There I was, standing at those big golden gates that I had heard about since I was a child. Oh, what joy I had on my face to see the robed figure in white smile at me and say, “Well done, my Good and Faithful Servant!” He reached out to me with his hand and I saw with my own eyes the scarred hole in his hand that had once brought him such great pain.
I smiled up at him and said, “Christ, what will happen to my family?”
He looked me right in the eyes and said, “Betty, they will have you as a glorious angel to watch over them now! They will all be fine!”
I looked down through the clouds at my family, unsure if I was ready to say goodbye. My companion must have known what I was thinking because he said to me, “Remember dear, this isn’t goodbye.”
I wiped a tear from my eye and gracefully took his hand as the miraculous golden gates opened. To my surprise there they were: Mother and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Fred, our dog BB, Cindy’s little Page, and Austin, Shirley, Dale, Kim, Loni’s little boy, Kela, Jayshon, Kai, and so many more. They all smiled at me as I entered into the beautiful mist that was and will forever be my home. Christ looked me in the eyes and said, “Welcome Home!” He slowly let go of my hand and I rushed to hug them all, knowing now, that I could forever hold them in my arms.
After what seemed like hours of smiles, tears and pure joy Fred grabbed my hand and said, “Let’s go home!” I walked with him across marble streets and crystal sidewalks, with BB trolling behind us. We came to a fork in the road and Fred took me to the left where I set eyes on my perfect home.
It was a farm, for Fred naturally. The house was beautiful and it had absolutely everything I could have possibly wanted. Decker whinnied in the pasture and chickens clucked. I went inside to find a full house of people I didn’t know having a Sunday dinner. I smiled wondering who they all were but nowhere near being able to contain my excitement to find out.
Fred closed the door and smiled at me as he said, “Everyone, Grandma’s Home!” They all rushed to hug me, saying who they were and telling me how much they had missed me. I sat with each child: learning everything I could about them and remembering everything they said.
I learned that these beautiful children were my grandchildren’s children. They all asked about what their parents would be like and I just smiled as I told them all that they needed to know about their beautiful, unselfish, kind parents. They all giggled with excitement and I told them about all of the things I had experienced with them.
All of the Grandma days, Sunday Dinners, plays, concerts, watching them all ride horses in the arena, sledding behind the four wheeler during the Winter, Christmas’ with Santa Clause, Thanksgivings’, Easters’, Birthdays, Going to the Zoo, Cutter Racing, Trips to Lagoon, Jet Skiing, Doing crafts… Absolutely everything I could think of.
Smiling so much my cheeks hurt, but never letting them get a rest. I knew then, that I would forever have love, happiness, and joy around me. That night I fell asleep, dreaming the whole thing over again. Images popped in my mind of my grandchildren’s future families. They all seemed so happy. And I knew that one day we would all be together again, faultless and happy. Just the way we started out.
