May knew more about the Bible than anyone we knew and didn’t
hesitate to correct my husband if he got a detail wrong during a Sunday school lesson
or sermon. Sometimes he had me run fact checks before he taught or preached
just to be sure his work would pass May’s scrutiny. Even in her 90s, May could
quote lengthy Bible passages by heart, and sometimes my husband invited her to
do so both to keep her sharp and to let her set an example for the younger
generations.
May’s favorite ministry, however, was her art. During the
week, May would trace pictures of little birds she found in books onto blank
notepaper. She would color her tracings and write Bible verses underneath or
beside her pictures. Then she would bring these pictures to church and give
them to people whom she wanted to have them. I know for a fact that my husband
and I both still have some of her pictures stored with cards, letters, and
keepsakes too dear to part with just yet. If I come across one, I’ll take a
picture and post it with a link to this post. For now, I’ll let you imagine May’s
work.
May’s pictures were simple, but they were her way of
expressing her love to God’s people and encouraging her fellow church members
with God’s Word. Though retired and living alone in an apartment above a friend’s
house across the street from her church, May found ways to reach out to others,
serving her heavenly Father in the best way that she could.
May has been gone for many years now, but as I was
remembering her the other day, an image popped into my head. I imagined May in
heaven, no longer an old woman, but ageless and healthy. She was drawing birds
freehand, birds that she pictured in her mind—hodgepodges of birds she’d traced
during her life. God had given her a new box of art supplies that would never
run out with colors and textures unlike anything we know on earth. He was
beside her in spirit, taking delight in her work.
May finished one of her creations and held it up for God to
see. He cradled her hand in His, and together they blew life into the bird, which flew away, circling people along its way to get their attention and bring
them joy. May looked into God’s face, her eyes as big as they could be, and
then they both laughed in the wonder of the moment. May immediately went to
work on her next bird.
I wonder if that’s just a glimpse of what heaven
will be like. What if our current interests and hobbies, now only a vapor that
will dissipate with time, become the basis of the meaningful work we’ll do for
God’s glory throughout eternity? Most of my hobbies, for example, center around
chronicling the wonders of this world: genealogy, photography, poetry, storytelling,
journals, and memory books. What if God lets me listen to people’s stories to
create works that reveal His glorious work in various lives? Maybe God will let
me and others like me prove the truth of the third verse of the hymn, The
Love of God Is Greater Far:
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
This is only wild speculation, but I believe there’s a hint
of hope and truth in it. First Corinthians 2:9 says, “But, as it is written, ‘What
no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God
has prepared for those who love him’” (ESV). God created each of us
with talents and interests. We’re drawn to activities we love throughout our
lives. What if what we do with these during our time on earth is only the
beginning? What if we’ll get to love God and others through them throughout
eternity?
Thanks for taking time today to imagine heaven with me.
Works
Cited
English Standard Version. Crossway, 2001. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20corinthians%202%3A9&version=ESV
The Love of God Is Greater Far.
www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/28.
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Photo by The New York Public Library on Unsplash
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