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Heaven on Earth - by Rev. Michael Cox
Every Thursday morning, I try to visit the St Francis House. I sit in the café with a cup of coffee and wait to be invited into conversation. Last week, a woman came in who had just discovered this glorious place, a place for clothing and household items yes, but also a place of rest and healing. Pulling up a chair next to me, she told me all about a miraculous experience she had while in the hospital. Close to death and in a coma, the indescribable beauty of heaven was revealed to her. Smiling behind a plate of donuts, she described a place that looked and sounded like nothing she had ever imagined. Until she came to the St Francis House. “When I walked in, it felt like that time in the hospital. Like I was experiencing heaven on earth!” As she shared her understanding of heaven, comparing it to how she feels while visiting the St Francis House, her joy and excitement were contagious. As a street minister for Operation Nightwatch, I speak to many people who are in crisis as a result of suffering and trauma. Like the clients of the St Francis House, I come for restoration and renewal. Sometimes coffee and donuts can open the door to heaven! “Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me (Revelation 3:20 NRSV).”
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