“Flight to Heaven” by the talented Emily Wierenga


 

Belinda Carlisle got it wrong.

Kenny Chesney thumbed his nose at it, too.


Even the fancy-footed Fred Astaire totally missed the mark.


Turn on the TV?
 

You’ll find advertisers like Red Bull and Angel Soft
peddling it to make a buck.


And lest we start feeling superior,
let’s confess:  you and I do it, too.


We tell jokes that begin with Saint Peter at the  pearly gates,
tell the taxi driver who arrives just in time
that  he was “heaven-sent.”
 

and that chocolate cake that melts in your mouth?
It’s simply “heavenly.”


Lies.


Well-intended and benign, but lies nonetheless.
We can joke about it because most of us, even those of us who believe in it and sing about it on Sundays, have never really yearned for it.


But I know one mama who does.


A mama who wrote, not long ago in her journal, these words:

home — heaven.

my home now that you are there…

Bane, your daddy and i are going to make it, i promise. One day we will both run to you and hold you again.

thank you jesus that your promises are true.

my jesus, come quickly.

–Sonya, August 20, 2010



Say the word “heaven” to her, and it won’t be a joke.
She’ll look you straight in the eye and tell you
that a piece of her lives there.



And though the topic is serious, it’s not somber.
It is  a place of wonder and praise
In honor of Bane’s birthday and
in celebration of his new home,
we will be starting a new series here at Banebow.com.
And you, faithful readers, are the invited guests.
Only this time, you don’t bring the gifts — you receive gifts.
With gratitude to a couple of generous donors, we will be hosting a giveaway with every post of this series.  All you need to do to win a birthday gift from Banebow is to follow directions at the end of each post.


The series starts on Wednesday …


won’t you join us then?