Our Twenty-third 4th Day

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Glory to God in the highest! Praise the Most High, the King of the Universe!

Sometimes it feels good just to say that. Do you wonder what Heaven will be like? I imagine we will continuously praise God and never get tired or bored. I think that in praising Him it will be like being fed the most delectable food and served the most flavorful wine. That the more we praise Him the more satisfied we will be. We will never hunger or tire because we will be sustained by our praises to God.

I used to mountain bike with a passion (more like an obsession) until my wife convinced me that at my age, bad things could happen no matter how good shape I thought I was in. I always enjoyed it because I felt particularly close to God during my rides. I remember this one section of the trail I used to ride that was particularly strenuous, and when I got to a certain point (usually indicated by my bailing out right before taking a tumble), I would stop and breathe deeply and look around. I would praise God then and there, calling on the rest of creation to join me in praising God's Holy Name. I would speak out to the trees and the rocks and the earth, and all things that flew in the air and walked on the ground and crawled under the ground, inciting them to praise God. The experience was euphoric. (BTW, I should mention there were three angels that accompanied me also. I believe they were called Michael, Gabriel, and Andrew. I guess Andrew was less famous, but still well known to me. It was either them or Christ Himself that saved me a couple of times from breaking something.)

I think that was a glimpse of what Heaven would be like, in those few moments. Sometimes we need that quiet time with God. The Bible tells us so. Abram (Abraham) had his quiet moments with God. So did Moses. Jesus often went off to pray by Himself. So, you see, it is important that we do that too. I just wish I would remember to do so more than I do.

May your hearts and minds rest in Christ Jesus.

De Colores,
Bill