Reaching out to loved ones In heaven

When precious loved ones die, we are faced with the crushing prospect of never seeing them again. It is a pain that reaches the very depths of our souls, a heartache that is inextinguishable. The attempts of others to soften its blow through consoling words only accentuate the reality of our loss. Only time will diminish the intensity of our grief. It is something that we must work out with the Lord.

A little girl named Julie lost her father. She was so grief stricken that she decided to write her father a letter. To transport her letter to heaven, she placed the letter inside an envelope, and with a string attached it to a helium balloon. She released the balloon and it soared heavenward until it went out of sight. 

Julie anxiously waited for the mailman every day, but a letter from dad never came. Becoming increasingly disappointed and sad with each passing day, Julie withdrew into a shell and became sick at heart.

A hunter in another state found the balloon hanging in a tree and retrieved it. He read Julie’s letter and shared it with his wife. The couple didn’t know what to do at first, but finally decided to answer the letter. 

Addressed to Julie, their response related how the letter was found in a tree and that her daddy would want them to send this reply: “ My darling Julie, although I am now in heaven, I know that you tried to reach me. I want you to know that I am all right and that I love you very, very much.” 

When the letter arrived, the little girl’s mother read it and burst into tears of joy. She then painstakingly read the reply to Julie, who for the first time, smiled, and what a big smile it was. She believed in her heart that her dad had sent her a message from heaven through the inspired thoughts of those who found the balloon.

This story may seem far-fetched, but it is not, for the scriptures declare that “we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses”—our loved ones. We are constantly reaching out to them. We sit at their graves and draw close to them in our thoughts. We dream of them. We watch beautiful sunsets and sense their presence. We gaze at majestic rainbows and know they are somewhere beyond their horizons. Oh, how much we want to see them again. 

But praise God, we will see them. The Holy Scripture states, “When the last trumpet sounds, the dead in Christ will rise first and then those who are still alive will rise to meet them in the clouds, and we shall forever be with the Lord. Comfort one another with these words.” 

What a grand and glorious reunion day it will be. Jesus assured us of this eventuality when He declared, “Because I live you shall live also.”