Lollipops in Heaven

While I was driving around doing errands yesterday morning, Gracie piped up in the backseat and asked "Why is KK in heaven?" (see the blog archive from Friday, February 2). This question came out of no where and it caught me off guard. I explained KK was is heaven because she asked Jesus to come in her heart and when she died, she went to heaven. I reminded Gracie of what she has been learning in church and the importance of listening to God. "But I don't want to go to heaven. I want to stay here with you and daddy and baby Will!" she said. By this point, she was visibly upset and had tears in her eyes. I told her, "Mommy, daddy and baby Will will all be there in heaven with you. So will Mary and Joseph and Moses and all of the people you've been learning about." "And baby Jesus?" she asked. "Of course, Jesus will be there and so will God," I assured her.

She questioned me even further. "But I want all of my toys and my house in Madison to be in heaven," she said. I told her God had a much bigger house for us to live in and more toys than she could ever imagine. To make her more comfortable, I asked Gracie to name some of the things she loves. She gave me a list. "Parties, flowers, and lollipops!" she said. I told her, "I'm sure there will be lots of parties and pretty flowers in heaven," not knowing really what to say about the request for lollipops. "When I get to heaven, I want to share lollipops with Mary, Joseph, Peter and Jesus!" she quipped with a smile. "I want to make sure I go to heaven with you, mommy. So I want God to come in my heart, too." At that point, I smiled.

Now, I don't know if heaven has lollipops or if Jesus would care to have one, but I do know it will greater than anything we could ever imagine. And if there are lollipops in heaven, I bet it won't matter how many we eat before dinner.....