By Kelly Wahlquist
Once, I heard a friend of mine reply to a caller on her radio show with a light-hearted, “If you don’t like repetitive prayer, you’re not going to like Heaven much, because we’re going to be praising God over and over and over.”
It made me chuckle. I had never quite thought of it that way, but she was right.
Heaven is full of angels and saints giving glory to God and singing His praises over and over and over again. In fact, Heaven is abounding with “myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands” (Revelation 5:13) of creatures worshiping God. In the Book of Revelation, John tells us about four living creatures surrounding the throne of the Lord. Day and night these four creatures never cease to sing, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (4:8)
Think about that: Day and night they never cease singing the same song over and over. All of Heaven delights in repetitious songs of praise.
God draws us toward Him and makes us thirst for Him, by giving us glimpses into Heaven. Perhaps these glimpses aren’t visions as vivid as John’s were in the Book of Revelation, but these brief encounters can show us the glory of God and ignite our hearts in such a way that we want to honor and worship God without ceasing.
I recently experienced such a glimpse of heaven. I had an overwhelming encounter with God’s great majesty that made me long to worship Him day and night. Ironically (though not to God), this experience manifested in something so simple, something so repetitive, something that could seem monotonous to those who encounter it on daily basis.
On a warm July evening, I was sitting with some friends on the front porch of a farmhouse in Iowa. As the sun began to set, we marveled at the beauty of the vibrant colors slowly disappearing behind the deep green cornfields. Just as the last hint of yellow faded from the sky, the fireflies began to light up the yard. First we’d catch a glimpse of one or two in the grass, but the darker the sky became the more bright the earth became. Soon, thousands of fireflies rhythmically lit up the cornfields. It was as if they had choreographed it perfectly—each knowing just when to glow and just where to fly. Sitting in awe of this spectacular light show, we knew we weren’t merely sitting in a field of dreams, we knew we were encountering the glory of God.
With simple repetitive flickering, a myriad of small fireflies transformed the cornfields of Iowa into a stage for an exquisite fluorescent dance—if not the ultimate pyrotechnic show! It was as if these little lightning bugs were giving glory to God, simply by doing what God created them to do.
Imagine if we no longer saw our repetitive actions as monotonous, but delighted in them, using them to give glory to God. What a show it would be if we all worked in our gifts, over and over, glorifying God!
Something tells me, if we delight in this impassioned praise of God through our repetitive actions on earth, we are going to love eternity!
Until late Nov. 2004, I had lived in MT for 36 years. I liked my life, my home, and my friends, also was going through RCIA and loved my new church. God, however, saw things differently, so following his direction; we moved back to MS and moved in with my mother.
Although MT is a beautiful, majestic state, I have forgotten the beauty and wonder that I grew up with here. Soon after I arrived we rescued some pups and I began taking them for walks in the woods. I soon began to recognize plants that I had forgotten and see all sort of birds and critters.
Going from a townhouse whose yard I could keep perfectly with an afternoon session in September and May to a 10 acre yard is quite a change, but I love it. I find that I have my best talks with God when I am digging in the dirt.
I hope someday to spy the synchronous flyflies, but honestly just the plain jane variety enchants me. A couple of weeks ago, I walked out on my upstairs porch off my bedroom and came eye to eye with a small screech owl. I was enchanted. Last week I spied a larger owl flying across the yard in broad daylight; yesterday I found he left me a souvenir- a feather. God has created such a beautiful world for us.