Dust to Dust

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will – to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” Ephesians 1:4-6


I like to tell my children that when Mommy and Daddy wanted to have a baby, God handpicked them from all the children in heaven and knew they would be the perfect kid for me and Daddy. I picture lines of children with signs above like 1st, 2nd, and 3rd kid, and angels with clipboards filling orders. Sometimes they get sent two or more at a time and sometimes they are returned prematurely, but the ones that make it are perfectly matched for their parents. My kids know heaven is their real home because that’s where they came from.

Today my 5YO asked what happens to our bodies after we die. I told him they go back into the ground to turn back into dirt. I told him about how God took a handful of dirt and made Adam out of it, so we are technically made from dirt and that when we die our spirit goes to heaven where we get new bodies that won’t wear out, and our old body stays on earth and becomes dirt again. He was really excited about his new body that he is going to get in heaven because I told him his new body won’t be able to get hurt. An awesome prospect for an accident prone boy!

I didn’t always want to have children. I didn’t think kids were a good idea. They wreak havoc on your world and consume an inordinate amount of time with little return. (I wonder if God ever feels that way about us.) But since I’ve had children, I can safely recommend them to all my childless friends. They have opened another dimension of my life that could not have existed without them. They have brought me immeasurable joy, pain, and pride. They have brought me closer to God because I need him now more than ever. I am in direct charge of expanding God’s family through my own. My greatest task is to teach my children how to get to heaven.

I like to think that if I get that one thing right, then maybe all the others will fall into place. Maybe I’m dreaming. Please don’t wake me. I need the rest!

“… For dust you are and to dust you will return.” Genesis 3:19