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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Enter (02/27/06)
I was crying as I fell into to bed that night. I was unable to make my Grandpa’s funeral and was feeling sad. I finally drifted off to sleep and found myself in a beautiful place. A large gate, studded with pearls, loomed in front of me, and a long line of people stood waiting to get in.

A sign read “Only the Redeemed may enter here”.

I smiled as I watched my children walk through the gates. Tears came to my eyes as 4 year old Bethany, who had recently become a Christian, was greeted by Jesus.

“Welcome, little one,” He said as He gave her a hug.

As I approached the gate, Jesus said, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your Lord.”

I went through the gate and looked around. There was a feeling of peace in the air. I walked down a flight of stairs and saw some babies lying in bassinets.

A sign read, “Unwanted on Earth, but loved here. Take one, they are free.”

“I’ll be back,” I said to one of them as I held her hand.

My husband Jeff ran off to sing with the angels. As I looked around, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw mom smiling at me. I hugged her as she cried tears of joy.

“Come look,” she said.

I followed her to a room that was filled with toys. A little boy, who looked a lot like my dad, sat in the middle of the room.

“Is that..?” I asked, my eyes glowing with excitement.

“Yes that’s Bryan,” mom said.

I walked over to the little boy and kneeled down in front of him. He pushed the car he was playing with toward me and I pushed it back.

“Hi Bryan, I’m your sister,” I said.

The little boy smiled and said, “It’s about time you got here.”

I opened my arms to him and hugged him tight.

“Nice to finally meet you, little bro,” I said.

Mom and dad came over, and mom took us into her arms. I saw joy in mom’s face as she finally got to hug her little boy, whom she never got to meet. Dad was smiling too as he took Bryan into his arms. Sensing a private moment, I left the happy reunion to find my children.

Instead I found a large room. There were life size statues of famous Christians in the entry way. My sister came into the room and smiled when she saw me.

I hugged her and asked, “What’s in the bag?”

“My nursing things,” she said.

“You don’t need those here,” Jesus said as He took the bag from her.

Together we went to a large stage at one end of the room, where we were joined by several family members. Kayla and Bethany soon joined us.

“Where’s Jeffrey?” I asked.

“Playing with Grandpa Howdy,” Kayla said.

Suddenly I heard laughter, and Jeffrey came running into the room. He was carrying a football and was being chased by Grandpa Howdy.

“Touchdown,” he yelled, as he spiked the ball at my feet.

I hugged my grandpa who no longer looked sick. He had a twinkle in his eye and looked several years younger. He went over to Grandma and gave her a kiss.

“Welcome to Heaven,” he said.

I tried to hold onto the dream as long as I could, hoping it was real, but pretty soon it faded away and I woke up.

As I snuggled up to Jeff, I said, “I just had the most awesome dream!”

“What about?” he asked in a sleepy voice.

“Heaven and Grandpa,” I said with a smile.

He put his arms around me and fell back to sleep.

I smiled as I enjoyed being in his arms. One day there would be a great family reunion, and we would never have to be apart from our loved ones. But until then, God had other plans for me.
As for my entrance into Heaven ... it was sealed by the Redeemer Himself. The sadness I felt over Grandpa’s funeral faded away as I thought about how much better off he was in Heaven, and I started to look forward to the day when we could all be together again. What a great family reunion that would be!
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This article has been read 1039 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Lynda Schultz 
03/07/06
Nice. A couple of minor grammar things like: "she had never met" It's hard to argue with a dream because dreams aren't necessarily biblically accurate but I doubt that: "There were life size statues of famous Christians in the entry way" or babies looking for homes, but those things don't take away from a delightful picture, wonderful sentiment and a well written piece.
Shari Brian
03/10/06
Thank you for writing and sharing your dream with me. Your writing is clear, easy to understand, and straight from the heart. You grabbed my attention right at the first, which is hard to do, and I couldn't leave your article until I finished reading it. I wish I could say as much for my own writing!

Thanks again. Please keep on keeping on. I need to read what God has put in your heart to say!

Blessings, Shari Brian
Jan Ackerson
03/10/06
Very sweet.
Val Clark
03/11/06
This is a really well organized piece of writing for a beginner! Well done. I enjoyed reading it and felt a joyful leap of hope for all the unwanted babies. I look forward to such a reunion also. One hint: If your character is crying, you don't need to tell us she feeling sad – the reader knows that. Being aware of repetitions like that will give you more words to play with. yeggy

Zac James
03/11/06
I have one sibling here on earth- but I have two more waiting for me in heaven (miscarriages), so this touched me.

~Zac
Andre Kingston
03/15/06
I think I am finally getting what other people are saying about my writing - more details. I found that the more details in the story (without going into excess) the more the reader connects with the story. I wanted to know what some of those people looked like, not just their family titles. Describe a statue by having her bump into one or something.

Anyway, thank you for the cute story. It is a good devotional piece.