Heaven’s Gate

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.
–1 Corinthians 2:9

On October 22, 2012, my mother-in-law, Charlotte E. Nelson, drew her last breath on earth and took her first breath in the Lord’s blissful presence. There are no human words to describe that moment when Heaven touched Earth and took her home. The angels were there and she was greeted by her husband, parents, family and friends at Heaven’s gate. The radiant smile and the serene, peaceful countenance on her face was proof of that first moment she saw what no eye had seen, heard what no ear had heard, and blissfully received what no mind had imagined.

Charlotte was an amazing woman who cared for her family, worked hard, and impacted the lives of many people during her 94 years on this side of Heaven. She taught this city girl many things, like the secret to tender meat and dark gravy (dark brown speckled roaster) and to never throw away the turkey carcass (make soup with the leftovers!). She knit, sewed, gardened, canned, and made the best apple crisp I’ve ever tasted from the apples on the tree in her own front yard. It wasn’t all hard work on the farm where she and my father-in-law raised their family of four children. There are many stories about the exciting trips she took with my father-in-law in their private airplane, and in later years, their fifth wheel trailer.  She loved to golf with her grandchildren on the little course across the road from the farmstead and passed on to them both her passion for the game and her natural ability to shoot the ball straight.

In her later years, our greatest joy was praying with Charlotte and reading the Bible together. She loved Jesus and knew exactly where she was going when her full life on this earth was over. She knew she was going to a place where her every desire would be satisfied more abundantly than she could ever dream. We know we will see her again because Jesus defeated death (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). He said: “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.  Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die (John 11:25-26). God created each one of us with a deep longing in our heart to live in relationship with Him, and He never stops pursuing us.  His free gift of love comes with no strings attached. There is nothing we can do to earn it, and there is nothing we have done that is beyond His Son’s outstretched arms of forgiveness. Charlotte knew Heaven is her home and Jesus is the way. Accepting His love offering is the most important decision we will ever make.

We are also reminded of the tremendous responsibility we have to pass on this same assurance to the next generation. Moses gave instructions for passing on our faith heritage when he told the Israelites to repeat God’s commands “again and again to your children “and to “talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up” (Deuteronomy 6:7). Paul saw in Timothy a deep faith inspired by his godly heritage passed down by his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice that would enable him to live boldly to fulfill his calling in Christ (Acts 16:1-3).

Our children will follow in our footsteps. They will do what they see us do, and they will become who we are. God is trusting us to love, nurture, train, teach and prepare our children and grandchildren to walk in the abundant life He has promised in this life and the life to come (John 10:10). The weight of this responsibility can feel heavy at times, but we can always trust in God´s strength, wisdom, and grace and stand on the promise that “a child trained up to choose the right path will remain on it” (Proverbs 22:6).

Charlotte is home now. We love her and we’ll miss her.  But we take great joy in knowing that those in Christ never say goodbye for the last time. Her legacy will last from generation to generation. She will live through our memories, our laughter, our golf swings, our craft projects, our turkey dinners, and our faith stories. And we look forward to that day when she will greet us at Heaven’s gate!