Heaven Is A Beautiful Place

Some of you might have read my other poetry hubs entitled Ode To Children or the one I wrote for my father on Father's Day entitled A Father's Day Poem. I am not a poet, really, but it is something I used to do when I was much younger. I'm afraid I no longer have the patience it takes to think of rhymes or lines with limited syllables that make sense. Those of you who are established poets and very good ones might think my attempt at the art of poetry is a bit elementary - and it is. So don't worry, for the most part, unless I feel inspired, I will stick to my normal method of simply telling my stories and writing from the heart. However, I came across another "lost poem" from my old collection that stirred my heart enough to share it with you. I actually think this one isn't so poorly written. Perhaps my opinion is due to the fact that this one is so personal. It is a tribute to my grandmother. She was a huge part of my life, almost as significant as my mother. She was always interested in everything in which I was involved. She always wanted to know about every "love interest" no matter how immature or silly my explanations were. She always wanted to know about my studies and my plans for my future. She came to every ballgame, every recital, every school event, and her favorite celebrations were the ones involving our activities at church. She was always there and always involved in everything I did. She would always ask a lot of questions and I would always answer with many details because I knew she was listening. She always did. She heard every thing and treasured every word. One my next visit to her home, or her visit to mine, she would always ask follow up questions from our previous conversations. That is how I knew she listened and was always willing to hear it all again . . . and again . . . and again. My grandmother had plenty to say to us too - about Heaven. She shared her faith with us continuously. My mother had two brothers and I was the first and only girl out of five grandchildren. She gave my brother and cousins, also like brothers to me until this very day, as much attention as she gave to me. Come to think of it, she must have been absolutely worn out while attending all the functions of five grandchildren as we were an active bunch. She never missed a beat when it came to our lives and the quality of it. Her first priority though, was our faith. She wanted the assurance from all of us that we had received Jesus into our lives. She longed for the day when she could rest peacefully in the knowledge that, when she left us, we would join her again. I am so very happy to report that she received such a blessing. Her husband, her children, her daughters-in-law, her son-in-law, and all five of her grandchildren, before she left us, had received Jesus. She went home to Heaven with the assurance that our family circle would once again, someday, be unbroken. She shared a poem with us when we were younger which I was hoping to share with you as as it meant so much to me. However, I cannot seem to locate a copy of it. I can still hear her reading it to me when I was a young child. I typed a copy up for her once and she signed it and hung it on a wall in her home. She told me that I should remember, along with my brother and cousins, that every time we read those words, those are her words to us.

I remember the beginning :

I love my grandchildren and I want them to know

That they are more precious than silver or gold . . .

I remember the end : I will be waiting and watching for each one to come home.

It has been more than fifteen years since I said good-by to her. I miss her dearly. Even now, writing these words and remembering so many heart-felt conversations with her, my eyes tear up at the thought and reality of her absence. Please enjoy a poem I wrote as a tribute to her called Heaven Is A Beautiful Place . I wrote it on the day we said good-by.

Thank you for allowing me to share with you my thoughts about my relationship with such a wonderful lady, my grandmother.

Heaven is a beautiful place.

Its streets are the purest gold.

My eyes have yet to see this place,

Such beauty I have yet to behold.

In Revelation, the twenty-first chapter,

I have read its walls are made of jasper.

Its foundation stones are angelically adorned,

With sapphire, emerald, crystal, topaz, and more.

The temple in this beautiful city

Is the Lord, our God, and the Lamb.

The moon and sun are replaced by His glory

And the Lamp of the city is the Lamb.

A river flows from the Almighty's throne.

This is the "water of life".

These words are found in Revelation twenty-two

And words from the Bible are forever faithful and true.

When I try to imagine its gates of pearl

And the mansions He has built for us there,

My mind, in such wonder, gets all in a whirl.

Then, I think of the ones I love who are there.

I've read in the Bible of its beauty so rare,

How He perfectly fashioned it with Holy skill,

Yet, with every loved one He calls home to His care

It becomes more beautiful still.

She told us of Heaven as she watched us grow up.

She prayed for us faithfully each day.

Now, our Father has reverently lifted her up

And Heaven became a more beautiful place today.

(Copyright 1996, Tina Truelove)