Planning for the Future

by: Mattie Stepanek

Heaven is a wonderful place

When a good-hearted person dies,

His or her spirit rises into Heaven.

And, Heaven is a forever place

That transcends our mortal

Sense of time and space.

There can be many different

Views on what Heaven is like,

Because Heaven is whatever

Makes each person

Eternally and fully happy.

To go to Heaven,

A person must be

Pure in heart, and truly sorry

For any sins committed.

If a person is not clean in heart

When he or she dies,

That person might have

To think and better prepare

For the eternal wonders of Heaven.

So, we should live each moment

Of life in a state of readiness,

And peaceful grace.

~April 3, 2000

In Jodi's blog today, she discussed how she can't begin to imagine how to die could be to gain? How, after all, could she ever manage not seeing the faces of her children... or any of those blessings of life we've come to love so deeply.

The above poem was penned by my beloved Mattie J.T. Stepanek when he was just 10 years old. And I'm sure many of you had caught him on either Oprah or Larry King or the like. If you had, you attest that he was the most profound spiritually inclined little boy you've ever had the chance to see. You could swear he was a 'fallen angel' himself... straight from the heavens above. Sent to inspire, encourage and somehow just let us in on a glimpse of all those uncertainties he was so sure of.

Mattie had a life of struggle. From beginning to end. Hospital visits all his life. Being hooked up to machines most of the time. Miserably uncomfortable more times than not. And had already lost two brothers and a sister by the age of 3. Two of which he never got to know personally, but still missed tremendously. And yet, he had the spirit of a champion. He still managed to find the good in life and by choice held onto that. Reading his words leaves you believing in more. And his poem that speaks most closely to my view on Heaven is this:

Innocent Visions

One time,

I saw Heaven.

And when I saw Heaven,

It was a girl.

And when I looked at the girl,

It looked like a boy.

And that is because

Heaven

Is everyone,

And everything,

And everywhere,

That is good and special.

~ October 21, 1993

He was just 3 years old when he wrote this poem. But that, to me, is what Heaven will be.

Those things you are blessed enough to experience here on Earth that you just can't seem to get enough of. The things (or people) that you love SO deeply and strongly that it almost aches to take it all in.

I tend to think of this whenever I see a breath-taking rainbow or a moon so bright at night it just takes your breath away. I find myself trying to take them in just as much as I can before they quickly fade into the sky.

Holding that toddler in your lap, while they dream. Feeling and breathing in fresh cool air...

Those, to me, are just some of the previews of what may lie ahead. And reminders that there are things much greater than the land we live in for our limited time here. Greater than our human minds could even fathom.

For more information on Mattie Stepanek: www.mattieonline.com