Soft Golden Cloud of Leaves

Pennsylvania's Amish Countryside, Nov 12:

The leaves were still soft, vibrant, freshly fallen. I sat down a minute, on a golden cloud on a golden afternoon.

What a gorgeous ever-changing palette of colours our God plays with! He's the Creator who robes the dawn in red, devises a snow-laden storehouse in the sky, sets the boundaries of the sea, and unimaginably more... (as Job 38 reveals). Yet He so intimately "bends down and listens" to our prayers. (Psalm 116:2)

How can anyone dread Heaven, thinking it'll be boring for eternity? One of my English professors thought so, preferring the clash and conflict of this world. That's a pale, distorted image of the true adventure we desire in the deepest part of our hearts, which partially explains the appeal of heroic fantasies like Lord of the Rings and Narnia. As Sam realises one night in LOTR, there is "light and high beauty" that will eternally outlast the momentary troubles of the world.

Update, Feb 26, 2007: My dear friend Makiko presented me with the book Heaven by Randy Alcorn. It portrays Heaven as a place of vibrance, new beginnings and creativity — certainly not a colorless afterlife. The book inspires me to live fully in the light of Heaven. To me this means to live life to the utmost with purpose and delight, to worship God faithfully and passionately, and to love people in the fleeting days that we have.