Bringing Heaven to Earth

I've (Aleisha) been reading two different books recently: Raising Adopted Children by Lois Ruskai Melina (excellent) and Sex God by Rob Bell (a Pastor; also excellent). Two phrases have resonated with me: long-sighted decisions and bringing heaven to earth. First, long-sighted decisions. I was reading a chapter in Raising Adopted Children on Open Adoptions. The book made a point that for a birth parent to choose an open adoption, it may be a long-sighted decision. The book suggests that in the sort-term, it is may be easier for a birth parent to choose a closed adoption. Therefore, choosing an open adoption is a long-sighted decision with the child's best interest at heart. This made me start to think about all the long-sighted decisions that went into making Cecelia a part of our lives. For Lauryn, her birth mother, there were several of those decisions, for which we are forever grateful. That lead me to think about parenting and how so much of it is making long-sighted decisions. I began to think about what I need to do as a parent that has Cecelia's best in mind in the "long-term" and even eternal perspective. This leads me to the phrase bringing heaven to earth. Rob Bell explains that (he talks about the meaning of the biblical term; I'm not going to look it up, so just read the book--I may not be quoting perfectly) heaven is actually here now--meaning that the kingdom of God is a part of this world. My brother Rollie mentioned another author, NT Wright, explains that heaven, as described in the bible, is not necessarily up. The idea is that we have a choice--we are either bringing heaven or hell to earth. So, I started thinking that more is at stake than just making good long-sighted choices. It's more than just doing what is "best". It's about bringing heaven to earth because when you make choices that are eternal, that is what you are doing--even if it is only impacting one person. That is the kind of parent that I want to be--bringing heaven to earth, and that is the kind of thing I want to teach Cece. For now, it's all I can do to get her to smile for the camera, but it sure brings heaven to earth for me!