Mother's Day: A Day of Pain
Heaven is Our Home!
Photo by adrianna geo on Unsplash
“Heaven is our hope, Heaven is our future, and Heaven is our home! I look forward to being home at last!” – Billy Graham
Dearly Beloved in Christ,
Heaven is a place we hope for as Christians. A place we hope to go one day, a future we look forward to that will last all of eternity. It is the place that one day we shall call home. Now let us call to mind and remember that "Heaven is a place, but not a particular space" ("Catholic Answers: Is Heaven a Place or Only a State of Mind?" by Terrye Newkirk). A state of eternal happiness.
As the old song goes, “Some call it Heaven, I call it home. Some call it dreaming, well let me dream on. Some call it paradise, somewhere beyond the sky. Some call it Heaven, I call it home ("I Call It Home" by Squire Parsons).
It seems that some days we may be afraid to go, we aren’t afraid to go to Heaven, but rather embracing the reality of death. It is something that I struggle with as well, however, I know there is hope in Christ. I know that for a nanosecond I will breathe my last and stand before the judgment seat of God. If I am judged worthy, I will hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23) then I will have nothing to fear. For I will be home in Heaven. You too may think the same, you may not know when death will come, but you know it will eventually happen. When it does happen, let us embrace it. For we Christians are about to inherit the heavenly promise from Christ of an eternal home. A place where death will be no more, a place where sickness, sadness, and pain are not welcome. A place where God will wipe away every tear from our eyes (Apocalypse 21:4). A place of many mansions (John 14:2). A place where there will be no more goodbyes, but a place where we will be reunited with loved ones and spend eternity with our brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. The beautiful irony of death is that when someone close to us dies, it is a loss for us, but it’s a reunion in Heaven.
For us Christians, when we draw our last, we will depart family and friends for a short time. However, we who are welcomed into Heaven will embrace family and friends who have gone on before us. Most importantly, we will embrace Jesus and He will embrace us back. Our faith will be made whole, and we shall praise Jesus for all eternity!
Billy Graham was right in what he said about Heaven being our hope, our future, and our home. Many of us are homesick already, we are a bit taken aback about death, but we know we will have to embrace it. Do not fear death, it has lost its sting (1 Corinthians 15:55). Christ has conquered death; we have no reason to fear! We who are homesick, will one day be homesick no longer. We have a promise to look forward to, a city to go home to, a place called Heaven!
O, how I eagerly await the day I am finally called home to glory! On that day I will be home at last!
God Love You,
Lawrence T. Westfall
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About the Author
Born a Protestant, I converted to the Catholic faith at the age of 18 during my senior year of High School. I was baptized a United Methodist, became an American Baptist, and when I got my license I began to serch out other Churches and denominations. At 16 to 17, I was placed in the pulpit of a non-denomational church and preached a total of two sermons in the span of three months, before ultimately beginning the long and somewhat bumpy journey of converting to Catholicism. I was received into the Catholic Church on September 4th, 2021 and was confirmed on September 19th, 2021 by the Most Reverend Mark E. Brennan of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. For my patron saint, I was lucky enough to take the Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, who deeply inspired my conversion to the Catholic faith. I am currently discerning what God has in store for my life and what He will lead me to do. I am just beginning to publish articles that I have written. As St. Paul tells us, "Whatever you do...do it for the glory of God!" That is exactly what I intend to do. God Love You!
