Tough questions & bittersweet good-byes...

Tomorrow we will spend the day remembering Grandma McPherson.  Josh's grandma (his father's mother) passed away last weekend, only 5 months after her husband had paved the way.  
They are now together in Glory...praising with the saints.  
Their recent home-goings have prompted some pretty interesting discussions with our children.  They have all sorts of questions and comments regarding these new concepts of heaven, new bodies, cemeteries and why we have to die.

Here's the latest...

-Ella says to me last week after she heard Grandma Mac had passed away, "Mom, what does Jesus look like?" To which I reply that I'm not sure, no one really knows. "I think I should go to heaven in about 2 weeks so I can see Jesus...I am so excited to see Him!"

-Levi says, "Is there hair in heaven?". Not sure what to do with this one... :o) 

-Our conversation tonight at bedtime was as follows. I was explaining to both the kids what tomorrow will be like...lunch with family, graveside service, then the funeral/memorial service. 
 "What's a funeral for, mom?" Ella asks.
To honor Grandma and talk about the wonderful memories we have of her, I say. 
"What is the cemetery for?" she wonders.
I explain, with some difficulty, that our bodies get worn out and that when we die, it means our bodies don't work anymore. So we bury those that pass away at cemeteries.  
She thinks for a minute and says, "So does Grandma Mac have to come down from heaven to be buried in the cemetery?"
Which leads me to explain that our spirit lives on in heaven with Jesus.
"And God too," Levi chimes in. 
And I explain that we will have new and perfect "bodies". No more walkers. No more braces. No more sniffles. No more tears. No more sadness. No more pain. No more...
"Spankings," says Ella with a smile.

"Can I talk to David in heaven," Levi adds. (from David & Goliath)
Yes, I say confidently. 
"Will he be old or young?" Levi asks. 
I am stumped.

But this I do know...we will be with our Creator in heaven someday. And that will be a most glorious celebration...in our real home.
Sing on Grandma & Grandpa...you have finished your race well. Thank you and we will see you very soon.

"For we know that if the tent, which is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling...so we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord...Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord." 2 Cor. 5:1-2, 6-8