What will we wear in Heaven?
(Written in June 2015)
It was a little over a year ago when the Chaplin asked if we needed any help with anything. My sister had been silent but suddenly said she said she had some questions about Heaven. When the Chaplin said “please let me help” her question was “what will we wear in Heaven”? I could tell he was not expecting this question. When he asked her to clarify she wanted to know if we would all wear white robes in Heaven or be naked or have outfits? If we had outfits would we wear the same thing forever or would you change each day? Could you wear more than one outfit a day. Were there places to shop for clothes or were they provided? What about shoes? I could tell the Chaplin had spent his time telling people how to get to heaven but like the rest of us he really couldn’t say what we would be doing on a daily basis. I didn’t want to confound the poor Chaplin with more than he could handle but I had questions too. I wanted to know what we would do each day but I already knew what we would wear.
I have always been blessed to be a dreamer. While I’m awake I can dream up all sorts of things but it is when I’m asleep that I really show off. One night I might be a war correspondent gathering information during a complicated global conflict or maybe a sailor gliding over beautiful blue green water. I just don’t know till I go to sleep but I do know it is usually a great way to spend the night. I rarely have disturbing dreams. I have had a few but even those were not crazy or what you would call nightmares. Most are enjoyable, some enlightening and some down right funny.
Like the time I dreamed I was black. I dreamed I was in bed and my Mother ( who was a large black woman) came and opened the bedroom door and told me to get up out of that bed and do what she had told me to do. That was when I looked at my hands and realized my hands were black. I had never thought about being black so I don’t know where that dream came from. When I told my friend Johnny at the shop about it he said “I wouldn’t have been looking at my hands”.
In spite of an amazing ability to dream while asleep the most amazing sight I ever had in my mind came while I was awake. I don’t know if is correct to call it a vision or a daydream but I know what I saw and it has remained clear for 26 years. I didn’t discuss it for many years because I didn’t want people to think I was crazy but I don’t think I can hide that anymore so I will share. Maybe there is someone that needs to hear it. God has a way of shining his light on something and letting it help someone.
It was on my birthday in 1989. I was shooting in a rifle match in Butner with the National Guard team. The Guard never cared if it was your birthday when they made the schedule. I was on the firing line when a police officer from Butner Public Safety drove up and asked if Tim Whealton was there. I immediately had that sick feeling you get in the pit of your stomach. He told me they had been notified that my mother was in the hospital in New Bern and not doing well. I left the range and started the 3 hour drive to New Bern. On the way I found out Mom had suffered a heart attack and cardiac arrest. She had been resuscitated in the ambulance and was alive on a ventilator. If you knew my Mom you knew this was the worst case scenario. She had retired as a hospital nurse and always let us know to never resuscitate her or allow her to be kept alive with no hope recovery. The ambulance crew had no way of knowing this and they did what they were supposed to do. Experienced ambulance crews will look for reasons to not do CPR but standing orders are clear, when in doubt resuscitate.
I thought about when I had called to check on her a few days before. I had asked her what she was doing and her reply was like so many times before, “just sitting here waiting for Jesus to say “come on Bessie!” That was my Mom. She had worn out her body and was ready to see her Lord and if you knew her of this you had no doubts.
When I arrived at the hospital my family was already there in the family waiting area outside the cardiac unit. The doctors came out and gave us the grim news. Her heart was beating but she was brain damaged with no hope of recovery. Even though each of us knew exactly what she would want us to do it was amazing how hard it was to say it was time to turn off the ventilator. In the back of our minds I’m sure we thought about those stories of people waking up but this was reality and we had to be strong for her and each other. She had raised us to be ready and we all agreed. After we signed the consent we waited in the family area in silence. That was when I had my vision.
I was sitting with my eyes closed and suddenly I was in the cardiac unit looking down the hall. I saw my mother come out of her room and start walking down the hall towards me. Even though she was coming towards me she wasn’t coming to me in particular. She had the most beautiful smile on her face and she was wearing a conservative gray outfit that fit well. As she walked past the open rooms she waved goodbye and smiled. With every step she seemed to be aging in reverse and was becoming more beautiful. Suddenly her progress was stopped and hands were on her shoulders. Her smile was gone and a look of fear came over her face. I was back in the waiting room.
I waited in silence with the others and after a long time the doctor came out with news. They had removed the ventilator and she wasn’t breathing but after a period of a couple of minutes she had started breathing on her own. Apparently there was enough brain function to make her breathe but nothing else. There was no way to predict how long this could go on but it was the worse case scenario. Four days later, late at night the angels came and she got to leave for good. I know exactly what she was wearing and how she looked.
I’m convinced you get to wear what you want. Just make sure you get there!
Timothy P. Whealton