Preparation for Paradise

“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” (John 14:2-4)

Today is my dad’s birthday as you can see on his stone. It’s been a long time since we have celebrated birthdays or anything else for that matter, but I know one day we will be celebrating all things together. First, I have to tell you he is my stepdad. I was 4 years old when he married my mom, so he is actually the man who raised me. I was engrafted into his family, much like we are with our Father God, through Jesus Christ. The year before he left his earthly home he was diagnosed with cancer and somewhere around a year before that him and our mother divorced after nearly 30 years of marriage. We lived in Texas at the time; I was married to someone else, and I had two children from a previous marriage. My dad was doing his treatments at MD Anderson in Houston about an hour from where I lived. He stayed with me part of that year as well as my sister just under me, his biological daughter. She was divorced and living alone, until my stepbrother came down from out of state to spend some time with our dad as he was ill. Dad had two sons from his first marriage, me, and then him and my mom had two daughters. The one I just spoke of is a little more than 5 years younger than me and the other sister is 17 years younger than me. The two stepbrothers both lived out of state and there wasn’t a lot of communication between them and us. Unfortunately for all the siblings, I being the oldest of all the kids was the only one who had children, therefore their children never had the chance to know him. Dad and I would stay up all hours of the night talking, due to the medicines he was taking, he couldn’t sleep. We didn’t have the best relationship to say the least as I was growing up, but when I was considered adult age and out of the house, my mom became pregnant with my youngest sister, and we began to form a bond then. We became pretty close over the next few years; he even coached me through my pregnancies. Back to our long nights. It first started out him seeking forgiveness from me for the horrible things I went through as a child, his part in that, that is. Which by doing so, enabled me to forgive him. Then he began talking to me about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. You see, his father was my grandfather that was a minister, a minister my dad’s entire life, well my grandfather’s entire life as well, after the war. My dad knew the Word of God; he just didn’t live like it most of the time. So, to say he reared us up in the likeness of Jesus is a far cry from that. But he was making up for lost time now. I believe he knew after about 6 months into his treatments, he wasn’t going to be here long, and he had some work to do, that work I call, “Preparation for Paradise.” He knew what the Word said about having unforgiveness against your brother & others, and the importance of it. That if he wanted his Father in heaven to forgive him, he must forgive his brother and seek forgiveness where it was needed as well. He was on a mission, and he was leading by example now. He went the distance sick and all to find those he needed to make right with. Back to our long nights again. He told me about a book he had received from his parents about the Holy Spirit, and he wanted me to read it, like as many times as it took before I really understood it. This was very important to him, that I get understanding. I still have that book today and two years after he left us, I spent an entire day reading it aloud to my baby sister and I remember my current husband like it was yesterday, coming home from work finding the two of us bawling. When he asked what was wrong, I told him, “I have sinned, the unpardonable sin. I had blasphemed the Holy Spirit.” He reassured me I hadn’t, if I had I certainly would not be that upset. Gotta love baby Christians! Later I finally got it, and I did read that book a couple more times just like my dad suggested. You see my dad didn’t have anything of earthly value to leave us kids, but what he did have was knowledge and understanding of our Father God and His plan and purpose for our lives. The legacy he was about to leave me was one I would have to grow into, but he prepared me with a good foundation to grow on. I learned a lot in that last year of his life and I know now, what to leave my children as a legacy before I enter into Paradise. Two years after he entered into Paradise, I rededicated my life to the Lord and I have been diligently seeking him ever since. Thank you, Dad and Happy Birthday, see you soon.