Chapter 2   Is It Your Heartbeat?

Pluto is Calling

It was a cold winter’s evening several years ago as my memory serves.  Our Grandson Ian was about 5 years old and we found ourselves in our playhouse.  This playhouse was created by us when Ian was about three.  It was a Christmas present.  The ceiling was plenty high and the inside was unfinished plywood.  There was a seat in the back where we often rested our hot chocolate on those cold winter nights as we scrunched down to stay warm.

We had just finished our chocolate and cookies that grandma had prepared for us when Ian exclaimed that he was going to Pluto.  Yes, to Pluto that very evening!  On the front of the playhouse was a porch with access to the playhouse through a Dutch door.  We prepare for launch as Ian locks the lower door and opens the top and climbs over the section that is secure and emerges into the world of fantasy from the imaginary launching pad.  As he plans for the launch, I exclaim Ian, please let me attach a tether to you so that you won’t be lost in space forever!  Ian calmly replies; Grandpa, there’s no need.  I’ll just fire my retro rockets for re-entry. Don’t worry and he takes off into the night skies.  As he sails away, I scream, Ian don’t forget to bring soil samples so that we’ll learn whether life can be supported there! And suddenly he is gone and I see him no more.  I hope for his safe return.

Time passes and Ian re-emerges just as quickly as he left with a smile on his face sharing the glee of his adventure.  I welcome him aboard the recovery vehicle and haul him over the threshold to debrief him and to examine his life-support findings from his trip (He took a sock to collect soil samples and it was truly full.).  His excitement of the travels and avoidance of asteroids and solar particles almost left him speechless.  Finally, he got the sock open and shared with me his findings of Plutonium, and gold and other elements that he’d discovered.  I asked him if he was able to determine if hydrogen and oxygen were on the planet.  He exclaimed, I don’t know and just as quickly said he’d find out and off he went again to explore and then returned minutes later in amazement.  Grandpa, you won’t believe it, I found hydrogen and oxygen on the planet Pluto.  It will support life!  His sock was full of the elements and I explained how hydrogen was useful as a power source as was Plutonium, but safer.  And, that when we mix hydrogen and oxygen (Yes, I gave him the formulae, H²O.) the result would be water.  We shared in the moment of Ian’s adventures and welcomed our next adventure together.     

The morals of this story are many.  Mostly, I see that if we have a vision and have faith; anything is possible.  Our having faith like a child can move humanity in ways we have never dreamed.  Yes, into the heart of God!

Let’s look into our hearts together.  OK?

1.  Did you like this adventure with Ian?   In what ways did you see yourself in this imaginary travels? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Will you share with me your travels? How have you felt as you’ve traveled there?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________