Natural Born Kidder: February 2015

So I’d previously tried reading Heaven Is For Real in spurts, but always got sidetracked with either this or that. However, last night, I had nothing but time on my hands – for a change, and thank God for that! – so I decided I’d pick back up that book and read it in one sitting from cover to cover.

I should probably preface the rest of my blog by stating that I ain’t the most religious fellow. I’m not a downright atheist because I think it’s silly to be “against” something you supposedly "don’t believe in," and also because a part of me really wants to believe in that beautiful and magical Heavenly kingdom, but I'm too grounded in science to fully confide in the entirety of that religious ideology, too. So essentially, I'm a wannabe Christian, but really, I'm closer to being an agnostic humanist. I just live my life right and try to do what's best for everyone. Nonetheless, like I said, I really hope that when I pass, that something like a Heaven exists up there... and that's why I wanted to read this book!

I guess I was kind of hoping little four-year-old Colton Burpo could convince me that Heaven exists through his alleged experiences.

Well, I'm not sure he fully did that – I mean, I still really have a lot of questions – but if what he's telling us is the truth, then I did find a couple of things very interesting in this book. First off, he said that Jesus is seated at the right-hand of his father (God), and at the left-hand of the angel Gabriel, both of which can be found within the Holy Bible. However, he also stated that Mother Mary could sometimes be found kneeling in front of them. I understand that God is the king of Heaven and all that, but does he not have any manners? And Jesus, c'mon, that's your mother, man! Get up and offer the poor woman a seat!! (Ha ha! I probably shouldn't joke about religion, huh?)

Okay, that was a joke, but there really was a lot of interesting facts in this book, such as the blending of time (Colton claims to have seen his late great grandfather from the past, seen visions of an upcoming Heaven vs. Hell war where his dad Todd was one of the warriors for God's army, and also taken up experiences in the present like being surrounded by lots of children and receiving "tiny" wings, all in the span of what he claims was only a "three minute" visit to Heaven). If that's so, time in Heaven must be really different than time on Earth, and will probably require a lot of adjusting to, I would imagine. Also, he claimed that it was never dark in Heaven because the light that God and Jesus exude from their golden halos keeps the kingdom lit 24/7. I think that's pretty neat. You can probably get a lot more accomplished that way.

In yet another chapter of the book, Colton states that Jesus has red markers on him, in the very spots where he had been crucified here on Earth. I find that strange that God's son couldn't heal his mortal wounds, and just walks around with holes in his wrists and feet. Why would anybody who has such great healing powers – after all, he helped blind men see again, while here on Earth – do that?!

But the two things I truly found most interesting of all, were these...

Colton claims that there are no old people in Heaven, that everyone looks like they did in their prime. He didn't recognize his great grandfather in photos until he saw one of "Pop" at the age of 29. He says "Pop" came up to him in God's throne room, and helped him assimilate into life on the cloud. If this truly goes down like this when we all die, then I'd better start looking up photos of my grandmother when she was "in her prime," so that I'll recognize her once I get up there, 'cause sure, she's going to fill me in, but I'd rather not be rude and give her the joy of knowing that I could recognize her always, no matter what age she is/was. My grandma's been dead since 2003, and I always only knew her as a sweet old lady with wrinkles on her face and a perm haircut, who used to cook the best meals and be a joy to be around. But I find it kind of cool that, some day, her and I may again have a relationship, where neither of us looks the way the other remembered each other looking. It'd be, like, "take two" on one of the best Earthly relationships I ever had with a family member. That'd be pretty awesome!!

And the other really interesting thing I learned from Colton's so-called experiences is that babies that are lost to miscarriages (as the third of his parents would've-been-four children was) get adopted by God because he "really loves the children" and get to keep growing in Heaven until their parents get there to join them. That's pretty cool that they don't just fade away into oblivion. I've never had to suffer through a miscarriage, but I know people who have, and now this book has inspired me to be able to uplift them with the hope of maybe someday they will get to meet that unborn baby. In Colton's mom's (Sonja's) case, she learned through Colton's experience, that the child was a beautiful girl that looked just like Colton's sister Cassie, but slightly shorter and with black hair instead, the only one of the kids to have her hair color. That's a sweet thought with which to be able to fill people's hopes.

All in all, I ain't sure I believe everything I read in that book, but I really hope it's true because Colton's Heaven is a beautiful one.