THE VIEW FROM HEAVEN: A DREAM

thanks Angela Rasch for the assistance

One night, as I slept, I began to dream. In my dream, I passed through the clouds to the gates of Heaven. I was met by an angel, who said to me, “Welcome, child of Adam. I am called Brigthtwings. I will be your guide today.”

“Did I die in my sleep, Brightwings? How can I be here?”

The angel said, “No, my friend, you have not died. God has permitted you this dream, so that you may understand his purposes better.”

So saying, he ushered me through the gates and down the glittering streets until we stopped in front of a movie theatre. “Come” he said to me, and we entered the theatre.

Inside, instead of a large number of seats, there were only a few placed in the middle. My companion guided me to a seat, and made a signal, and the lights darkened, and a film began to play. I was shocked to see the title was my name, followed by the statement: “The view from heaven”

“Every person who passes through our gates gets a chance to see their life as we of heaven viewed it”, explained the angel. I turned my attention back to the screen, but a thought began to run through my mind.

How could I explain the mistakes, the failures, the evil in my life to such a being as this? I cringed at the thought of what judgement he would render on my life.

But I had little time for such thoughts, for the movie had reached my early childhood and was picking up the pace. I saw my rape, and for the first time saw that I had not been alone during that dark time.

An angel had been with me, and I realized with a start that it was my companion. I had almost not recognized him, because the expression on his face was so different than the smile he wore now.
His fist gripped his sword tightly in anger, and I am sure I saw a tear in his eye as he watched. “You were there, could you not have saved me?” I asked.

“No”, he replied “I had been commanded to stand down”

“Why?” I asked.

“You will have to ask the Father” he said. “He may not tell you though, he is not a tame god.” He added. I turned my attention back to the screen, and then saw the moment I trusted God for the first time.

I saw my angel there again, his voice joining the chorus of heaven in rejoicing the finding of what was lost. Before I could say anything, new scenes were following, one quickly after the other. As the movie progressed through my teens and into my adulthood, I began to notice something strange.

I saw no images of my sins, and instead were images of rejoicing and praise over my successes, with my angel leading the praise, and applause from the Throne itself.

Suddenly the movie stopped at the age I am now, and my companion took my hand and said “Come, we have seen as much as we can see now. When you come here to stay, you will see the rest”.

I couldn’t help myself, and turned to him and said, “Tell me, where were my sins? I know I have not led a perfect life, but I saw no trace of them on the screen.”

He said, “Do you not remember the promise? When you trusted God, He became the Director and Editor of your story. All that displeased him is on the cutting room floor, and will be swept away, as far as the east is from the west.”

But what of my efforts look and act as a female? Isn't He upset that I didn't like what He made?“

The angel looked at me strangely. "You are what He made you. Why would He find displeasure in all that you are?"

“Now I must bid you so long. The time has come for you to wake, and walk in the mortal world again. But I hope that you remember that you do not walk there alone.”

“For I am to be with you until your life ends. And more than myself, the One who saved you is there as well, although you will not see His face until you come here to stay. Now, wake!”

And with that voice reverberating in my ears, I awoke. I slid off my bed and went on my knees and thanked God for being there for me, and asked him to thank the angel as well. Thanks to that visit, I was ready to face whatever is in store for me, as long as I remember that I am not alone.