Mission FireFly » Stories » Alesha

A Journey Into Heaven

A short story by Alesha: Part 2               

      I looked around us and realized that we were in space! I glanced behind me and saw earth, it was a glowing blue green orb that looked like a jewel hanging suspended in mid air, it was breathtaking; but now it was only a dot in the distance, and a second later it wasn’t even there! It was then that I realized how fast we were going, but strangely I didn’t feel any fear, just a peace.
      Then my angel said, “Hold on tight.” Then there was a flash of light, and I found myself lying on a hill covered in soft, green grass.
      I looked around and saw my angel standing beside a crystal clear pond, but I didn’t even notice him; I gasped. All around me were colors I had never seen before! Everything consisted of these colors! But what made these colors so amazing is that they looked so clean! I had never seen anything like it before in all of my life! It was as if the colors were alive! And the trees, grass, and the flowers were swaying as if they too were alive, though there was no breeze! It seemed as if they were dancing to some unheard melody!
      As I had been studying my surroundings I hadn’t noticed that my angel had come up behind me. “So, what do you think?” He asked.
      “Ahhh!” I screamed, jumping about a foot off the grass.
      “Oh! I’m so sorry that I startled you!” He apologized gently. “We will be starting our journey soon.” He stated with purpose.
      “What journey?” I asked cautiously.
      “Why, the one that will take you to Jesus of course!” He answered seemingly surprised that I  did not know this already.
      “You mean I get to see Jesus!” I asked him excitedly.
      “Yes,” he smiled at my childlike enthusiasm, “you will get to see Him.” He said, replying as he started to walk away, suddenly, he turned around as if a thought had just occurred to him. ‘Oh, and by the way my name is Gabriel.”
      My mouth dropped open in shock, “The Gabriel?!?!?! The one that told Mary she was going to give birth to the Son of God!?!?!” I exclaimed, almost unable to believe what I was hearing.
      “Yes. That very one.” Gabriel replied with a smile.
      “You have got to be kidding me!” I almost yelled, amazed at who I had been with the entire time.
      “So, when do we get started on our journey?” I asked Gabriel, much quieter.
      “Right now.” He said taking my hand. There was a flash of light, and we were off.              
      Two seconds later I was standing on a road in front of a gigantic, beautiful, and glorious city. It glowed on the hill like a golden crown. The entire city was made out of precious gems and metals!
      I turned around to ask Gabriel when I would meet Jesus and that’s when I saw It.
      In the middle of the road, stood a pure and spotless lamb. The lamb appeared to be glowing! I knew right away who it was.
      Jesus, the Son of the living God. I stood there in awe unable to comprehend the fact that the King and Creator of Heaven and Earth was standing in front of me! The One who died so that I could live! As I tried to wrap my mind around this mind bending fact he suddenly disappeared! A second later he was standing in human form right in front of me.
      I stood there for a moment as my brain finally grasped the concept of what was happening to me. I looked down at the ground feeling so unworthy, and in doing that noticed the holes in his feet. I glanced at his hands, and yes, the marks that showed what he had done, stood out a stark angry red against his smooth, tanned skin.
      Dropping to my knees, I buried my face in his robe and began to cry.
      I cried, unable to stop the flow of tears coming from the deepest recesses of my heart. All the hurt from the years of life, from the many people who had been a part of it; all that hurt formed into tears in my heart and spilled out of my eyes, falling onto His sandaled feet. I just couldn’t stop crying, my heart was breaking.
      The memories and hurt of my parents fighting washed over me. What had I done wrong? Was it my fault that they didn’t love each other anymore? My emotions were so confused and mussed up, my thoughts swirled around my head in a confused tornado of memories tearing up my insides. The pain from it all told tales in the form of the silent tears cascading down my cheeks.
      I felt so unworthy to be here. I didn’t deserve this, I didn’t deserve Him.
      I felt like I had been the one to drive those nails into His hands, the one to turn His back into ribbons of flesh with my whip, the one to push the spear into His side. My sin had done it. It was my fault.
      And yet, He chose to die for me. He chose. He didn’t have to, but He did it because he wanted to. He wanted to because he loved me!
      Fresh tears began running down my face at the deep realization that I was loved. I mean, I had known I was loved by Him; I had realized that when I had become a Christian, but now it was the deep realization of what He had really done.
      I began to sob yet again. He bent down, put his finger under my chin, and tilted my face up to meet his. He looked me straight in the eyes.
      I then realized that he was crying too. He looked deep into my eyes with eyes filled with so much love and compassion that I couldn’t stop looking into them.
      A peace flowed over me. I realized at that moment that no, I didn’t deserve His grace. But that that was the beauty in it, it was a gift undeserved, yet still feely given.
      And then the recognition that I needed to forgive everyone who had ever hurt me to finally be free from the pain, washed over me. At that moment, there at the feet of Jesus, I laid down my hurt and forgave.
      Immediately, I felt a burden fall off my shoulders. It felt as though I could truly breathe now!
      Finally, the tears slowed to a stop. And I gathered the courage to ask Him a question. “How come God hasn’t answered my prayers about my parents yet?” I asked quietly.
      He looked deeply into my eyes and replied, “He has.”
      “But then how come they haven’t stopped fighting?” I questioned.
      “He asked you to wait a little while longer.” Jesus softly explained, his voice flowing over me.
      “But I hate it when they fight, sometimes it scares me.” I said quietly.
      “I know my precious one. That is why I had you come here, so I could talk to you. I wanted to tell you that my heart breaks for you when you’re scared, hurt, in pain, or sad. I love you so very much. But I want you to know that whenever you are hurt, or sad, or even when you need someone to talk to, I’m here for you, and I am always willing to listen to you. You will have to go back to earth soon, but I will still be there for you, and I will always be with you, forever by your side.” He told me.
      “Will I ever get to see you again?” I asked him, my eyes filling with tears.
      “Yes, you will.” He replied with a soft smile.
      Raising up His hand, he placed it on my cheek and wiped away the stray tears that had broken free. The gesture itself brought more tears to my eyes.
      “When?” I questioned wanting to know so badly.
      “Soon,” He smiled reassuringly, “You have to go back now, but remember that I will always be there.” He said reminding me.
      Then He stepped forward and wrapped me in His arms, giving me the best hug I had ever had. He wasn’t just hugging me, He was hugging my very inner being; it filled me with a warmth that started at my head and went down to my toes.
      After a long while, He stepped back and looked into my eyes and repeated those words that I would always remember, “I love you.”
      He said it with such feeling, and it was that feeling that I would always remember accompanying those three little words.
      “Well, good bye. I mean, see you later.” I grinned.
      He grinned back.
      I started to walk back to Gabriel and then stopped. I turned around, “Thank you.”I said, and I meant it from the bottom of my heart.
      He nodded and smiled softly back at me.
      I walked over to Gabriel and said, “I guess we had better go now.”
      He smiled and said, “Okay, take my hand and….”
      “Yes, yes, I know.” I smiled back.
      I looked back at Jesus and smiled, he waved back.
      “Good bye.” I whispered.
      I took Gabriel’s hand.
      There was a familiar flash of light, and we were off.

      A few seconds later and we were back in my room.
      I looked up at Gabriel and said, “See you later Gabriel, and thanks for everything! I think you’re the best angel buddy any person could have.” I giggled quietly.
      “I like you too.” He chuckled back. “Good bye Alisa. See you soon.”
      Then he bent over and gave me a hug, stood up, and disappeared.
      I stood there for a moment thinking over the things that had just happened to me.
      I glanced over at the clock. Amazement filled me as I realized I had been gone no more than a few minutes!
      I walked over to my bed and crawled in. Snuggling up under the covers, I closed my eyes and fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.
      A voice whispered quietly in the dark, “I love you Alisa.”

~The End~

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