“How can you be so sure?” asked Marie. “How do know there’s a heaven waiting for you? Since when has God done anything for us?”
I simply smiled my secret smile and admitted the plain truth:
“I’ve always been a faithful girl.”
Yes, the plain truth, but not quite all there is to it. I know God is watching after me, no matter how awful life gets, and I know there’s a heaven prepared for me after I die so long as I believe.
And in Heaven, God will be waiting for me with the one man in my life I’d ever loved; the one man with the ability to fully, truly break my heart; the one man with the power to give me such incredible faith: my father.
It’s a tragic story, really. That is, about as tragic as a seven-year-old’s prince charming dying of cancer, and her having no clue what’s going on until it’s too late. But it’s an enchanting story too: learning the proof of heaven, talking with an angel, overcoming grief, and learning to love again, all in the first grade. I can tell you from experience, it’s one bumpy ride.