Finley Worries

A couple of times in the past month or so, Finley has come to me after the kids were tucked in for the night with tears in her eyes, holding her 'soft blanket' tightly to her chin. Usually, when this happens, she is worrying about something like a lost toy or is scared of something general like alligators. Lately, though, her worries have centered around death.

"I'm worried about being dead," she said. "... Can we feel when we're dead? ... Can we see?"

I can envision the image in her head, of a still body trapped in the dark, unable to move or see, utterly alone. So I explain to her that for those that love Jesus, we are given a new body and go to be with him in heaven and that people that died before we do will be there, too. "Will we be young or old? ... Will Gramma be young? ... Will I get to have my soft blanket?" So many questions I don't have the answers to.

I wrote and illustrated a little book several years ago about a little bug wondering what heaven would be like, and from all he'd been told, it didn't sound like it would be a place where he really wanted to end up. To be honest, streets of gold and sitting for hours singing doesn't sound very enticing to me. Where are the soil and trees I love so much? Won't we get to have fun?

How do you explain to a seven year old that, I think, heaven is about being with the One who loves us best of all, and once we are enveloped by that, it changes what we think is important... like having your special soft blanket. The best verse I could think of to ease her worries was John 14:2 : "In my Father's house are many mansions... I go to prepare a place for you." I told her that God loved her so much, that he is making a special place for her in heaven, and that he knows her favorite colors and the things she likes and probably is decorating a room for her in a way he knows she'd love. (And who knows, I thought to myself... maybe her soft blanket will be there. I wouldn't put it past him.)

So this morning, I was going through the schoolwork she brought home yesterday, and found a little book entitled 'I Am Thankful'. Page one: I am thankful for my family because they are my family. Page two: I am thankful for my teacher because she teaches me. Last page: I am thankful for deth because we go to heven and see god.