I’ll Never Forget My First Glimpse of Heaven

I was raised in a very conservative Christian family. My father had been a chaplain in the Army, and my mother grew up going to church. Their religion was very important to them, and they wanted to make sure that their kids had a strong relationship with God. <br><br>As a child, my parents sent me to a Christian school. They told me I was lucky that I didn’t have to go to a public school, like most kids. They said public school kids would tease me for being a Christian. I didn’t have too many friends at Christian school. I was a shy kid. So, I spent most of my free time alone at my desk reading books.<br><br>My school had a principal that everyone liked. His name was Principal Earle. He had a round belly and bushy white eyebrows. Every time I saw him his bright blue eyes were twinkling behind his round glasses. Principal Earle wasn’t very tall, but he walked like he was the tallest kid in school. He had a confident swagger. <br><br>Every morning, Principal Earle walked around to all the classrooms and greeted the students. My teacher, Mrs. Hemmings, always told us to stand up and put our arms around each other when Principal Earle came by. In my classroom, there was never anyone for me to put my arms around. So, I just clasped them together and grinned like everyone else.<br><br>I remember one morning, Principal Earle came in to greet us. He was beaming with a smile. His eyes sparkled more than usual. <br><br>“I have some very good news to share with all of you,” he said. “Today… we are going to see Heaven!” <br><br>There was a loud murmur from the class. Everyone was excited. <br><br>“When is it going to happen?” someone asked.<br><br>“Later today,” he said. “Just make sure you pay attention in class so you don’t miss any of the important lessons.”<br><br>It took awhile, but classes continued as usual that morning. Finally, it was time for lunch. I sat in the cafeteria with some older boys. They talked about video games. I nodded and pretended that I had played the games they were discussing. <br><br>When the lunch bell rang, Principal Earle walked out into the hallway. He clapped a bell loudly.<br><br>“Everyone… line up for your walk home from school today,” he said.<br><br>I stood still. Did he just say “walk home from school?” <br><br>I didn’t understand. We weren’t going to ride the bus? How were we going to walk all the way home from school? Principal Earle had never mentioned walking home from school before. <br><br>As everyone lined up, I asked one of the older boys what Principal Earle was talking about. The boy said he didn’t know. He tried to reassure me that Principal Earle was a smart man. Whatever he had planned would be good for all of us. <br><br>I stood in line with the rest of the kids. Principal Earle led us out of the front doors of the school. It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining. The sky had a few white clouds in it. I felt a slight breeze on my cheeks. <br><br>As we walked away from the school, I realized that everyone was walking in the same direction. It was as if we were going to the same place. Maybe we were all going to the same park? I could see Principal Earle walking at the front of the line. He was still smiling.<br><br>As we got farther and farther from the school, the sky got brighter and brighter. I had to raise my hand above my eyes to look in that direction. It was as if the sun was setting on the horizon – its bright yellow and orange hues glowing across the clouds. <br><br>Suddenly everyone around me gasped. I heard gasps and oohs and ahhs. There were even a few screams. <br><br>I tried to cover my eyes from the glare of the light. As I peeked through my fingers, I saw something I would never forget. <br><br>There was a tunnel leading to what looked like a beautiful park. The tunnel had magnificent golden doors on the other side. There was also a long road leading to the golden doors – a road with a white mist covering it.<br><br>I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life. The road seemed to go on forever, but the sky above it had the brightest blue color I had ever seen. Beyond the golden doors there was only blue and white. I could see the outlines of trees and bushes behind the doors, but they were much smaller than trees and bushes on Earth. I could also make out the shapes of buildings – tall buildings with gleaming white and gold walls. <br><br>Principal Earle continued walking toward the golden doors. Everyone followed him. I was excited to see what was beyond the doors. It surely must have been Heaven. <br><br>But as I kept walking, I noticed something. The golden doors weren’t getting any closer. No matter how much I walked, it seemed like the doors were still miles away. I looked down at the road. The white mist seemed to be getting thicker.<br><br>Suddenly, I slipped on something and fell. My palms hit the road hard and skidded on the pavement. <br><br>“Ow!” someone cried. It was me. I had screamed in pain.<br><br>I sat up and rubbed my palms. They were bleeding. Behind me, I heard Principal Earle’s voice. <br><br>“Everyone… stop where you are,” he said. “All of you… turn around.” <br><br>I turned around. Everyone had stopped walking. They had turned to see what had happened to me.<br><br>“He was never supposed to be here,” Principal Earl said. “All of you need to go back to school now.” <br><br>I stood up and brushed myself off. I was confused. Hadn’t I been a student at the school? There were murmurs from the crowd. Everyone groaned. <br><br>“I don’t understand,” I said. “This is my school.”<br><br>“You were never supposed to be here,” Principal Earle said. “Look at your clothes. Look at your shoes. You are from a different time. I… uh… I don’t know how you got here.”<br><br>“Where am I supposed to be?” I asked.<br><br>“You need to go back to where you came from,” he said. “All of you… turn around and go back to school.” <br><br>Everyone turned around except me. I continued to walk toward the golden doors. As I got closer to them, I could see that they were even more beautiful than I had thought at first. I could hear the sounds of harp music and birds chirping from beyond the doors. <br><br>“We can’t let him get there,” Principal Earle said. “Someone… stop him.” <br><br>One of the older boys ran up behind me. He grabbed my arm and whirled me around. I punched him in the face as hard as I could. His eyes widened and he doubled over, holding his jaw. <br><br>When I turned back around, I saw Principal Earle running up to me. He was much taller than I had thought before – especially without his round glasses. <br><br>“You can’t go through those doors!” he said. “If you go through those doors… you will be here forever.”<br><br>“Here forever?” I asked. “This is Heaven… isn’t it?”<br><br>“No,” he said. “This is a school. This is your school. And that tunnel… that is the tunnel every student takes to get here. You took this tunnel too… or you wouldn’t be here.” <br><br>I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.<br><br>“This is a trick,” I said. “You’re the devil.”<br><br>“I am not the devil,” Principal Earle answered. “I am the principal of this school. And you… are just another student.” <br><br>I stepped forward. Principal Earle blocked my path. I tried to push him out of the way. He wouldn’t budge. <br><br>“Don’t try to force it,” he said. “You will never be able to get through those doors. This… is not your time.” <br><br>I continued to struggle with Principal Earle. The other students were catching up to us. I heard someone yell “hold him down.” Principal Earle punched me in the face. <br><br>Everything went black.<br><br>When I woke up, I was sitting at my desk in class. My face hurt. My palms hurt. My knuckles were sore from punching that kid. Mrs. Hemmings was standing at the front of the classroom. <br><br>“Okay children,” she said. “It’s time for lunch.” <br><br>The kids all yapped excitedly. I sat silently at my desk. I could barely move. I hurt all over.<br><br>I have no idea how I got to that school or how I got back home. To this day, I don’t know if it was all a dream or not. But from that day forward, I have never believed in Heaven.