I’m here safely in Colorado after exactly 15 hours on the road. It is currently 60 degrees up here; which is so awesome after spending a week in Phoenix. I felt nasty with all that road dirt clinging to me, so I took a quick shower before diving into all of my emails. It was great to take a shower where the spout was actually above my head. My shower in Nashville hits me in the neck. Fun. Afterwards, I took a few moments to stand out on the deck and gaze at the millions of stars. The sky is so clear it seems as though I could reach up and rearrange all of the stars with my hands. I am staying at 9,000 feet in the Rockies, with nothing but the woods and the wind. No street lights, cars or sirens. Just absolutely peaceful. It’s moments like these that you love to share with those close to you. And a photo won’t capture even one tenth of the beauty that I am seeing. As I look at the stars I am reminded of a story that I was once told many years ago. I will try to retell my own version of it with as little detail as possible as to strike the point. (My last post was so long I think some are still reading it.) 

A young boy was spending the evening with his grandfather. They were playing inside the house, running toy cars across the hardwood floor and carrying on in a way only a grandpa and grandson could. Out of nowhere the boy said, “Grandpa, what is heaven like?”  His grandfather paused for a brief moment then replied, “Do you see how beautiful this finished hardwood floor is?” To which the boy quizzically responded, “Yes.” He then continued, “Come, follow me.” They proceeded outside and pulled away some of the boards blocking access to the crawl space under the house. With flashlight in hand grandpa began to slide through the opening. The little boy followed curiously. After crawling for a few feet grandpa pointed the flashlight at the underside of the floorboards. They both lay there looking up and the grandfather said, “What do you see?” The child replied, “Dirt, spiders, and lots of gross stuff!” Grandpa then said with a chuckle, ”You are correct my boy!” He then shut the flashlight off and his grandson immediately noticed light pouring through the cracks in the floorboards. To which grandpa said, “That’s right! Now hurry out to the backyard with me.” They scuffled out from under the house and raced to the back lawn. Grandpa then took to a spot on the grass and gazed up at the stars. His grandson followed suit and lay back on the grass posturing himself just like grandpa. Then his grandfather spoke again, “Son, see how beautiful all of those stars are?” This was followed by an enthusiastic, “Yes!” He continued, “Those stars are the floorboards of heaven. How much more beautiful will heaven be if like the floorboards of the house, so gross and dirty, are these stars to the floorboards of heaven?”

That little story has always stuck with me and brought a smile to my face. With that I will say goodnight. I have a lengthy day awaiting me after just a bit of sleep. Thank you for all of your prayers, wonderful emails and comments regarding my last blog post. I will do my best to respond to them all. 

Godspeed.

Cory Basil