About 8 years ago, I had a miscarriage. It was a difficult time. To help cope I thought a lot about what it was like when my baby went to heaven. This is what I imagined. I was about 4 months pregnant. In the exact moment that my baby died, a big strong warrior of an angel came and took that tiny soul and gently cradled it in his arms and then went to heaven. When they got there Jesus was waiting and then He held my baby and my Dad who is in Heaven too also got to see and hold his grandchild. Of anyone that would ever have the privilege to hold one of my babies before I got to, I would have great comfort in that it would be Jesus. In the Bible, Jesus told His disciples to let the children come to Him and not stop them. And in that instance, our little one was the first in our family to actually go to Jesus in Heaven. I don't know a whole lot of details about Heaven but I know it is the very best place in all existence.

Summary Sentence: This life is not all there is.

In his writings for Day 4, Rick Warren talks about Heaven. He says God has put the idea of eternity into all of our hearts so we would think about it. He says life is just a dress rehearsal before the real production. I like how he described our existence like an iceberg. He said, "Today is the visible tip of the iceberg. Eternity is all the rest you don't see underneath the surface."

There must be a distinction made about eternity though. It's not all heaven. There is a hell. Just like the Bible says, people who choose Jesus choose heaven with God in eternity.

Rick Warren gives a description of heaven that is taken from the Bible. Here's what he wrote:

We know that right now God is preparing an eternal home for us. In heaven we will be reunited with loved ones who are believers, released from all pain and suffering, rewarded for our faithfulness on earth, and reassigned to do work that we will enjoy doing. We won't lie around on clouds with halos playing harps! We will enjoy unbroken fellowship with God, and He will enjoy us for an unlimited, endless forever. One day Jesus will say, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world" (Matthew 25:34, NIV).

So, if we are logically thinking about eternity, to the best of our ability we need to prepare for it each day we're alive. The better we prepare now the better eternity will be. Striving to know and complete God's purpose in our life each day is the best way to that.