Heavens Gotta Wait
Heavens Gotta Wait?
By Kim E Morrison
ACT I
(Grandpa and Suzy are walking in a park)
Suzy
Grandpa Jim is there really a heaven?
Grandpa Jim
I do not know for sure Suzy because no one has ever returned from there, but if there isn’t a heaven a whole lot of people here are praying for nothing.
Suzy
Grandpa Jim if people do not know for sure there is a heaven then why do so many believe in God?
Grandpa Jim
Well Suzy I think that is because believing in something is far better than believing in nothing. To think that everyone you knew and loved who died went to heaven to be with God is the promise that allows many of us to eventually be at peace with our loved ones being gone.
Suzy
“Why do you call it a promise Grandpa Jim?”
Grandpa Jim
Well it is a promise Suzy because religion is faith and faith is believing in something that you do not know for certain is true, but something you want to be true and because religion wants us to believe it is true, so you could say then it is an unspoken promise that religion has made to people.
Suzy
Grandpa Jim If there is a heaven do you think everybody goes to heaven.
Grandpa Jim
I think most go to heaven Suzy why would you think otherwise?
Suzy
Grandpa Jim I have heard people who believe in God and heaven say that these people or those people will not get to go to heaven because they are different in some way or they believe in something different, or they feel differently in some way.
Grandpa Jim
No Suzy the people you hear who think this kind of stuff are living proof that not even an all knowing, all loving, great and wise God can miraculously make stupidity in people disappear. No I am certain any God one might believe in would be waving an angry finger at people who think that he or she would exclude anyone because the whole point of faith is to comfort people in their darkest hours, not to find fault with them or to hate them for their differences.
Suzy
Grandpa Jim do you think there is a hell too.
Grandpa Jim
Well Suzy if you believe in a heaven you then must accept that there might be a hell too?
Suzy
Why Grandpa Jim?
Grandpa Jim
I do not think one can exist without the other. If you believe heaven is where the good goes there must be an opposite for the bad. If you think about it many things have an opposite or two sides, a coin has a heads side and a tails side, the opposite of north is south, and so on.
Suzy
Why would anyone want to believe in a God that would want to send anybody to hell?
Grandpa Jim
Suzy if there is a God, he or she does not send anyone to hell.
Suzy
If some people go to hell, then how do they wind up in hell?
Grandpa Jim
Suzy if you believe in God then one of the greatest gifts, he or she gave to humans and one we forget or misuse is a thing called “free will” and this allows us to make our own choices to do what we wish good or bad and to believe in what we wish right or wrong, so then it is our choices or the choices we make that determines whether we will go to heaven or hell.
Suzy
Grandpa do you really think God could be a girl.
Grandpa Jim (with a grin)
I think God can be whatever we believe Suzy and right now I am leaning toward God being a woman because women from the time they are little girls tend to ask a lot of questions and two it is wishful thinking on my part because men have controlled things down here on earth for a long time and it is clear to me now that they have not done very good job.
(Grandpa Jim a little out of breath decides to take a break from walking and sits down on a wooden bench near and old oak tree and little Suzy sits down next to him.)
Suzy
Grandpa Jim are you okay
Grandpa Jim (grinning)
Yep, part of being and old fart is thinking you can do more or walk farther than you can.
Suzy (leaning against Grandpa Jim)
Grandpa Jim do you think Grandma Sara is in heaven?
Grandpa Jim (grinning)
Yep, I sure do Grandma Sara would have been far too insufferable for old Satan to deal with, I am sure she is up in heaven right now eating a hot pastrami on rye with a half sour pickle causing God to frequently roll his or her eyes and utter the Yiddish phrase “oy vey.”
Suzy
What does insufferable mean Grandpa Jim?
Grandpa Jim (with a smile)
I loved her dearly and miss her, but Grandma Sara could be insufferable and that is just a gentle way of saying big pain in the butt.
Suzy (laughing)
Oh! that is not very nice
Grandpa Jim
No, but it is the truth just the same and these days the truth is something that does not whistle through our ears very often.
Suzy
Grandpa Jim I am going to miss you too much when you go to heaven
Grandpa Jim
Suzy I will miss you too, but it is road we all must travel eventually
Suzy
Grandpa Jim do you ever get over someone you love being gone?
Grandpa Jim (looking thoughtful)
No Suzy you just simply do the best you can to live with them not being here. You never stop missing them, but your feelings of loss slowly fade away to you feeling that your life did not end when theirs did even though it hurts bad and feels that way. You find comfort in all the special moments you did get to have with them while they were here and try not to dwell on the time you did not get with them.
Suzy
Grandpa Jim what do you miss the most about Grandma Sara?
Grandpa Jim
Well she was my partner in life so I could say a lot of things, but from all those things I think having a conversation with her is what I miss the most.
ACT II
(Grandpa Jim looking suddenly looking a little pale and sensing something is wrong with his health slowly puts a hand to his chest. Grandpa Jim needs medical help, but he does not want to panic Suzy who just stood up, yet he needs to alert her that he has a problem)
Grandpa Jim (in a slow calm voice)
Suzy, I need you to stay calm. I got a problem, and I need you to call 911 and your father for me right now.
Suzy
Oh my God Grandpa Jim! What is wrong!
Grandpa Jim (with more panic in his voice)
I am not sure kiddo, but I need you to make those calls right now starting with 911 and you need to tell them I am diabetic.
Suzy (now with tears in her eyes and a crackling voice)
Okay Grandpa Jim I think I got this
Grandpa Jim (with confidence)
Oh, I know you do Suzy
(In minutes the ambulance arrives in the park and the EMT’s start working feverishly on Grandpa Jim as a frightened teary eyed Suzy looks on wondering if this will be the last time she sees her Grandpa Jim alive at that moment Grandpa Jim looks up at the young girl and gets a sense of what she is feeling and removes his oxygen mask and speaks to Suzy despite protests from the EMT’s)
Grandpa Jim
Don’t you worry about old Grandpa Jim kiddo we will be back here another day I am sure of it.
Suzy (in a tearful voice)
What makes you so sure Grandpa Jim? I am worried that I will never get to see you again.
Grandpa Jim
I told God just a few minutes ago that you have a lot more questions you need me to answer, so heaven’s gotta wait.
Suzy (with a forced grin and tears still in her eyes)
Did you really speak to God Grandpa Jim?
Grandpa Jim (with a slight grin.)
Nah but I did leave him a detailed voicemail.
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