Perpetual Wilderness

I woke up one morning and walked out my door. To my surprise, nothing was familiar to me. My mouth and eyes were wide open. I could not believe it. Nothing was civilized anymore, there weren’t any buildings in sight. And what surprised me even more I didn’t have any fear. Everything was beautifully green. It was just amazing. I turned around to find that my house wasn’t there anymore. Still no fear did I have. I had nothing anymore, but somehow I knew that I would be provided for. Without question, I started on my way. Could this be real? I felt a gentle wind. I could hear all kinds of sounds that were pleasant to my ears. Birds flying in the air, water running endlessly in brooks and rivers somewhere, gentle animals walking fearlessly in the wilderness. Oddly, I felt different, different from the way I used to feel. I came to the realization that somehow I had a new body. I kept on walking with a smile on my face and a melody in my heart. Suddenly, I saw old precious friends coming to walk with me. How did they get there? I felt nothing but gladness. One of them reminded me of a promise we made to each other a long time ago. I squeezed my friend’s hand and knew that the promise was kept. This was unbelievable. I was so happy to be surrounded by beautiful friends and they were all very beautiful to me. We all walked on. Awesome things we pointed at. We were all enjoying the heavenly aroma that was all around us. Pine. This was the scent that I fell in love with when I was a little child. I dreamt of my new life, the life that I now had. Up ahead was a path that looked challenging. I was definitely ready for it. My friends all laughed at my enthusiasm. I could tell, my friends felt the same way I did. All around us was paradise. Different sceneries we’ve never seen before. All we saw were mountains and wilderness, all kinds of trees, so many kinds of animals that seems unafraid of our presence. I had the most wonderful feeling and I knew I’d have that feeling forever.  The hike went on for what seems like for a long time. We climbed over rocks, trees that had fallen down, roots that were huge. It was like being on an obstacle course that didn’t end anytime soon. The things that were difficult for me at one time were no longer hard. I hiked with such ease; it was shocking to me. My friends were all amazed too. We came across mountains we would never dream of hiking in our old life. But then again, life was no longer as we knew it. We came to a river. It was a peaceful sight. We loved the sound of it. We all dunk our feet in the river and took a drink. The water was like none we had tasted before. It was more than refreshing; I would have to say that it was life given. I never saw a wilderness so grand and so beautiful. The green foliage was so unbelievably gorgeous. We began hiking again. After hiking over mountains for the longest time, we came to a clearing. It was so magnificent. Flowers were everywhere, all kinds of flowers. The wind was blowing softly. In the middle of the clearing, we saw tents set up. No one was around. Then all of a sudden, we saw in one of the far end of the field, a man. A man that was all knowing, all gentle. We knew who it was. It was our Father. We all ran to Him. He took each of us in His arms and hugged us. We all felt so humbled. “Welcome home! I love you all so very much! Well done!” He looked at each one of us and asked us how did we like our new life. We jumped up and down for joy and praised our Father endlessly. He looked at me and touched my face. “How do you like your new body little one?” I thanked Him telling Him I loved it and I loved Him! He laughed, “You deserve it. I am so proud of you, all of you." We all got down on our knees and begged for His forgiveness. He talked to us and judged us. “You are forgiven my children! The life and world for you is no more.” I knew that the smiles on our faces would never be erased. Father told us that this was our new home and here is where we would remain forever. My eyes looked over the clearing. I have never seen a wilderness more beautiful. The mountains and hills were magnificent. The water in the lakes and streams were beyond wonderful. One of my friends came up to me and said laughing, “Well, we always wanted to go camping together!” I hugged my friend that I have loved all my life. “Let’s start camping,” was my joyous reply. So we went off camping together for a while. We were having the best of time. Father came to see us from time to time. He would talk with and make us laugh, swam with us, hike and play with us. We both wanted our friends to join us, so they did. Oh the things we saw! It was such a beautiful place where we were. In all our dreams, it could never be this glorious. The peace we all felt. What a feeling! Love was always around us. It was truly the best reward. We hiked along these most amazing trails. We saw things that we have never seen in our old life. It was incredible! Many different flowers did we pick. I spent so much time picking flowers for my friends. It was something I loved doing. We had so much fun communing with the animals. The fact that we could now pet animals that we would never thought of getting close to was amazing. The terrains that we hiked over was so challenging, but we could hike them with such ease. So we hiked all day long, just enjoying each other and being together. We couldn’t believe the beauty that was all around us. We never stopped praising our Father for bringing us home. The laughter was never ending; our joy was forever. When we finally got back to the field, Father was there, arranging a huge feast for us, and boy were we hungry! He laughed at our amazement! “This is all for you My dear children! Come eat and be happy!” We all hugged Him and thanked Him. We loved Him so much. We loved each other just as much. We all sat down with Father still praising Him and thanking Him endlessly. It was really and truly a family dinner. The best one we had forever. We all ate and laughed and talked about all things. Father really felt good watching our rejoicing. I ate my meal without asking for any help. Father touched my face and smiled at me. I happily smiled back and gave Him the biggest hug. “It’s been so long little one, hasn’t it? Well, that is all over with. No need to worry anymore.” My best friend saw what was happening and reached over to hug me and held my hand. She held my hand for a long time just looking at me with a tender smile. My other friend came over and hugged me too, whispering that she loved me. I got a warm feeling. Our new life was so bright. It would be bright forever more. There would be no more good-byes. We would now live in peace for all times. Everyone told each other how much they loved everyone else. All things of the past were no more. This was truly paradise, and for my friends and I, this was a perpetual wilderness.