place where I was able to consider what it would be like the moment I entered Heaven. As mentioned above, I wrote this in 2017, when I was a senior in high school. I have since gone back and made minor edits, but the message seems to be more and more important to me as I consider the ways in which this world tries to diminish Heaven and what it will be like for us as believers. We do not often talk about Heaven, it is something that is always assumed and the journey there is usually the topic of our sermons, quotes, and messages. I understand that it is hard to focus on Heaven when we have (what feels like) such a long row to hoe, so many adventures and lessons, and so many things left on earth that we need to experience. However, all of these pieces of our journey are just stepping stones to get to Heaven. Truthfully, we can overthink so many aspects of earth that we fail to remember the eternal life that we are given through the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus. We remember we are saved, but how often do we really think about the moment that we shed this earthly shell? It makes me think about the concept of permanence, and how it is lost on us here on earth. We daily have to deal with the mortality of everything we touch, love, and experience while we are humans. We lose loved ones, we face social and political issues, we have to consider the fears and evils that encompass death, wars, sickness, and so much more that is out of our control. We navigate challenging emotions, struggle to understand the places around us and their history, and we reflect on ourselves only to find that we constantly fail. It can get overwhelming. Reminding ourselves of the eternal joy and love that is found in Heaven can help us cope with this wretched world. We can find peace in knowing we have something to look forward to that actually is permanent, that will not die, whither, or decompose. There is no evil, no hate, nothing earthly about Jesus’s welcoming us into His arms and into His kingdom. His light is ever flowing, is beautiful, and is filled with true peace. The concept of eternity can be hard to grasp, which is why I think a writing like this can help us focus on a singular moment of it.

We should be excited for Heaven, and in doing so, we will be able to better handle the challenges we have before we get there. The permanence of Heaven overwhelms and overpowers the mortality of everything here and we can rely on and trust in that. I hope that my interpretation of the prompt and the moment we walk into Heaven can help us all envision what the experience will be like and can ignite or reignite an excitement for when we get there!