A Little Bit of Heaven

There is a phenomena that occurs when I get back from one of these short-term mission trips. It’s almost like being high on some kind of drug and then coming down. Kind of a hangover. I was walking my dog on Tuesday morning after I got back. One of those beautiful southern mornings and even though it’s only July there was an uncharacteristic hint of fall in the air – a little crispness. It immediately reminded me of the mornings in Suceava and I was homesick. But wait… I am home. That was only ten short days out of my summer. How can I grow to love a place in such a short time? Maybe it’s because the people were so hospitable. Maybe it’s because we were all together in our task to help people. Our therapists Deb and Jenny kept saying it was a little bit of heaven on earth. Maybe….

In heaven there will be no disabled people to help. No head or spinal cord injuries, no cerebral palsy and no muscular dystrophy. So, it cannot be a little heaven on earth. But the young boy who sang to us in his native tongue and the grateful parents we hugged, the surprising joy welling up in us from serving people, and the extraordinary bond I shared with my co-laborers... that was pretty cool. In that way, maybe...

I already spoke of how these who are last will be first when we get home. Like the boy whose body was so tight with abnormal muscle tone from cerebral palsy. He couldn't express himself in a way I could understand yet I looked at him. And he looked at me. I liked looking in his eyes. I want to remember him so that when I see him dancing before our Saviour I can laugh. I can laugh and cry at the same time. A little bit of heaven, maybe...

It's going to be so great.