We arrived at heaven and I asked: "What do you see?" "Huge, shiny golden gates with angels," said some, while others said "God" or "Jesus" was there to welcome them. We went through the golden gates, and I asked what heaven looked like. "It's so beautiful, filled with really green fields and pools and trampolines and slides." "What do the people look like, and who do you see?" I asked. The answers were almost immediate. "My cousin, my grandparents, my gerbil, my grandmother's brother who died at birth."
I waited about half a minute and said, "I see a very bright light moving toward us. What do you think it is?" Some said it was God and others, Jesus. "He's going to speak," I said. "What does he want to tell us?" "Don't judge people by the colour of their skin; be kind to people; I'm so glad to see you and I wish you could stay longer, but I'll see you at another time."
I explained to the kids that a Jewish text teaches that the manna given by God to the Israelites in the desert tasted like whatever they imagined it to be. "Imagine that it's lunchtime in heaven, what do they serve there?" The answers reflected cultural, ethnic and childhood appetites: "Pizza with pepperoni, lasagna, hot dogs with chili, cotton candy, bacon, sausage and pancakes." Now I was getting hungry!
I asked my tourists to take in a very deep breath, "all the way to the bottom of your toes," and then let it out. "Now, here's the really hard part," I said. "Can you let that big breath out but hold on to the very best scent of heaven?" They did it! I asked them to keep that smell and the sights and tastes in a very special place in their minds and hearts.
I learned that if you ask children the right questions - in a respectful way - they will help you to create heaven on earth.
by Albert M. Lewis
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