Almost Heaven

Andrew woke up when Chris left for work this morning. He is so snuggly when he wakes up! I toted him around the house opening blinds in preparation for the sun's rising. When we came to the back sliders, I decided to take a few minutes with him outside.

This is a miracle in itself. I am so driven to accomplish things that I often miss those special little moments! We stepped into the cool, brisk morning air (another miracle- remember, this is FL!) and he snuggled tighter against me. Andrew and I sat in the adirondack chair and enjoyed each others' warmth- he warm in his blue fleece pajamas and I a bit chilly in shorts.

I could hear Ben, Lauren and Timothy playing and giggling inside. The cool morning breeze carried the sweet scent of the nearby tea olive bush past me and Andrew was so perfectly warm against the chilly breeze that I was lost for a moment in joyful contemplation. Can you imagine that moments like this are just a taste of what heaven will be like?

I thanked the Lord for his kindness in giving Andrew and I this moment together. I thanked him for giving us a glimpse of our future home (heaven). Could life get any better? Apparently! At that moment, a blue heron silently waded past us- just yards away- in the nearby pond. Andrew and I talked about the bird and watched him majestically stride away. Herons are very graceful birds. The beauty of it all, though, was the fact that we were already experiencing a perfect morning- and God added one more thing... it reminded me that Heaven will be just like that. An eternity of seeing new aspects of God, and worshiping Him for them. Eternity of enjoying snuggles with family and crisp mornings overlooking the water as the fog slowly lifts.

As the puritan prayer from Valley of Vision says, "Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity."