Meeting Mom in Heaven
I’ve rather hoped to avoid meeting mom in heaven. I was twenty-eight when she died and our difficult interactions finally ceased. It’s been a relief. But heaven is forever – eventually you’re bound to meet everybody living there. Including my mom.
So, if my mom is in heaven, what happens when we meet? Will our issues remain unresolved forever? Will unwelcome memories lurk behind phony smiles? That can’t be. God (as Jesus amply demonstrated) hates phoniness. There’s no way heaven will mimic my childhood home. And that’s wonderful … but what do I do with all the issues the two of us never addressed?
Perhaps I’ve anticipated the wrong scenario. I’ve been assuming we’ll have to instantly switch to sugar and spice and everything nice and pretend that there never were any problems between us. I just can’t wrap my mind or emotions around that scenario; it seems so false … and heaven is an honest place.
But, if not phoniness, what will happen? I have no idea how our face-to-face will play out. Will we say we’re sorry? Will we even remember the bad choices we both made? I rather doubt it. Perhaps heaven contains no need (or urge) to remember the pain we caused each other, no need to avoid each other. Perhaps (I hope) our dark memories will not be exposed but erased.
But if we don’t see our past sins, then what will fill our eyes? Glory? Yes, glory. I’m serious. My mom and I will finally – finally – see the person hidden behind the ugly masks through which we spoke to each other on earth. The unrighteousness that made us so wary of each other will be gone; the hidden glory will surface; we’ll see beauty that escaped our earthly awareness. My mom and I won’t have to I fake niceness for eternity.
Somehow, way beyond my present vision, meeting mom in heaven will be good and pure. And honest. And safe. I’m still nervous about it, but I’m also suspecting (with still lingering caution) that seeing each other unmasked will move us to love what we see. What does her beauty look like? I have no idea. But it will be there. Unveiled beauty. I can’t yet picture it and I don’t really comprehend it. But then, I haven’t yet met my mom in heaven.
The old things passed away, behold, new things have come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Two Questions
- Are there people you would prefer not to meet in heaven? (Think of people you’d rather avoid on earth.)
- Have you ever wondered what they’re like behind their earthly shell?
Meeting Mom in Heaven
© Lynne Fox, 2015, rev. 2017
biblegrapes.com
What you said is so true, “the hidden glory will surface; we’ll see beauty that escaped our earthly awareness.”
May the Lord open our eyes to see more and more glimpses of glory everyday.
Yes – and may we see it now as well when we meet people before they enter heaven.
Yes, I agree, it’s love and glory that lasts.
I have been experiencing that in the past few months, since my mom passed last November.
The raw emotions and the painful, unresolved memories that grief caused to surface gradually gave way to a timeless peace that rests in the confidence of love. I rest in knowing that we loved each other as best we could, and that by God’s grace our imperfect love was good enough. Love weaves good into glory and that comforts me.
I was hoping that sharing this story would touch many hearts. I’m so glad it touched yours.
As you unfolded your thoughts, I was imagining all scales dropped away,
seeing people as God had created us to be. I’m a new creature in Christ
and I imagine heaven will finally correct our faults and false selves.
Thanks for this powerful thought provoking idea. It forced me to go deep
and wrestle with this in my heart.
I’ve talked a lot about seeing through the surface of those living around us – but I never connected that truth with what it’s like when that “surface” has disappeared and no longer obscures what God has made. Thanks for triggering that connection for me. And, as you’re experiencing, it’s a truth that does emerge from heart-level wrestling. May our Lord bless your heart’s encounter with what it will be like meeting your mom in heaven.
Thank you for a thoughtful reflection on moms… You have me thinking.
This whole issue, as you can tell, has gotten me thinking too. Good to hear from you.
Hi Lynne,
I’ve read quite a few books on people who have died and come back. Most stated they were greeted by Jesus. Many were greeted by not just Jesus, but by family, friends. They felt a feeling of love they can’t describe … My belief is that when I get to Heaven, there will be no feelings of anything other than a kinship and love. …There are so many people I want to apologize to, to ask for forgiveness from, and to say, “I love you.” In a small way, this makes me sad as I believe I not only won’t have the opportunity to say that, but won’t have the need, as they have become like Christ. …and no longer have any knowledge of any sins or transgressions I committed towards them. Just my thoughts.
In Christ, David
David, I know that the apostle Paul was caught up into “the third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:2) and then came back. But then there’s the passage in Hebrews that says we die once and then there’s judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Paul’s experience seems more like a vision of heaven before he actually died, rather than like him dying and coming to life again. A “pre-death vision” would reconcile the two passages. Hmmmm. Thanks for your thoughts – you got me thinking.