The Kingdom of Heaven

Mark had been sick of his life since he was 20.

Every night he prayed.

“Make or break me.”

Every morning he woke up neither made nor broken.

“When will this end?”

There had been attempts to end the tedium; half hearted, embarrassing attempts that only underscored the failure and the futility of his life.

One morning he had decided not to get out of bed. This was the end. After a week he got up, stood under a lukewarm shower, dressed mechanically and went to work. At work he sat staring at a computer screen that had long since gone into power-save mode.

He stopped trying to feel better about his life, stopped trying to apply reason to his problems – he gave up thinking. His mind was a flat featureless landscape and a grey sky.

At 75 he arranged for all his food to be delivered to his house. In that house he sat.

Days passed.

“Make or break me”

“Make or break me”

One cold night Mark’s prayer was answered. His heart stopped while he slept. He was 87 years old.

It felt like waking up, it felt like waking up made!

Surrounded by white light, not floating – no indeed!, speeding through the light. And it was exhilarating!

A choir of angels travelled with him singing, not in a churchy way, but in a way that filled you with power and hurt your eardrums. The music banished Marks greyness in the same way the morning sun chasses the dawn away.

Peter was there at the gates of heaven and greeted Mark with a wide smile and a hearty hug.

“So, well, we expected you sooner Mark. But here you are and we are pleased to see you.

Many people have lived lives like yours Mark but you have lived it the longest

Hearing this filled Mark with sadness.

“Don’t be sad”, Peter said. “In heaven all lives make sense – even yours”.

And Mark found out -

Peter was right.