"HEAVEN IN SEVEN"

Ginger Gallo was a divorced mother of a six year old son named Gage. She had recently moved from Oklahoma to Boston so her son could receive treatment from the number one pediatric cancer hospital, Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.

After several weeks of unsuccessful photodynamic laser therapy, the doctors determined they would have to remove the tumor from Gage’s brain by doing a “craniectomy”, the highest risk surgery procedure. When Ginger told Gage about the surgery, he told his mommy not to worry as everything would be OK because the surgery was being done on the same day as his seventh birthday and seven was his lucky number.

Ginger jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon come out of the operating room. She asked, "How is my little boy? Is he going to be OK? When can I see him?" The surgeon said, "I'm sorry. We did all we could."

Grief hysteria engulfed Ginger who was screaming; "Why do little children get cancer? How can their story end there? Doesn't God care any more? God, where were you when my son needed you?" The surgeon’s eyes had teared up and he struggled to speak saying; "One of the nurses will be out in a few minutes to let you spend time with your son's remains before it is transported to the University of Oklahoma’s Willed Body Program Facility.”

Ginger asked that the nurse stay with her while she said good-bye to her son. She ran her fingers through his thick, auburn, curly hair.

The nurse asked; "Would you like to keep a lock of his hair?" to which Ginger replied, "Yes, please." The nurse gently cut the lock of hair, placed it in a plastic bag, and handed it to Ginger.

Ginger said; "It was Gage’s idea to give his body to the university for study. He said it might help somebody else and that is what he wanted. I said no at first, but Gage said; “Mom, I won't be using it after I die. Maybe it will help some other little boy spend one more day with his mother. My Gage or “sugarbug” as I called him, had a heart of gold, always thinking about someone else and wanting to help others if he could."

Ginger walked out of the Children's Cancer Hospital for the last time, after spending most of the last 6 months there. She set the bag with Gage’s things on the seat beside her in the car. The twenty two hour drive home was very long and very hard but it was even harder to go into an empty house. She took the bag to Gage’s room and started placing his model cars and things back where he always kept them when he wasn't playing with them. Then she laid down across his bed and cried herself to sleep holding his pillow.

Ginger woke up about midnight and when she stretched her arms, she felt something under the pillow. It was a neatly folded letter printed on a piece of Big Chief tablet paper in Gage’s handwriting. She opened it and read:

"Dear Mom, if you are reading this letter I must be in Heaven with God and Jesus. I know you're going to miss me, but don't think that I will ever forget you or stop loving you just because I'm not around to say 'I Love You.' I'll think of you every day, Mom, and I'll love you even more each day.

If you want to adopt a little boy so you won't be so lonely, he can have my room and my stuff to play with. If you decide to get a girl instead, she probably won't like the same things as boys do, so you will have to buy her dolls and stuff girls like.

Don't be sad when you think about me. I will be in a really great place plus Grandma and Grandpa will be there so they can show me around some and I bet it will take a long time to see everything.

Also Mom, you know how you have always asked God where was He when you and I needed Him? I had a dream the night before we left for Boston and God told me in my dream He was in the same place when Jesus died on the cross, always with us. So Mom, if you read this letter, please know I love you and God has taken all my pain and all my cancer so I will not hurt anymore and in my dream He has promised some day we will see each other again.”

Will we see our parents or children in Heaven? Is Heaven real? Without question Heaven is immensely real. It is a real place just like Dallas or Oklahoma City. The night before Jesus was crucified He stated; "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3) Twice in these three verses Jesus calls Heaven a place.

In Gage’s letter, he told his Mom he would see her again. Will we recognize our family members? Yes, God’s Good Book teaches we will see loved ones in Heaven and we will recognize each other. 2 Samuel 12:22-23 says after David lost his son, David plainly states; “I shall go to him but he will not return to me.” In these scriptures David is acknowledging the fact that he will someday be united with his son. If David did not think that he would recognize his son in the next life, then there is no reason he would have made this statement.

God’s Word also describes the get together at the Mount of Transfiguration involving Moses, Elijah and Jesus. (Mark 9:4-5) Moses had died centuries before and Elijah was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire. Yet they did not lose their identity, or their ability to be recognized. Without a formal introduction Moses and Elijah were recognized by Jesus' three disciples.

I remember my Granddad Green who was an old school Baptist minister saying one of the most asked questions about Heaven was whether those already in Heaven see what’s happening on earth? My Granddad was of the opinion that those in Heaven can see what’s going on and root for us on earth. (Hebrews 12:1) The Mount of Transfiguration powwow with Moses, Elijah and Jesus plainly tells us they talked about the current events and Jesus’ upcoming departure. (Luke 9:30-31)

Of course, the basics of Heaven such as no more sickness, no more pain and no more tears is just the appetizer. Will the streets really be made of gold? Since no one has seen Heaven except for the Apostle Paul, we can assume God permitted that part of Paul’s vision to be included in His Good Book (Revelation 21:21) that it is true.

Some of us worry about missing our lives here on earth after getting to Heaven. The Good Book teaches our past troubles will be forgotten (Isaiah 65:16) but not all of our memories. Think of earth as the economy ticket and Heaven will be a massive upgrade to first class.

However, while on earth we must remember Heaven is not our default destination at death. We have a choice to make prior to our dirt nap. We can choose to trust Jesus and get a complimentary ticket on the northbound train to the Pearly Gates with golden streets or we can ignore Jesus’ offer of salvation and take the southbound express to the hot box and eternal smoking section. Have you made your choice?

Heavenly Father, thank You for offering us victory over death. Thank You for offering us eternal life and eternal pleasures (Psalm 16:11) without anymore pain, sickness, violence or tears. Thank You for sending Jesus as our only way to be forgiven and saved so we can get past the Pearly Gates. Thank You for making an eternal place so perfect and flawless, it can only be described as “Heaven!”"