Alive and well in Heaven

My uncle, too, is chancing a peak along that garden path, only the world he is chancing to see is in Heaven. He died a few weeks ago and by now has been chatting it up with Grandma and Grandpa and eight of his brothers and sisters who preceded him. My mom is the last of the brood, and the orneriest – you would be too if you were raised by nine older siblings.

It’s birth into a new life, re-birth into a family made new. Remember how Mom or Dad or Grandma or Grandpa struggled in those final years? Their memory slipping, their bodies failing? Well, in heaven the party’s just getting started. There’s softball, volleyball, Lucille Ball, ball room dancing ... – and later a round of beer and nachos. Everyone’s invited; leave your cares and crutches at the Pearly Gates.

There’s no addiction in heaven, no fat to build up around the arteries, no drink that can make you more drunk with joy than you find with every breath you take in. In heaven there’s no tribulation, temptation, taxation (with or without representation), condemnation, deportation, discrimination, starvation, mutation, probation, stagnation, frustration or constipation. There’s no ultra-violet radiation, Federal Bureau of Investigation or government administration. There’s no ulceration, palpitation, or medical examination.

There’s only salvation.

There’s no earthly way to define God’s infinite power, and the same goes when considering heaven. For example, ask the wrong person if dogs go to heaven, and he’ll raise his nose high and utter, "Dogs do not have souls!" First, my dog may or may not have a soul as we define it, but there’s something going on there that borders on love, and love, as God tells us, is a miracle. Secondly, you can read the Bible until a layer of dust settles on your head, but if you deny the absolute, unlimited power of God – even the power to allow dogs through the Pearly Gates – you are drastically limiting your perceptions.

Keeping in mind God’s power, a power fueled by love, what do you imagine heaven will be like?

I remember as a child seeing a painting of choirs of angels numbering into infinity, standing on an endless cloud, their wings billowing amid beams of light. And I remember thinking that it looked ... well, boring! My parents impressed upon me the solemnity of the Mass, the gift of grace received through that special hour of prayer and devotion. And the minute I got home it was "All Star Wrestling" with the "Crusher," "Bobby the Brain Heenan" and "Nick Bockwinkle." Hymns are beautiful, and they speak to God in ways we can’t express through spoken prayer. I simply refuse to believe that we scrape and struggle through the hardships of life on earth only to go to choir practice.

My idea of heaven is simply this: it is the culmination of every dream we’ve ever had. It may not be the dream literally realized (although it might -- don’t forget, God is all powerful!) but the level of pure, unfiltered joy those dreams represent.

Heaven is the physical manifestation of God’s love for us. It’s our favorite fast food restaurant on every corner. Can you say, "Free Burrito Supreme?" Dare to dream, people!

It will be the drive-in on a warm Friday night; a cool breeze wafting through the car; Humphrey Bogart about to tell Ingrid Bergman that "We’ll always have Paris," when a voice blurts over the speaker, "Attention. The concession stand will close in five minutes."

It’s walking along a beautiful meadow and seeing in the distance a past love. Could it be? We walk faster as our minds struggle to accept the impossible. And then we run. We run as if caught in each other’s gravitational pull. And finally; finally we meet! "Cricket!" I shout, her tail wagging as I scratch behind her ears.

Heaven will be all our loved ones together again – even Uncle Al, only without the cigar and football knee. Or was it a canasta elbow? It will be a Saturday afternoon cookout with family and friends, the pines reaching into the blue sky, a mule deer and my old Guinea Pig, Ruffles, sharing a Pepsi. And when it’s over? Heaven means never having to say good-bye.

What is heaven? Heaven is what happens in that blink of an eye when our life here is finished, and when you hear the voice of God saying, "Welcome home."