A few years ago this book was a huge international sensation.
It came out during a time when my husband and I both really needed to read something like it. His sister had just died, and we had just lost our fifth pregnancy.
This true account of four-year-old Colton Burpo's trip to heaven during an operation in which he meets Jesus and experiences the beauty of heaven touched the hearts of millions of readers. For those who were believers anyway, the book reaffirmed and supplemented their images of life after death; for some skeptics, the story was convincing enough to induce reevaluation of their previous beliefs. For some people, the book was just rubbish.
The book touched me on a personal level having just lost yet another baby to miscarriage. One of the chapters is dedicated to Todd Burpo's discovery that while in heaven, his son met his sister. In fact, Colton's mother had lost a baby to miscarriage, although they'd never known the sex of the child. In his account, Colton affirms that the girl approached him and introduced herself as his sister, explaining that she'd been lost while in his mother's tummy.
I always believed that I would meet my miscarried children again in heaven, but this boy's beautiful story of this reunion solidified that image in my mind. It made it more real for me that one day I will have the opportunity to meet these children and spend the rest of eternity with them.
April is National Infertility Awareness month, although every month of the year is tough for those struggling with this condition. For me, I take some comfort in the knowledge that this world is temporary, and heaven is not only for real but forever.
I will go to him, but he will not return to me. ~Samuel 12:23 (King David's words upon the death of his infant son)
For those struggling with infertility, I also recommend Elizabeth Perry Maddrey's Trilogy (Faith Departed, Hope Deferred, and Love Defined).
Have you read Heaven is for Real, and if so what did you think?
