A Lifetime Can Be Held In a Moment

"A lifetime can be held in a moment; it is a small matter in Heaven."

After my son died, I had what I term a "visitation" in my dream. This has only happened once, much to my chagrin. In my dream I knew Whitner was dead and that he was coming for a short visit. He was sitting with our family in the dining room. I announced that Whitner had come for a visit and remarked how wonderful he looked. But, I added, you know he is dead. When he was getting ready to leave, I hugged and kissed him. I told him I could do this if he would come and visit me in my dreams so I could touch and feel him. It was time for him to go back to Heaven. He was walking away when I ran after him because I had forgotten to ask him a question. When I caught up to him, I asked if he knew when I was going to die. He looked at me with this incredulous look like he couldn't believe I was asking such a silly and unimportant question. He said, "Mom, it doesn't matter." I hugged and kissed him once again, and he continued his journey back up to Heaven. After this I awoke to find myself soaked in tears. I had experienced something that had touched my soul deeply causing my eyes to flood with tears. 

I began to contemplate my experience and what his answer meant. It was actually quite profound. In Heaven there is no time or space. When we are reunited with our loved ones, it will seem like only a moment has passed. It will be like they had just seen us. Since we will also be in Heaven, it will seem the same for us. For humans trapped in time and space, it can seem like an eternity on earth. When we get to Heaven, a short or long lifetime will all look the same, as if just a moment passed. The quote from Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" by White Rabbit makes perfect sense from this perspective. Alice asks, "How long is forever?" White Rabbit responds, "Sometimes just one second." A lifetime can be held in just one second, as a baby might only take one breath then succumb, but all of our lifetimes will seem like a passing moment once we enter Heaven. 

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen,
since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
2 Corinthians 4:18