People have asked us other questions as well. Kids, especially, want to
know whether Colton saw any animals in heaven. The answer is yes!
Besides Jesus’ horse, he told us he saw dogs, birds, even a lion—and the
lion was friendly, not fierce.
A lot of our Catholic friends have asked whether Colton saw Mary, the
mother of Jesus. The answer to that is also yes. He saw Mary kneeling
before the throne of God and at other times, standing beside Jesus. “She
still loves him like a mom,” Colton said.
Another question people ask all the time is how Colton’s experience has
changed us. The first thing Sonja will tell you is that it absolutely broke us.
See, pastors and their families are usually most comfortable in the role of
“helper,” not “helpee.” Sonja and I had always been the ones who visited
the sick, brought the meals, cared for others’ kids, in times of need. We
were adamantly self-reliant—maybe, in retrospect, to the point of being
prideful. But that grueling stint in the hospital snapped our pride like a dry
twig and taught us how to be humble enough to accept help from other
people, physically, emotionally, and financially.
It’s good to be strong and able to bless others, yes. But we learned the
value of being vulnerable enough to let others be strong for us, to let others
bless us. That, it turned out, was a blessing to them as well.
Another way Colton’s story has changed us is this: we are bolder. We
live in a day and time when people question the existence of God. As a
pastor, I was always comfortable talking about my faith, but now, in
addition, I talk about what happened to my son. It’s the truth and I talk about
it, no apologies.
Meanwhile, here in Imperial, the business of living goes on just the same
as it does for families all across small-town America. Cassie is thirteen
and headed for high school in the fall. Last night was a big night for her:
she tried out for the high school show choir. Our youngest, Colby, is also
reaching a milestone: He’s starting kindergarten this year, which is a good
thing because he was starting to drive his preschool teacher nuts.
As for Colton, he’ll turn eleven this month and in September will enter the
sixth grade. He’s a regular kid in every way. He wrestles and plays
baseball. He plays the piano and the trumpet, but isn’t too wild about
school and says his favorite subject is recess. He still talks about heaven