Little slice of Heaven


Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in.
Aim at earth and you will get neither. –C. S. Lewis

Little slice of Heaven

How often do you think about what comes next? When someone mentions Heaven, what goes through your mind? Great food? (That chocolate silk pie looks heavenly!) Beautiful music? (And Heaven and angels sing!) Streets of gold? Never having to lift a finger again in eternal rest? (That one sounds pretty dull to me. . . .)

So many descriptions of Heaven, in Scriptures and in other books, some that make sense and some—well, some that, for some people, might make the alternative sound pretty enticing.

How often, during the course of a day or week or even longer, do you stop in your tracks, look around and wonder if you died and went to Heaven—and didn’t even realize it? How often are you nearly overcome by the beauty of your surroundings?

One children’s book, about a rather daft family, tells how after a power outage, when the lights come back on, a child asks: Did we die? Is this Heaven? The reply: No. It’s Cleveland!

Truer words were never spoke. Could be Spokane. Or Schenectady. Or even Washington, D.C. Heaven isn’t a place. Heaven is wherever and whenever we open our eyes and our minds to see.

Look around. Breathe deeply. Wherever you are—heavenly!


Monday Take some time to observe something beautiful. Snow on a tree. Flakes dancing in the breeze. The wisp of a cloud in the sky. Consider the Creator who is also your Redeemer. 
Exodus 24:12-15

Tuesday Today, look for beauty in the streets of your neighborhood. As you look through God’s eyes, give thanks for God’s holy presence. Psalm 2

Wednesday Spend some time in silence. Listen for a whisper of the Almighty. Give thanks and rest in that place. Exodus 24:16-18

Thursday Take a moment and meditate on what makes you, you. How will you use your unique gifts in service to God? Genesis 1:27

Friday Is there any place inaccessible to the Lord? (This is not a trick question!) Look for God’s revelation in an unexpected place. Praise God for eyes to see. Psalm 99

Saturday Look in the mirror. Study the palm of your hand. Listen to the sound of your breath. Feel the beat of your heart as it sends life through your body. You are a miracle! Never doubt that you are precious in God’s sight. Matthew 17:1-5

Sunday Focus on the many things we, as children of God, share in common. Look around at the beautiful family of faith drawn together in this holy place, and give thanks. Matthew 17:6-9

My soul can find no staircase to heaven unless it be
through Earth’s loveliness. --Michelangelo


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