Heaven on Earth

Have you ever had one of those moments when you feel that if heaven were on earth it would be exactly like what you are experiencing?  Sometimes it comes when you least expect it.

For me, I was on a bus careening through the bumpy dirt roads of Kasoa, Ghana with 45 children singing and clapping with excitement as they anticipated their long awaited day at the beach.  Nobody seemed to notice the intense heat of the day on the over-crowded bus, as the sweat dripped from our faces.  For many of these children it was there first outing to the beach even though it is a short distance from where they live.

I was holding a beautiful 3 year old girl, who had recently who had recently come to live at the West African Children Foundation after her parents had been killed in a car accident.  My heart ached for her as I thought of the trauma she had experienced already in her young life and wondered what the future would hold for her.  My heart sank even further as I began to think of the difficult histories of many of the other children on the bus and considered some of the challenges that may lie ahead for them.

That's when it happened.  The moment.  I was immediately encircled by God's love for His children and felt an incredible peace come over my soul.  I was reminded that they are His, and He cares for them as He cares for me and for all of His children.  He will not leave them alone. With this comfort, I rejoined the children in the jubilation of the day.