Is there Life after Death?

Author's Note: I just wrote this for an article for my weekly column. I could use some honest feedback, as i feel that something is missing. Thanks so much, and please remember that this is an article, it is based on my opinions as a christian and as a woman with hope. It is NOT a short story. Please do not send reviews telling me that my opinion is wrong! That is NOT what I am looking for.

10/23/07, I have added an ending. I hope that it holds up to the rest of the article. Please let me know. Thanks, SweetMaggie

The bible teaches that there is a Heaven and there is a Hell. We know that good, righteous people will enter Heaven and that the bad people will be condemned to Hell. Throughout history there have been many works of art and works of literature devoted to the belief of Heaven and Hell. Being a God-fearing woman, I have been taught to take the words of the bible at face value and to not question what King James interpreted centuries ago. Being only mortal, I have to wonder about the afterlife. What is going to happen to me once I leave this earth?

When I was seven years old, I faced Death straight on. I looked him right in the eye and watched as he took a young, beautiful woman from this life into her next. From that moment on, I have wondered what happens when we die. Where do we go? Is there a separate place for those who are lost violently, suddenly, and what about the children? While we have to mourn and move forward here on earth, do the departed get to mourn the changes that took them away from us? Is there a heavenly therapist with a comfy couch that helps them to accept their new destiny?

One of the most often asked questions is “do you believe in angels”. To that question, I must say yes. I believe that angels are walking among us. Once we die, I believe we are given a new life. No, I am not talking about reincarnation (although many people do believe that their souls will be reprocessed that way). I am talking about a new job in heaven. I refuse to believe that when we die, our souls just sit around and sing and dance and play and that we are no longer of use to God in spreading his word. I believe that there are different types of angels. Some are sent to earth and some stay in heaven.

The angels in heaven stay to help with the new additions. They help the souls of the elderly reacquaint themselves with no more limitations, no pain and no disease. There are some that do counsel the violently added souls. They have to let go of the human torture and pain and realize that there will not be any more pain. Some angels tend to the young souls. They have to finish the training that the human parents didn’t get to. A good majority of angels in heaven tend to the suddenly departed souls. The car accident victims and gunshot wounded. Their souls have to adjust to the huge change between being alive and suddenly deceased. The rest of the angels that remain in heaven do the bidding of the Man-In-Charge, and oversee the angels that are on assignment here on earth.

It is often thought that only the dead get to feel the touch of an angel. This surely cannot be the truth. I believe that all of us have been touched by the hand of an angel in many ways in our daily lives. Remember the traffic accident that you witnessed just the other day and narrowly missed being involved in? What about the seemingly random acts of burglary that were occurring in your neighborhood and yet your house went untouched? How about when your son’s teacher called you to say that your child was excelling in mathematics? All of these are signs that we are being looked after and guided both through good times and bad times. While we may not always acknowledge the handiwork of an angel, it is there none-the-less.

While there must be a transition period between dying and becoming an angel, when does it happen? How are you placed in the field of angel-hood? Is it like an earthly job where we have to work our way to the reward of being an angel? Are we judged angel-worthy by our work ethic here on earth? I wonder if, after your therapy and counseling, you are given a class on how to be a good angel and then you take a final exam. How would that be graded, and by whom? Am I the only person who questions the after-life?

And what about our loved ones that have left the earth before us, are they waiting for us in heaven? Will they recognize us? The bible tells us that we leave our mortal lives behind when we enter the kingdom of heaven. If that is true, will we remember each other? The thought of never seeing my loved ones again fills me with a sense of sadness, and I cannot believe that God meant for us to be sad at the prospect of entering Heaven.

There are many interpretations concerning what happens to your soul once you leave your earthly body. Some people believe that the dead are reincarnated. There are those that don’t believe that there is a heaven or a hell. They believe that everything ends at death. Many people believe in ghosts, which are earthbound spirits. Whatever religion you choose to celebrate, all inhabitants of Earth have at one time wondered what will happen once they pass on from this life. Whether you believe in angels or that you are just dust in the wind, the question of what life after death is one that has mystified millions of people through out history. While this represents just one woman’s view, there are many views out there, all worthy of consideration. Someone told me that my theory puts human limitations upon God, and in order to address that, I have to say that the bible tells us that we are made in God’s image, so it stands to reason that God will allow us to keep working once we leave our earthly bodies.

As far as who goes to heaven and who goes to hell, well, ultimately that is up to God. No one can say for sure what the requirements are to allow our souls access to heavens wonders. I believe that we all should have a healthy fear of God and work to be the best people that we can be. We should teach our children right from wrong. We should keep God in our thoughts in all that we do and never forsake him. After that, it is out of our hands and up to the Big Guy. In conclusion, I just want to say that I look forward to seeing my loved ones again as I work on counseling the recently departed. Maybe there will even be a heavenly column that I can write to keep all of the angels in touch with what is happening in the sanctum of heaven.