The Eternal Choir?

I don't know about any of you, but heaven used to scare me to death. I remember sitting on the purple stained pews, trying to grasp my little mind around how anyone would want to sing forever in heaven. That sounded very scary to me. I didn't like to sing, especially out loud, and I certainly didn't want to do it for all of eternity. I was scared to leave the earth, I liked it here and I wouldn't mind staying here always. I had my friends, my parents, food, a nice house, what else could God have better in heaven?

All of these things ran through my little eight-year-old mind on Sunday morning. Would we really sing forever? Then I heard a preacher talk about how, if we didn't like singing, we might not like heaven. That was even scarier. Not only was I going to have to fake liking to sing, but it was also going to go on forever and forever, trapped in the eternal church service. Why would God do that to us? Did he really want us to sing for all of eternity endlessly? I thought hard about it and started praying, and God has really comforted me on the matter. I know that he cherishes me, and that whatever he is doing is for my own good. I thought some more and thought, "alright, if I was a good father, would I have my kids sing endlessly to me? Even if I was perfect, I can't imagine doing something like that. It was a very comforting thing to know that God is not only a perfect father, but a good father as well. The more I get to know God, the more excited I am to see him. It's like waiting to see for the first time. I long to open my eyes and see God face to face, as my father greeting my with tears in his eyes and welcoming me home.

Heaven is no longer A scary "if", it is instead a longing "when", when I will praise my father and sing to him because of my love for him.