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Recently my husband and I went to my 50^th high school class reunion. Although I graduated from a California school, the reunion was held in Las Vegas Nevada. At first, I wasn’t sure I wanted to go. I hadn’t kept up with any of my classmates except for Margaret, who wasn’t able to attend. The only reunions I’d attended over the years were my 10^th and 20^th. It seemed that with both of those the only things anyone wanted to know about were things about profession, success and family size. Not that I had any objections to those things, but I wondered how much any of them truly mattered in God’s grand scheme. However, as I considered this big one, it seemed prudent that I attend. After all, it was likely there wouldn’t be another reunion after this. Surely it would be good to see if the professing Christians at the last reunion were still walking in faith and I wondered if any others had also come to salvation.  And, Okay I’ll confess there was one more reason I decided to go.

Admittedly, my own vanity raised its ugly head, as I considered this event. I felt a lot better about myself and my appearance, than I did in high school. Back then I was a very skinny freckle-faced kid with hard to manage natural curly hair. Teens can be cruel at times and some deep pain still lingered from those days. Now years later, my figure had filled-out fairly well, and my hair was a pretty blond coifed style. Plus, people say I look younger than most our age. I was curious to see if anyone would realize how much of an improvement there was since those gangly, awkward and difficult teenage years. Would my improved look make a difference? “Vanity of vanities…all is vanity” says the good “preacher” Solomon. But, maybe some of the hurts and wounds inflicted back then, could find restoration and reconciliation now. Besides, I reasoned, I’d found just the right dress – not too dressy, comfortable, and very cute.

The evening of the big event came. We entered the banquet hall and I scanned the room to see if anyone I remembered was there. Who are all those old people? I nearly blurted out loud.

It quickly became clear that it wasn’t going to be easy to recognize old acquaintances either. After wandering around the room trying to spot familiar faces to sit with, we gave up our futile efforts and simply chose a table that had spaces left. A few minutes after sitting, the gentleman to my right asked who I was. When I told him my name, a light of recognition struck his face; he stuck out his hand in greeting and with a big smile said his name – David. Suddenly, something in his bright eyes and sparkling expression broke through with great familiarity and recognition. It wasn’t long before we also discovered that both he and his wife were strong believers. Ironically, the other couple sitting at our table seemed familiar too, but it wasn’t until we started talking, and personalities came out, that we both recognized each other. Happily I learned they were also believers. He had come into faith several years after graduation.

Throughout the evening, it seemed that recognition mostly happened through expressions, personalities, and character. By the end of the event, I was able to connect with several friends and familiar classmates. Joyce, was a gal who had been in several of my art classes and she too had become a believer. She lived in a nearby town and we talked about getting together after the reunion. Another gal had struck me as familiar, but after introductions neither of us could remember knowing each other in school. It wasn’t until after the event that it we realized we had an even greater connection than school – the connection of Christ. Her name was Susie and she had since become a believer several years after graduation as well. No wonder her face shined with a certain joyous glow.

One week after my reunion, I received an email from Susie. She had noticed on the directory that I lived in her area and something I’d said made her wonder if we shared a common faith. We were able to get together for lunch a couple of weeks after the event. It was great to have this new Christian connection and share in spiritual matters of significance. As we sat having lunch, Susie shared that she had recently experienced an interesting church service. The pastor had asked the congregation to text him questions they had about heaven and eternal life. One of the questions regarded whether or not we would recognize friends and family when we get “up there.” I asked what he said and it was very much in line with what I believed according to scripture. Because we’ll have new bodies- “glorified bodies, ”when we get to heaven, I believe that it might take some time before we recognize each other when we. It would be somewhat similar to how it was after Jesus was resurrected from the grave and had his new body. People didn’t recognize him at first.

That was when it hit me “It will be a lot like that when we get to heaven,” I surmised. “Only we will hopefully all have younger, more beautiful bodies and faces.”

Ephesians 5:27 says: the church will be presented to Christ at His second coming “without spot or wrinkle.” And, much like our experience at the school reunion, it will take a while before we recognize each other in heaven. At the reunion, most of the time, the spark of recognition came as the individual’s personality and character showed through their eyes and expressions. That will also likely be the key to identification,—not our appearance.

Days after the reunion, I reflected further on what I’d observed. This time many were now interested in the things of the Lord instead of the things of this world. Of course there were exceptions, but at this reunion, thankfully, many had come to the realization that there was something and someone much more important in life than career, success and even family. And, in case you want to know, my own vain reasons for attending melted away too.

God’s word makes it very clear that we won’t bring any of those kinds of accomplishment with us into eternity. We won’t need to worry about impressing others in heaven with our clothes or figures. Nothing of material success, accomplishments, or even number of kids and grandkids will matter in eternity. The only things we’ll bring with us into heaven will be the attributes that God’s Holy Spirit have placed in our souls. And the only treasures we can attain there will be the spiritual treasures that we’ve built into eternity.

Not long after this event, my husband and I attended a 50^th anniversary for Joni and Friends to honor our friend Joni Eareckson Tada. In many ways this was like a reunion for her as she reconnected with old friends and supporters. At the event I picked up one of her books, that I hadn’t yet read. It was Joni’s first book, “Joni, an Unforgettable Story”, and in it she talks about the kinds of things we’ll bring with us to heaven. “The only thing we can take with us to heaven,” she says, “is our character. Our character is all we have to determine what kind of a being we will be for all eternity. It’s what we are that will be tested by fire. Only the qualities of Christ in our character will remain.” (Chapter 15, page 174).

It also says in II Corinthians 4: 16 -18 (NIV), “Therefore do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day… So we fix our eyes not on what is seen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” II Corinthians 5 goes on to say that in heaven we will “be clothed with our heavenly dwelling. His Spirit was given to us as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come.” (NIV)

Wow! What a grand and hopeful word He has given us regarding our aging bodies. One day, we will have perfect, “heavenly clothes” to wear for eternity. Talk about the perfect dress!

Out of our large class of over 900, sadly about 143 were already deceased. Around 250 attended that night. I’m pretty sure that many of those who had passed away, never received the promised seal of salvation and a guarantee of a new and glorious body for all eternity. And so, much like my 50th, many of them won’t be attending that reunion either. I pray that many will be there and we can reconnect then. And, as Joni said, it will be the qualities and spirit of Christ in us that will shine through. It will be the good qualities of our personalities that were perfected by the Holy Spirit that will spark recognition when we get to that great eternal reunion. So, it may take awhile before we recognize each other in that great and classiest reunion of all, but we’ll have all of eternity to figure it out. And what a celebration that will be.

My husband and I at another kind of reunion—the 50th anniversary of Joni and Friends

A Blessing Indeed

It is good to celebrate together

         with friends and is a blessing indeed.

But even greater still to lift one another

         with helps and good deeds.

And when undergirded with prayer,

         ‘tis a chord of strength,

reaching from here to there.

Iris Carignan, 2015 

As someone who has always loved music and occasionally belts out a ballad or two, the idea of singing praises to God for eternity hits a good note with me. Recently a discussion came about at a Bible study I attend. We were talking about worship and praise and someone commented that she thought only singing was true worship. Now, truly we know that music and singing is a predominant way of worshiping our Lord. But, I protested, I believe there are also other ways we can worship Him. One way is through our service, another is in our prayers and sometimes it’s just by being quiet and still, listening to His quiet voice. Besides, I said, there are lots of folks who can’t carry a tune and their singing would be more of a loud clanging to the ears of the Lord, not to mention a little distracting to others. No! My friend protested. Singing is the only true way to worship. Not wanting to be argumentative I conceded that I sometimes sing in the wrong key and my own husband occaionally hits an incorrect note or two while singing praises, yet, I’m sure it blesses the Lord that he sings from his heart.

Later that day, I remembered something from an experience several years earlier. My family and I were in Israel on a tour with our pastor and 48 others. At some point during our site-seeing we all gathered inside a simple little chapel named “St. Anne’s.” Other travelers entered and sat alongside bringing the number to about 90 or so. Our guide, Gila, a very knowledgeable and gifted Jewish woman, joined us inside as well.

We all began to sing simple praise songs to the Lord and in that moment it seemed a miracle happened. The sound of our praise rose up to the ceiling and beyond the walls of the chapel. Our voices seemed to be transformed into an angelic concert to the Lord. Now, I’m quite sure that there were at least a handful of people in that chapel who weren’t “gifted” in the area of singing, yet this was the most beautiful singing I’d ever heard. And I’ve heard lots of beautiful music in my life and participated in several excellent choirs. Then, I glanced over at our guide Gila. Tears were glistening in her eyes. She too, was clearly touched and perhaps like the rest of us sensed that we had experienced a glimpse of what heaven was like.

So, as I pondered that experience, it occurred to me that perhaps our heavenly experience will be a lot like that time at St Anne’s chapel. When we enter that heavenly cathedral, the miraculous acoustics will carry our worshipful songs throughout God’s vast and glorious throne room. In that moment we will all have angelic voices that beautifully praise and worship the Lord for all eternity- whether or not we have musical talent here on earth. So therefore, it’s probably a good idea to at least start practicing down here till that day comes, no matter how “off” we may sound sometimes.

Stained glass window in the Rijksmuesum in Amsterdam

photographed by Iris Carignan 2016

They call states like Montana and Wyoming God’s country and fittingly so. After spending two weeks in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, my husband and I were awe-struck with the beauty God displays there. His creation wraps itself around every road’s bend, spills down every waterfall into rivers and lakes below. The rivers rush onward aiming to quench its demanding and lush thirst to full satisfaction. This carpet of green is laid snug and held firmly with boulders and spiky pines that seem to nail it down purposefully.

The big sky above calls down to earth below with soft whispers of wind and clouded blues, cooling shadows and sunlit joy. As an ark for the wildlife, it encompasses every want and need they have. The google-eyed tourists trespass and disturb with frequent interference in this kind of Shang-re-la or land of Eden.

The mountains are God’s most awesome and majestic diamonds on display. With every bend of the winding road ascending up these gargantuan creations, the mountains shine a new facet of God’s amazing creative powers that are impossible to ignore. Romans 1:20 says it well: “For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts…”

Stopping alongside the high road to see a grand view that seems to stretch on forever with amazing heights and depths, my breath is caught short. Gazing out to the expansive vistas, my heart cries out to Him with words that fall far short in astonishment. No stupefaction. He echoes back with His word: “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with the saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” (Ephesians 3:17, NIV).

His love truly is immeasurable and His creation illustrates it with such splendor.

Iris Carignan, July 2016

Recently I was praying about my busy schedule and I asked God to help me sort it all out. It was all good stuff… things that honored Him. Most everything on my schedule involved Godly activities for His glory. One particular responsibility was our small group Bible study. My husband and I host and lead a study for about 16 people. We take turns doing the teaching and it was my turn to teach that particular week. I could feel the tension building in my back muscles as I contemplated how I would find time to do it. I went to prayer and asked God to help me know what to drop or help me have more energy to do them all. This tired old body of mine ain’t what it used to be. Then I asked a very bold and crazy thing- I actually asked Him to give me more time to do them. It just sorta slipped out in the same breath.

A short while later I began preparing the lesson needed for our home Bible study. After what seemed like a few hours of prep, I glanced at the clock thinking it was probably getting late and I’d need to get to bed soon. To my amazement only 30-40 minutes had passed and I still had plenty of time left before the clock struck midnight and I turned into a pumpkin. I continued on with the study prep and finished in record time.

It’s hard to describe just how much it felt like time actually slowed down for me that night, without sounding like an idiot. But it sure seemed like it. Then, just because He is that kind of father, He gave me some more miraculous moments the next day. He woke this “night owl” up sharply at 6 am the following morning. Not only did I wake earlier than usual, I felt completely rested and ready to go. The study went well and the rest of my week continued to feel relaxed. Praise God for His mercies and peace.

Philippians 4: 6&7 says: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

As we enter into the holiday season, no doubt many of us will be feeling stress over added duties. I pray that we will all remember to give them over to the Lord with thanksgiving our hearts.

Any artist who paints knows that there is one color you never want to put in your painting and that is mud. Now this isn’t a color you can buy in a tube or jar, it is really a non-color, but actually what has been dubbed as “mud” when too many of the wrong colors have been mixed together and end up looking very much like it’s descriptive name.

With life, we also see that the temptation to mix a little lie with the truth can lead to trouble and muddy up our life. We read in Genesis 3:13 of how Satan tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit. If you read it carefully, you’ll see that much of what he said to her was the truth. He just mixed in a little lie or two, and colored the truth with distortions. These lies mixed with the beauty of the fruit were just enough to convince Eve to sin. Jesus referred to Satan as the “father of lies” (John 8:44) and says that telling lies is consistent with who he is and always has been.

We continue to see evidence of the evil one’s influence in our society today. Unfortunately, too many Christians don’t know the truth well enough to spot a lie when it’s there. We may be so impressed with the beautiful color that has been painted that we buy into the lie.

In Psalm 7:14 it says, “the wicked conceive evil; they are pregnant with trouble and give birth to lies. They dig a deep pit to trap others, then fall into it themselves”. One of the most frequently used methods of deception is repetition of a mistruth. Many businesses and organizations whose motives are less than honorable have used this technique effectively to influence large segments of our society. They have discovered that if they tell a lie often enough, loud enough and to enough people, it will be believed.

How can we best sort through all of the information that bombards our minds and souls every day? Is there any way we can truly find the truth about important moral, ethical and spiritual values? For centuries the Bible has been the one consistent source of truth that has withstood time, societal and cultural changes. In it we read that we can ask God to give us the gift of discernment to help us distinguish the truth from a lie. We also read that the author and finisher of our faith in God’s truth never changes, for it says: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

As our plane approached LAX on the evening of our return from a vacation, a large number of passengers began making o-o-oh sounds. I glanced out my window and saw a most amazing and surprising sight – fireworks exploding everywhere for miles. It was an awesome and most interesting perspective of our nation’s birthday celebration for the 4th of July. Of course I have seen many fireworks displays over the year, but never from a heavenly perspective.

I couldn’t help but wonder at that point, what God thinks and feels as He looks down from His throne not only at the colorful splashes of glittering fireworks in California, but all across our nation’s skies. Does it make him joyous to see us celebrating our blessings and heritage or does He weep over the vain partying of a nation that has strayed so far from the faith it was founded on?

A week later, after sharing this experience with some Christian friends, they told us of a recent experience they’d had while on vacation in Belgium. It was not for the 4th, but for another most important event’s commemoration. Our friends, Larry and Beccy told us how they were in a restaurant with a large picture window near their table. Suddenly they began to see dozens of fireworks shooting into the sky. They learned that it was an annual celebration of the end of WWII. They also found out that at midnight the colorful display would end; the whole city would go totally dark and silent in reverent remembrance of all who lost their lives during that horrible war. Now that sounded like a well-balanced and meaningful commemoration.

We all like to celebrate and some of us look for the smallest reason to throw a party. I wonder, though, how much of what we do for holiday celebrations like Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter etc., actually expresses or produces appreciation and reverence for the true meanings.

The Israelites also had many festivals and feasts to commemorate Godly events in their lives. Often times they were also instructed by God to set markers of stone in certain places to help them remember His leading,blessing and protection. Sometimes they also built altars for sacrifice as commemoration. A friend of mine who endured terrible abuse all her life from her own mother, recently purchased a heart-shaped stone with words on it to help her remember God’s love and path for her life.

As tender creations, I believe all of humanity craves joyous reflecting on even the most horrendous events which have affected their lives. It gives them a sense of hope in the midst of sad remembrances. it sets a marker for a new and better path for the future. Do you need to set a marker of hope to look toward when trouble threatens to steal away your joy? Remember that our Lord has a godly perspective on things. Ask Him to give you His vision for you in the circumstances. Psalm 121:1-2 says: “I will lift up my eyes to the hills-from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

Painting Title: “Yellow Tree- a Bird’s Eye View”