This Side of Heaven

I had a friend die the other day.
She was just a few years older than me and we grew up in the Arlington Church of God in Riverside, CA. I have known her for 41 years. Wow I am old! For most of the world she will never be remembered for her name or for what she had done, but for some of us, she was a friend, a helper, a prayer partner, a football player, a good person.

I was the leader of the youth group many years ago and we were in the process of raising money to send youth to camp. One of the projects was to collect newspapers to recycle. This friend and my sister played a joke on another friend of mine with those newspapers. I had stopped off at his house after school to pick something up; as we came to his bedroom door he could not get it open. We pushed it open just a few inches and there all the way to the ceiling was all those newspapers wadded up in his room.

It was funny! It was a good joke! We all set down and laughed together. Later it was time to go home. I laughed all the way home. BUT when I could not get my door open to my bedroom at my house. I stopped laughing! My room was also filled to the ceiling with all those newspapers. It wasn’t funny anymore! I called and complained! I told them they were in trouble with stealing all those newspapers from the youth group. But there told me they had bought all the papers from the church gave the pastor the money and now were giving me a present. Wow what a gift! Given with love, a laugh and a smile.

My sister died many years ago. Now Rhonda is with her in heaven. One day I will meet them again in heaven. I just hope I will not have to push the gates of heaven open because there is a pile of newspaper waiting for me on the other side.
Pastor Ken