Inside Samantha's Mind: What Is Heaven?

Earlier in the week, Samantha asked me a question that on one hand, I was surprised that she asked. On the other hand, I'm really glad she asked because it showed me she was thinking about it.

Samantha: "Mommy? Where's heaven?"

Me: "Heaven is up in the sky hunny. It's above the clouds where you can't see it."

Samantha: "Is God up there?"

Me: "Yes hunny. And Jesus too."

Samantha: "How do you get to heaven?"

Me: "Well, you need to be a really good girl for Mommy & Daddy, and you need to be nice to Sarah and share your toys."

Samantha: "Who else is in heaven? Grammy Rose?"

Me: "Yes, Grammy Rose, and Bapa Thompson. Grand Papere and Grandpa Madore too. Anybody who is good, and did nice things for people goes to heaven."

Samantha: "Do you sleep when you go to heaven?"

(I forget how the dialogue went here, but I explained to Sam that our bodies sleep here on Earth, and that's why we can go to the cemetery to visit anytime we want to, but our hearts go to Heaven")

So after a minute or two of silence, I asked Sam if she understood what I had said, and if she had any other questions. She seemed to understand thankfully and I reminded her that if she ever had questions about heaven that she can always ask Daddy or myself. (This is where it gets cute).

Samantha: "What do you think people do in heaven?"

Me: I started to answer, and then I realized that I should put any creative ideas into her head because everyone's interpretation of heaven is different. So, I thought this was a great opportunity for Sam to think, and of course I was hoping for some good blogging later on. "Well Sam, what do you think people do in heaven?"

Samantha: (after some thought) "They play games"

Me: "Games? Really? That sounds like fun. What kind of games do you think they play?"

Samantha: "They play frisbee"

Me: "What else do you think people do in heaven?"

(Samantha thinks about this for a little bit)

Me: "Do you think they eat peanut butter & jelly sandwiches?"

Samantha: (smiling) "Noooooooooooooooooooo Mommy"

Me: "Well, do you think people eat food in heaven?"

Samantha: "Yeah. They eat raisins and cheese sticks"

Me: "That sounds like a good snack. There must be a lot of healthy people in heaven."

Samantha: "Yeah, they walk a lot like you do!"

Samantha is our little chatter box, but in between all that chatter I love it when she asks questions like this (1) it shows me that she's thinking, and (2) it makes for some fun blogging ; )