How like God
to reverse our expectations:

Heaven, it turns out,
isn't something toward which we ascend.
No, the journey to heaven
requires one to descend,
in a steady, downward spiral,
through countless convoluted passageways,
as darkness deepens,
and whatever baggage you've been clutching
scrapes away
as you squeeze through each
successively smaller gate.

And when you reach the entrance
you must crawl through muck
to cross the threshold
into glories beyond imagining.

That pearl of great price
demands full payment
after all.

Yes, how very like God.

Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All
rights reserved.