Chapter 2 (Heaven)

Chapter 2 (Heaven) 

Ben, Lewis, May and Pearl quickly gather for an emergency meeting, gracefully flowing into the allotted space before the life monitor screen. Each had received the mental mandatory call from Christian so knew it was of grave importance. Chris was the one on watch. They were the “above-team” assigned to aid Emma Grace Lanrete through the obstacles of earth life. People on earth sometimes called them angels. Those selected each had an attachment thread winding through the eternities connected somehow to Emma. It was their work or mission and they cherished the opportunity most of the time, but hers was not always an easy assignment. 

Benjamin was Emma’s great grandfather on earth on her mother’s side. Emma was born on his birthday April 6th many decades later. Ben had always felt a special connection to this great granddaughter and actually volunteered for the assignment. He originally imagined heaven to be a place of peace and rest, but he was busier now than he had ever been. Luckily his energy in this realm was endless, only his mind was weary at times. His once burly body was now quite agile and his intellectual faculties heightened. Both served him well in this new world. 

Lewis was a more distant relative of Emma. He had been killed in the Civil War from a gunshot to the groin at only 19 years of age, so was never blessed with descendants of his own. He knew his family mourned immensely his tragic loss. One grandfather Reverend Michael Joseph Meyerhoeffer was a Methodist minister before his death in 1833, so there were remnants of some source of spiritual comfort. But his other grandfather,  Robert Hooke had been a Captain in the War of 1812 and Lewis had followed his path into the military, unfortunately only making it to the level of a private before his untimely demise. All wars are brutal, but war where brother fought against brother was especially heinous. He felt a bond to Emma as if she had been born his own daughter. This work of helping and healing was cleansing. 

May was married to Ben during her time on earth and that link continued after they crossed to this heavenly dimension. They still worked together as partners doing good. She felt sort of like a superhero at times. Unfortunately the teams were not allowed to contact the posterity they were watching over except in extreme situations. Many times May just wanted to give Emma a quick hug or mini pep talk and had to hold back, but she could tell Emma sensed her presence in some small way on a few of those occasions. She was using great restraint so May hoped she would not get reassigned. She would be more careful.

Pearl came and went. She was not a full time member of the team yet, she still had other assignments which conflicted elsewhere, but she was a vital part of what they did. Her connections to earth were still much stronger than the rest and she could do things they could not and visa versa.  

Chris or Christian was the most distant relation, a great great uncle several generations back. His presence was a practical safeguard against personal emotions getting too tangled in the process and added a balanced view when needed. He had been a general in one of the great battles centuries ago and had fulfilled much grander heavenly assignments in the past, but his leadership was valuable and appreciated to the relatively newcomers on the team. He began to share the event he had just witnessed at the humble bedside below.