Theme: God. Our father that is in heaven

Our father that is in heaven

Peter was thinking about the prayer that Jesus had taught, wondering how difficult it was to get to the place where the 'Father of Heaven' is.

It could be from the top of the Italy Building, which he knew it was the tallest building in the city, could he reach the sky? And he asked his father:

- Could you take me to the Italy Building, high up there, on the top floor?

Peter’s father thought his request was funny, but he promised that as soon as he could he would take him there.

One Saturday morning, the whole family went to Italy Building. Peter, Annie and Daddy entered the elevator. Peter said to the elevator operator: "top floor". And there they went, going higher and higher.

- We must be close to heaven - thought the boy with satisfaction. But when they got up there, he saw that the sky was still higher.

- It did not work - he thought - Well, I couldn’t get to where the 'Father in Heaven' is.

But when Peter wanted something, he didn’t give up easily. He wanted to find a way. He had heard his father saying that the Jaraguá Peak was a very high hill, near the entrance of the city, taller than any building. People could go there, walk, and admire the view. It must have been the 'Father of heaven'.

He talked to his mom and she thought it was a good idea to have a picnic at Jaraguá Peak. He prepared a delicious snack. Sunday was beautiful and there the whole family went to the Jaraguá Peak: Peter, Annie, the baby and daddy. On the way they saw beautiful flowers, the birds singing, a fresh stream running and the sun shining, illuminating everything. Peter wanted to go high, very high, higher and higher, as far as the cloud seemed to touch the top of the hill. They went up, they went up, but when they got there, the sky seemed to be farther away...

How difficult it was to reach the 'Father of heaven'.

One day Peter had got really happy: his father came home and told them they would visit Aunt Dorothea, who lived in Brasilia. But the most important and most enjoyable thing is that they would go by plane. Yes sir, by plane.

Besides the beauty of the journey, Peter had another reason for such joy. Now, he would go to heaven... where the 'Father in Heaven' lived.

The plane took off. Its wheels did not touch the ground anymore and it began to fly like a bird. Higher, always higher. So high, that the clouds were below him. They looked like a soft, fluffy white mattress. Now, they were coming to heaven, in the house of the 'Father of heaven'. But when Peter looked up, the sky was still far away...

Now, not even the plane could reach the sky... And astronauts, would they go to the sky? He decided to ask his father:

- No, my son, the astronauts did not reach the sky because the sky has no end, it is always higher.

- But then, dad, where does the 'Father of heaven' live?

It was there that the father understood why Peter had wanted to go to the top of the Italy building, why he had asked to climb the Peak of Jaraguá and why he had been so enthusiastic about the plane trip. Peter was looking for the 'Father of Heaven'.

His father smiled, passed his hand over Peter's head, and from up above the clouds, flying like a bird, he explained:

- God, our Father, is in all things that He creates, in what He does. It is in the plants, the flowers, the birds and, especially, in our hearts. Heaven, Peter, is the heart of people, when they do the things Jesus taught, when they talk to the 'Father in heaven', in prayer.

God is like the sun that warms us, gives us light and life. When we close the door of our heart and it cannot enter, everything becomes dark and ugly inside of us, but when we open our heart, the 'Father of heaven' enters, gently, like this ray of sun you are seeing up there, and we feel the sky within us, inside our heart, where the 'Father in Heaven' lives.

Text by Cândida Chirello.

Translation:
Larissa Martine - larissa_am@hotmail.com

marcelapradacontato@gmail.com