Almost 7 years ago, my adorable son sat beside me while I worked on my computer.
With both hands planted firmly on my cheeks, he asked, ““Where is Heaven? Are the clouds heaven?”
Unsure of the answer, I mustered to say something based on what I learned from my Grade school [tag]Religion[/tag] subject…
““I’m not sure if the clouds are heaven, but it’s somewhere up there and hell is down there,” I said, kissing his fat cheeks.
Luijoe asked all of these questions two weeks before his untimely death.
What a lame answer! I wish I knew more what heaven is like.
Luijoe never tired of asking the same questions over and over again, as though reassuring himself that there were angels that protected him and that heaven was a beautiful place to go when someone died.
As I wrote in the book , Fallen Cradle, it seemed that my son was preparing himself for heaven even fearful he would go to hell because like any little boy, he could also be naughty.
““I don’t want to go to hell,” he hugged me.
I hugged him back, said he was a good boy, and promised that he would never go to hell.
Reflecting back on his death, I firmly believe that Heaven is a real place. It is impossible for us to envision what heaven will be like. Of course , no one from the dead came back to say that “Heaven is beautiful…Heaven is full of Joy…Heaven isn’t boring….Heaven is a real place”. Being humans, we only understand the here and now.
I imagine heaven to be a wonderful reunion of sorts with my loved ones. Only [tag]God[/tag] knows if I deserve to be in heaven . But for the sake of discussion, let’s just assume I will end up in heaven ( I know I have to deserve this). I imagine myself entering Heaven’s gate, with my son, my mother, my dad, my brothers Oscar and Ruben with their arms wide open. I know my body will not be like this. It will be an eternal body and our loved ones will surely know who I am even in this form. Heaven will be more beautiful than we can comprehend and conceive.
Upon entering [tag]heaven[/tag], we will find the absence of evil, ruin, decay or sorrow.
Upon entering heaven, we will find God’s presence.
Upon entering heaven, we will find worship as a lifestyle.
Upon entering heaven, we shall find our Father’s house and inheritance.
Everytime I pass by the lovely house that Luijoe promised to buy me one day, I imagine that this house might be what he is preparing for me right now in heaven. And I need to deserve it.
In the meantime, I continue to work on my faith in God through my mission and advocacy. I want to go to heaven to be reunited with my son and loved ones who went ahead of me. My life here on Earth is only temporary.
Heaven is where we belong one day. Forever.
And as tears cascade once again….
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away
Revelation 21:4
Wow that’s touching. You are a great writer too. Thanks for this article, puts things into perspective. I hope you reach a lot of people with your work. I’m subscribing to your feed.
Mark McManus
@Mark- My son inspires me. yes, hopefully I can reach out to a lot of people who need help.
Noemi, i am really touched. i would like to imagine heaven as the promised land, where there is eternal happiness, where we are united with our beloved departed, the eternal garden where your dear Luijoe frolics…
Heaven is a real place. God is real. I have to believe that as sometimes, it’s the only thing that gets me through the misery, through a hard day, a hard year.
Your son was loved on earth, but your son is loved and cared for more in heaven.
Inspiring entry.
@sexy mom- Yes, a beautiful place
@fruityoaty- It’s my son’s death that inspires me that there is eternal life. Forever loved and cared for
Hi Noemi. What a beautiful and touching entry. Thank you for sharing. Wishing you and your loved ones blessings and happiness.
Luijoe is still with you.
@sam- thanks. Hope you get as much blessings
@jun- yes always in my heart
What a beautiful and touching piece!
Oh, my the sense of loss never goes, does it? Sabi nila, grief it’s not a vertical but a circular
staircase. But it’s now a kind of a dull pain isn’t — it is for me. With “what might have beens” sprinkled in.
Thanks Noems for sharing your vision of what heaven might be like. Sabi nila, God is so generous He gives us what we expect — and more.
Heaven is any place away from Christians and that butt poker Jesus Christ!
Heaven is real…. but it always starts in one’s heart.
Guia Gomezs last blog post..Blogs are Definitely the New Media
I cried reading your entry. I feel the same way too. When my father, whom I love so much, died, my fear of death has somehow faded. It somehow made me believe in heaven all the more. The thoughts of seeing my loved ones, especially my father, and spending every minute of my eternal life praising my Creator made me anticipate the day when I will be called to spend eternity in heaven.
i love ur blogs. it inspires me. i hope i’ll get to meet you up someday. 🙂 i hope u’l keep on blogging these things.
Hi Noemi,
I really dont know how I got into your page, but it is not a coincidence… I was touched by your story and I hope to know you personally. I am a newbie at blogging and intend to reach Filipina bloggers to be able to share my own journey of death, just like you. Although mine is a little different as I was recently diagnosed with stage 3 cancer which later methasthesized to stage 4 ca … and at that time I already had a hard time walking because of all the pain.
But now almost 5 months after, I am enjoying life and blogging about it. All because of a natural product that was given to me by a priest. To know more please check out my journey at
http://www.heliumasia.com/2009/06/frank-cure-for-cancer-reliable-evidence.html.
http://urbanretreatmla.blogspot.com/
or you can email me at [email protected]
I look forward to more of your posts. I hope you dont mind that I will post a link in my blog to this page. Hope to get to know more of you personally soon.
With love and grace,
Jackie
.-= Jackie J.´s last blog ..Tweeting your way around the world =-.
I am reading your blog searching on google for Heaven as my mother lays in her last hours not responding to us much now. She is 58. I don’t know how old your little boy was but I know God sees children who are too young to believe for themselves as special cases like with David’s little son in the Bible who went straight to Heaven. My Mom is going to Heaven because she believed in Jesus on the cross paying for her sins. i couldn’t help but notice that you hoped and believed you were good enough. In reality none of us are, but by trusting in Jesus’ paying the penalty for our sin, we are granted eternal life.
In my opinion earth is hell and we are taken early in our years because of a fault in Gods decision making; have you ever thought your son was a pure being and wasn’t ment to roam the depths of this wretched place?
Your son will be with your always!
Heaven is real! I saw an 11 year old boy being interviewed last night on The Today Show. He died when he was 4yrs.old and said that Jesus held his hand. He saw God, the Holy Spirit and Angel Gabriel as well as his great grandfather who introduced himself to this little boy. When asked how he felt while Jesus while holding his hand, he said he felt SAFE. But I guess he still has a mission that’s why he was brought back to life. I felt happy for my only child ENZO who died last Aug.2009. I believe he is truly SAFE in heaven. Before he died, he wrote a poem about HOME. Now I believe he was referring to Heaven as our Home. God bless u!