It's probably nothing compared to the park Gracie went to a few short weeks ago, but Boston Public Garden is one of the most beautiful parks you can access when you just want to chill in the world. When Gracie first told me about God's Park, where she would wait until my brother Joey came to get her to take her to God and spend her eternal life with him in Heaven, I found much comfort in the journey to Heaven she would be taking.
I also found comfort in my heart that perhaps all my family and friends that have taken that step into their final journey home found peace with-in themselves as they sat in God's Park waiting for their invitation into the most holiest places you can be. Most of us know this resting place that Gracie referred to as God's Park as Purgatory, which the bible references as the place you go when you die in grace to work out the remaining purification of your soul until it is believed by God you are ready to enter into eternal life with him.
My personal belief about Purgatory is that the less time you spend there the sooner you will join your loved ones in eternity. I believe the closer you are to God on earth, the less purification of your soul will be required to go to Heaven from God's Park. We all have goals in life, mostly so we can live in the moment. I have many small goals I need to accomplish so I can reach my main goal. I work hard to obtain all my goals and I have people who work with me to keep me focused and on track.
As my journey on earth continues, year by year, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, I realize every second I breathe my ultimate goal is to get to eternity. Today as I walked in the park with our family friend Maggie I thought a lot about Gracie and the short time she had on earth. She was not even nine years old but she taught me so much about life that I will never be able to match her strength and courage in the breaths she took while walking her journey on earth.
The hours I spent visiting with Gracie will never replace the seconds I now live without her. There was not a day went by that when I visited with her I did not learn a life lesson. Most of those lessons I am just now coming to realize what they meant to me and my future. Today my thoughts about Gracie and her words about God and God's Park and Heaven have me deep in thought about what life's goals should truly be. Maggie and I talked about this as we walked along the paths in the park surrounded by the beauty that God allows us to see if we just look with the right amount of faith in all he has to offer us on earth.
"Nothing in life will ever be as free and feel as right as accepting God's love into your life and sharing it with those people who surround you", Maggie offered me. We had stopped and sat on a bench for a few moments, giving in to the smell of the flowers that a gentle breeze was bringing to life with a sweet aroma as if someone had walked by us, leaving behind a scent of nature. I knew what she was saying and I agreed. You can obtain anything on earth that you wish to have if you work hard enough, and long enough, to save the money to get it. But the things that will carry you to eternal life with God are free. A kind word, a warm touch, a hug, a smile. Family, friends, faith. Free. All of those things are given away for free, and it cost nothing to accept them. They are the very things that will get you through life, get you into God's Park, and earn you an invitation into Heaven. They are the very things that make Heaven, well, Heaven.
The only things I can see being just as free as those things, but make you feel better, would be to seek out those on earth that for some reason cannot find a kind word, or a warm touch, or a hug, or even a smile. Perhaps they have no family, no friends, no faith. Perhaps they do not realize these things are free, all you have to do is give them, and be willing to accept them.
Living life is not always going to be a walk in the park and there will be some days where we will may feel everything we want, or everything we get, will be enough to burn the happiness candle inside of us forever. There will be days when we are unwilling to give, or accept, the free things in life that others have to offer to us, or may need from us. There will be days when our minds slip and we think only about the goals we have here on earth and forget about the goal of eternal life with God in his Kingdom. Think of those as our days in Purgatory, where we will relive those moments on earth when we felt we were undeserving, or over deserving.
I am reminded of Gracie who had to deal with the horrible purification of a terminal brain cancer on earth to get to God's Park, so she could get to Heaven. She had a beautiful heart, a beautiful mind, and a beautiful soul. Nothing material was as important to her as her leaving her loved ones behind in the best possible condition she could in handling her loss. Leaving them with so many great memories to hold onto as they continue their journey's on earth without her. Freely giving them hugs and smiles and plenty of attitude to keep them laughing so they would not cry. Bringing together her family, friends, and even strangers to share their faith in what should be the one goal all living beings have in common here on earth ... to reach Heaven by way of Purgatory where they will sit and ponder what was truly free on earth, and what price they paid for the things that were not free.
A walk in the park is free, as is the beauty you open your eyes too. You and God are the only two that truly know what your heart holds, and how you distribute the free things in life. You can fool almost anyone you want to as you take your walk in the park, but personally I feel it is easier to be who you are, fool no one, love everyone, and don't wait for your time in God's Park to face how you treat others, do it in earths parks.
"I miss you Gracie, and not a day goes by when I do not think of you in heaven with my family that is there with you. I can still feel your warm touch, your little baby hugs. I can still hear your laughter and your sassy bossy demands. There are times when I feel I can see you walking around as if you were not gone. Smiles and hugs". Jett
I also found comfort in my heart that perhaps all my family and friends that have taken that step into their final journey home found peace with-in themselves as they sat in God's Park waiting for their invitation into the most holiest places you can be. Most of us know this resting place that Gracie referred to as God's Park as Purgatory, which the bible references as the place you go when you die in grace to work out the remaining purification of your soul until it is believed by God you are ready to enter into eternal life with him.
My personal belief about Purgatory is that the less time you spend there the sooner you will join your loved ones in eternity. I believe the closer you are to God on earth, the less purification of your soul will be required to go to Heaven from God's Park. We all have goals in life, mostly so we can live in the moment. I have many small goals I need to accomplish so I can reach my main goal. I work hard to obtain all my goals and I have people who work with me to keep me focused and on track.
As my journey on earth continues, year by year, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, I realize every second I breathe my ultimate goal is to get to eternity. Today as I walked in the park with our family friend Maggie I thought a lot about Gracie and the short time she had on earth. She was not even nine years old but she taught me so much about life that I will never be able to match her strength and courage in the breaths she took while walking her journey on earth.
The hours I spent visiting with Gracie will never replace the seconds I now live without her. There was not a day went by that when I visited with her I did not learn a life lesson. Most of those lessons I am just now coming to realize what they meant to me and my future. Today my thoughts about Gracie and her words about God and God's Park and Heaven have me deep in thought about what life's goals should truly be. Maggie and I talked about this as we walked along the paths in the park surrounded by the beauty that God allows us to see if we just look with the right amount of faith in all he has to offer us on earth.
"Nothing in life will ever be as free and feel as right as accepting God's love into your life and sharing it with those people who surround you", Maggie offered me. We had stopped and sat on a bench for a few moments, giving in to the smell of the flowers that a gentle breeze was bringing to life with a sweet aroma as if someone had walked by us, leaving behind a scent of nature. I knew what she was saying and I agreed. You can obtain anything on earth that you wish to have if you work hard enough, and long enough, to save the money to get it. But the things that will carry you to eternal life with God are free. A kind word, a warm touch, a hug, a smile. Family, friends, faith. Free. All of those things are given away for free, and it cost nothing to accept them. They are the very things that will get you through life, get you into God's Park, and earn you an invitation into Heaven. They are the very things that make Heaven, well, Heaven.
The only things I can see being just as free as those things, but make you feel better, would be to seek out those on earth that for some reason cannot find a kind word, or a warm touch, or a hug, or even a smile. Perhaps they have no family, no friends, no faith. Perhaps they do not realize these things are free, all you have to do is give them, and be willing to accept them.
Living life is not always going to be a walk in the park and there will be some days where we will may feel everything we want, or everything we get, will be enough to burn the happiness candle inside of us forever. There will be days when we are unwilling to give, or accept, the free things in life that others have to offer to us, or may need from us. There will be days when our minds slip and we think only about the goals we have here on earth and forget about the goal of eternal life with God in his Kingdom. Think of those as our days in Purgatory, where we will relive those moments on earth when we felt we were undeserving, or over deserving.
I am reminded of Gracie who had to deal with the horrible purification of a terminal brain cancer on earth to get to God's Park, so she could get to Heaven. She had a beautiful heart, a beautiful mind, and a beautiful soul. Nothing material was as important to her as her leaving her loved ones behind in the best possible condition she could in handling her loss. Leaving them with so many great memories to hold onto as they continue their journey's on earth without her. Freely giving them hugs and smiles and plenty of attitude to keep them laughing so they would not cry. Bringing together her family, friends, and even strangers to share their faith in what should be the one goal all living beings have in common here on earth ... to reach Heaven by way of Purgatory where they will sit and ponder what was truly free on earth, and what price they paid for the things that were not free.
A walk in the park is free, as is the beauty you open your eyes too. You and God are the only two that truly know what your heart holds, and how you distribute the free things in life. You can fool almost anyone you want to as you take your walk in the park, but personally I feel it is easier to be who you are, fool no one, love everyone, and don't wait for your time in God's Park to face how you treat others, do it in earths parks.
"I miss you Gracie, and not a day goes by when I do not think of you in heaven with my family that is there with you. I can still feel your warm touch, your little baby hugs. I can still hear your laughter and your sassy bossy demands. There are times when I feel I can see you walking around as if you were not gone. Smiles and hugs". Jett
Too
often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a
listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all
of which have the potential to turn a life around. ~Leo Buscaglia
