Just
as I was about to voice my agreement, we were there, in the
midst of the most incredible stand of trees imaginable. It seemed to
span miles, and each tree was a magnificent specimen of everything
majestic and solid and stately about monumental trees.
"I
love a good tree!" I exclaimed, again like a two-year old when
first introduced to something exciting and grand. "They are just
so real and friendly and comforting and noble all at once. Is this
what you wanted me to see?"
He
just smiled for the billionth time, and it was not at all
condescending or patronizing. In fact, each repeat occurrence seemed
to express his growing fondness for me. Or else I was just beginning
to discern the true motives behind everything he said and did.
"Not
exclusively," he replied. "But I know of our love for
forests, and, as heavenly examples go, this is pretty spectacular,
yet nothing like what He's provided closer to the Throne."
I
didn't waste any energy speaking, but just kept gazing in childlike
wonder at the vast perfection around me.
Unlike
earthly forests, with their sometimes tangled undergrowth, damaged
and felled trees, ground cover of dead leaves, and unkempt terrain
(all beautiful enough in the natural state, of course), this
forest was incomparably better in every conceivable way.
It
was both undeniably natural and somehow
manicured by a Master landscape artist. It was carpeted with a
never-ending lawn of cottony-soft, almost emerald-green grass, from
which the gigantic trees sprang as if planted there at the beginning
of time and space.
The
canopy of tree-tops, though incalculably huge, did not obscure the
ground with shadow, nor block the light radiating from some source,
currently unidentifiable, but nevertheless a pervasive wellspring of
warmth and clarity unparalleled on earth.
There
was no sign of death or decay anywhere I looked. All was alive and
vibrant and seemed to be present just for my enjoyment.
And
the atmosphere of utter peace and safety overrode even the visual
effect, as if nothing bad or negative had, or could, or would, ever
happen anywhere within this blessed fortress of trees.
"You
are more like we were as a child than you know" my companion
offered, "so stare away my friend, for as long as you like."
I
don't know or care how much timeless time passed while we walked
through this magically primordial place, saying very little, except
for me occasionally exclaiming, "Oh! Look at that!" over
and over again, as some new and glorious wonder caught my eye.
If
I were the most gifted painter in the history of mankind, I could
spend the rest of my temporal life attempting to capture these scenes
and not do them the least amount of justice. And if the visual arts
were woefully inadequate, literary artistry ran out of verbal canvas,
easel, colors and brushes before even getting started.
There
were only so many adjectives in the Universe, and five minutes trying
to describe this place exhausted the supply from one end of existence
to the other.
I
was transported in a way that only glorious natural scenery, or
heart-stirring music, or the innocent devotion of children could
manage. For it was all those things, and much, much more.
Then,
a thought occurred. “Where are the critters?” I asked.
“Ah!
Perfect timing,” he smiled.
Then
in the distance, at the edge of hearing, I heard a familiar sound
that I couldn't immediately place.
“Normally,”
he said, “even here at the Edge, this placing is teeming with
creatures; land animals and birds beyond measure, many extinct from
Shadowlands, but alive and well in this blessed forest. But something
very special has been orchestrated just for you. Something He
delights to provide for all His children.”
Then,
as if this were not gift enough for several centuries, and much to my
complete shock, the sound in the unseeable distance became very clear
and I heard three distinct, but undeniably familiar barks heading
my way. In the next instant, overtopping a slight rise in the ground
ahead, I saw a trio of oh-so-recognizable dogs coming right
toward me.
So
dogs do go to Heaven! I
thought triumphantly.
“Every
creature He has knit to your heart will proceed or follow you here”
he said to me, knowing my thought. “Especially dogs, for He created
them from the Beginning to be faithful companions. It is one of His
many gifts.”
"It
can't be!" I said, as I dropped to my knees instinctively to
greet these three very special, long-lost, and faithful canine
friends. “Dogs in Heaven! I never in a million years thought I
would see them again!”
"Here
boys!" I cried out, tears streaming down my face in rivers of
child-like joy. "It can't be!"
But
it so was.
I
could view them with a clarity unknown to me before, as if seeing not
only their familiar physical components - hair, eyes, and stance –
but also something deeper. I saw each of their characters; that which
made them unique and uniquely suited to me
out of all the humans in history.
“He
does that,” my older, wiser, self explained. “He provides you
with exactly what you need when you need it, from before the
foundation of the world.”
I
didn't fully understand. Did He bring these creatures to me at the
various times in my life, selecting them from a pool of candidates,
or did He form them ahead of time knowing everything? But then, as my
eyes just soaked in their respective presences, I knew I didn't need
to understand.
I
focused on the one I had named,Chips,
a companion from my earliest childhood, bounding gracefully toward me
with fluid, poetic motion that belied his small size.
Inexplicably, I now knew that
Chips was not his real
name, but an appellation of my own limited, childish invention.
I
also knew he had long-ago forgiven me for such a mundane choice. He
was what, on-planet, we call a tricolored Manchester Terrier,
barely a foot off the ground. I realized now, too, that such
superficial, earthly designations didn't even scratch the surface of
his true nature.
All
three of these noble creatures, Chips,
Mac, and
Clyde were miraculously here in this place and clearly happier to
see me than I had ever remembered them being. Then, as if to
memorialize the significance of this grand reunion, all three noble
animals came to a dignified stop about ten feet from me.
I
stared at them in utter amazement and joy, unable to speak because my
throat was so full of emotion and gratitude.
Clyde
was the one who approached in absolute dignity first.
He
looked precisely as he had in his prime, but better, with a shinier
and smoother coat. He did not resemble at all the crippled, and
stroke-devastated animal I had put to sleep after 17 years of being
my loyal and unconditionally loving companion.
Of
the three, he was the one I had spent the most time with, and who
deserved all the respect and regard I could give him. He too, was
tricolored, a mixed German Shepherd-Collie (and who knew what else),
and had stuck by me no matter what, through everything and
anything during some very bad and troubled times in my later
youth and early adulthood.
More
than once, I felt he was the only friend I had. And here he was with
me again! What an unexpected and thoroughly surprising gift.
Next
came the diminutive Chips, sidling up respectfully next to the
larger dog, awaiting his turn for my effusive and tear-filled
greeting. Though he had run away from our house when I was just a
boy, he had meant much to this lonely country kid as we moved from
town to town, as my Dad began working closer to the big cities.
Last
was Mac, still the puppy who had died suddenly of liver
failure after only one night in our house soon after my wife and I
were married. He was the animal that opened my heart again to having
a dog, years after I had said good-bye to my beloved Clyde,
and I had sworn never to leave myself open to that kind of heart
break again.
"These
are just dogs!" I said finally in an emotion-laden voice, barely
able to speak. "Why?"
"Are
you disappointed?" my future-self asked.
"You
know I'm not. How could I be?"
"This
is simply to show you something very important for you to remember:
NOTHING GOOD IS LOST IN THE LORD! NOTHING!"
He
actually shouted those last words, but it sounded more like another
chorus of praise.
"He
has provided this small taste of the future Grand Reunion, not only
because He loves you with an everlasting love, but He loves
these faithful creatures, as well. He was the One who brought them to
you in the first place. And believe me, when these glorious animals
knew that you were approaching, very little could have stood in their
way from seeing you again."
He
laughed goodnaturedly then, and more than anything else, at that
moment, he reminded me of a kindly grandfather whose favorite thing
in the world was to see the delight of his precious grandchild.
"He
loves you more than you can possibly know," he repeated.
"This is just the beginning."
© Bill Lilley 2011, 2013
