Heaven

When I was a little kid, I was sitting in Sunday school listening to a woman wearing sensible shoes talk about heaven. I sat quietly like a good boy should. Something about this heaven didn't seem quite right. I sat quietly for a while before I just had to ask a question, "Will we know each other in heaven?" No, I was told. It was explained to me we would no longer have our earthly bodies and we would not need or have friends or family in heaven. Whoa! Red flag! I always liked the idea of heaven. Now I was feeling a little scared. The idea of spending forever all by myself didn't sound so good. The Sunday school teacher continued, but I no longer heard or saw anything around me. The room disappeared as my inner turmoil wretched my empty tummy. I abruptly interrupted whatever she had been saying with a burning question. "Will there be animals in heaven?" The answer was my worst fear, No. Sensible Shoes explained to me and the rest of the class, animals didn't have souls and therefore would not go to heaven. Animals just die, she said. Okay, that's it! I resolved right then and there I wasn't going to any heaven that didn't allow animals and said so. I could deal with no friends and no family, but no animals? Nope, not going. I grew up surrounded by animals and had looked deep into their eyes on a daily basis. I knew at seven years old, animals had just as much God in them as people do, probably more! Now Sensible Shoes was asking questions. "Just where then do you think you will go when you die?" She thought she had me. There was no way she could have known how much I enjoyed setting things on fire. (See "Playing With Matches" in archives.) I held together all the resolve a little boy could have with the odds so stacked against him. I was trying to look kind. I didn't want to get into trouble for what I was about to say. I knew my parents were just down the hall. I announced, "When I die, I want to go where the animals the animals go." Thank heaven the bell rang and I was able to escape into the hall.