“Daddy, put me on
your shoulders and let me touch Grandma’s hand!” the little girl said.
Daddy bent down, turned her around, and lifted her high above his head until
she was safely positioned on his shoulders. “I can see tomorrow up here,
Daddy,” she said. “You can?” he asked. “What does it look
like?” he questioned her. “Just like today, but more pretty!”
she giggled. “Now hold on, Jenny. I’m going up on top of this hill. When I
tell you to, stretch your arms way up and you can touch her hand.” He
carefully walked up on top of the small hill just behind the bench I was
sitting on. The softball fans sit there each evening during the spring and
summer watching the local players compete. But today this hill served a higher
purpose. For this is a spot where memories are made. This is a moment between
parent and child that gets filed away in memories for tomorrows yet to come.
Perhaps when this young girl will hold her babe high upon her shoulders and
together they will reach for Grandpa’s hand, just like when she was a child. He
came down to where I was seated. His daughter played nearby. Her Daddy told me
afterwards that Jenny was very close to his Mom. She died a few months ago.
“Jenny said she wanted to hold hands with Grandma like she always did. I
told her Grandma was in heaven, out of reach,” he said. “Jenny told
me that heaven is in tomorrow. If she climbed way up high she could see it and
touch Grandma’s hand.”
“Why did she say
that Heaven was in tomorrow?” I asked. “Well, the last time she saw
Grandma, she told Jenny that one day soon she would go to heaven. Of course
Jenny wanted to know when. Mom said ‘Maybe tomorrow, Jenny. She died two days
later.” “So heaven is in tomorrow, then,” I added. “So does
she feel Grandma’s hand?” “Yes, very much so. In fact…” he
paused when his daughter came running up to him. “I’ll be right there,
Jenny.” Jenny is such a beautiful child. You look at her and think
“buttons and bows” like a little girl in a story book. Her Daddy
continued. “One day when we did this, she stretched out her arms and said,
“Daddy, I can feel her hand!” Of course I played along and asked if
it were soft like I remember.” He stopped for a moment. Shook his head and
looked down. I guess the memory of Mom was still very much alive in him.
“She then said, ‘Yes, Daddy. She has a ring with four colors on it.”
I couldn’t believe what she said. I asked her to tell me again. She described
it as best she could for a young child.” “Did she remember a ring
that Grandma always wore?” I asked. “No. That’s what amazed me. You
see that ring was her Mother’s ring that we gave her. Each colored stone
represented one of her children. She couldn’t wear it for year’s because of her
arthritis.” Once again he stopped to gain some composure. “We placed
it on her finger when she died. We had it cut to fit her.” “Could
Jenny have seen it then?” I asked. “No. We decided not to permit
Jenny at the funeral viewing. She was much too young to understand.”
“So, Jenny never saw the ring?” I asked. “No, not until that
day. When she saw Heaven in tomorrow.” Jenny came rushing over and Dad and
I said our goodbyes. I thought a lot about this today. I asked myself a hundred
times.
So I’ll ask you. Based on who you are. Knowing more about you than
anyone else. Having whatever faith you may have in yourself, your God. Can you
see “Heaven in tomorrow?” If you believe just reach up right now and
touch it. Jenny did. ~ By Bob Perks
