Heaven in Your Heart

In our church there is the sweetest 3 year old.  Actually I have had the privilege of watching her grow since she was 3 months old.  Her name is Meredith.  Usually there is a smile on her face.  She is a toe-headed Blondie with hair going every which way.  That doesn't distract from the fact that she is adorably cute.

 

What makes Meredith special is that she absolutely loves to hug people.  Our Pastor wrote a song called "Love Your Neighbor."  Each week when Pastor Jim gets up to do the Praise Service Meredith is sure to get her request in to sing her favorite song.  There is a spot in the song where we all go around hugging each other and Meredith is the first one off her seat to start the process.

 

Whenever she sees me she say, "I need to give you your hug Grammy Sue!" I swoop her off her feet and she delivers the warmest and best hug ever.  I have to say it is very healing! She did the same to our Pastor when he returned from a trip.  He went up to preach and she ran right up on stage and gave him his hug.  He returned the favor right there and then.

 

One Sabbath she was downcast.  I asked her what was wrong and she said, "I don't have any hugs to give!"  I said, "That's okay. I have one for you and you can give me one when you find your hugs again."  She allowed me to hug her but she was on the verge of tears.  She must not have felt good that day.  I chuckled at her sadness about not having any hugs left to give. However that condition didn't last long.  The following Sabbath she was back to her normal self doling out hugs.

 

A few weeks ago I noticed Meredith sitting on the lap of one of our older church members, Josephine.  Josephine is a dear lady who lived alone at the foot of Mt. Blanca.  She was Polish and spoke with a  accent even though she had lived here for years. She made tasty perogies.  When we went to her home to visit her yard was filled with flowers and there was always food cooking on the stove.

 

Life had been hard for Josephine but it had made her strong.  She loved the Lord with all her heart.  Once I asked if she would help a church member who needed regular house cleaning and she took on the job wholeheartedly. Josie (an affectionate name the church member called her) became fast friends with the member and remained so for many years.  Her service for the Lord was well rewarded with this loving friendship.

 

I don't know how it started that Meredith began to sit on Josie's lap during church but when I noticed it I was amazed at how comfortable the two felt with each other. It touched my heart to see joy on Josie's face to be receiving such unconditional faith and trust from one so small. I remember thinking that this is what heaven on earth must be like. Pure contentment!

 

Two weeks ago I got word that Josie had a heart attack.  Silly woman drove herself to the hospital.  She told me at one time that she didn't like going to doctors.  She felt good and she didn't see a need to go unless there was something seriously wrong.  It came as a big surprise that she had a heart attack.  While finding out what went wrong the doctors found advanced stage 4 cancer in her abdomen.  She was dead one week later.

 

Meredith keenly feels the loss of her friend.  In her prayers she prayed, "Please come back and get Mia Josephine and take her to heaven so we can be together again." How quickly love binds us together and we feel the loss of it when it is suddenly gone.

 

I think God sent Meredith to our church family. She is living God's love that seems to keep us in proper perspective.

 

This is what Meredith teaches me: Love with all your heart! Give hugs freely.  Touch each other in tender compassion.  Hug with sincerity.  This is healing.....this is the touch of God. As Meredith says, "When you have Jesus in your heart it's like having heaven in your heart too!"

 

1 John 4:7  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.