The Kingdom of Heaven is here and now for those who know God’s Love. It matters not if we are physically young or old; we are all Soul and it is the Love of God that gives us life. Those whose hearts are open to recognizing God’s Love will indeed be blessed.

A year ago I was at the park with my wife and three children. It was a beautiful day, not too warm or humid. A day that was in many ways just right. The sky was open and inviting, as thick, puffy clouds lazily passed over us. After some rigorous playing, everyone laid down in the grass for a well deserved break for some cloud watching.

The green grass tickled the backs of my legs. I felt the presence of Del Hall, the Prophet, as I lay there. I knew he was always with me in Spirit, and I was keenly aware of him with each of us in that moment. I received an inner nudge that the Prophet wanted to share something with my family. So in a relaxed way, I suggested everyone close their eyes and imagine themselves on the beach with the Prophet. Many times Del has brought me to God’s many mansions spoken about in the Bible. He was inviting us to journey there with him now.

I felt the Grace and wisdom and Love of God that flows through the Prophet as I exhaled deeply and more fully relaxed, aware of the quiet that came over the five of us as the breeze rustled gently through the trees. After a few moments I heard my five-year old daughter get up. I was mildly disappointed as I felt there was a blessing for each of us from the Prophet at that moment, but understood that it was her experience and that one of God’s presents to us left unopened can sometimes be opened at a later time.

I heard her little brother also get up and follow her, leaving my wife, oldest son, and I to bask in the sweetness of the moment with the Prophet. Yet hearing the two giggling with delight nearby, I opened an eye to check on them. What I saw changed my perspective and nearly brought me to tears.

Claire and her little brother had gone to the blacktop of the basketball court, stuck in the middle of a sea of grass, and were joyfully treating it like the shoreline on the beach. They playfully dipped their toes into the imaginary ocean water, running back and forth as if the waves chased them and then receded back and forth. They had not run off to do something else, they had brought the experience to life in a way that was tangible and visceral to them, playfully dancing on the shore with the Prophet!

I had an expectation that they would have this experience on the “inner,” perceiving it with their eyes closed. But Claire had instinctively done what Del had been teaching me to do for years. And she had innately done this in an amazing and childlike way, without over thinking it, without intellectualizing it. She had no concern about how it looked. She just was joy and openness. She was completely in the moment, experiencing it as fully as if she had physically met the Prophet on the beach and frolicked there.

The smile on my face grew and my heart burst open at her infectious joy and laughter. After a while Claire and her brother returned to where we were still lying. The peace was so palpable, it felt supernatural. About halfway back to where we were lying, Claire stopped to pick something up in the grass. She hurried back excitedly. In her little hands was a perfect white sea shell!

When I suggested to her that this was no ordinary shell, it was a gift from God, her face lit up! I assured her that God had noticed how she made her experience real to her, and the Divine had responded. While it is possible there was a physical explanation for how the ocean shell got to the heart of the Shenandoah Valley, over a hundred miles from the Atlantic Ocean, it didn’t matter. It was in the perfect spot for her to find. Claire heard me, not as a five year old girl, but as Soul – that wonderful, Divine spark of God’s creation. She understood this was not a random find. It was a personal gift from God.

Soul is not limited by the body it wears. Be it young or old, human or animal, Soul can awaken to the reality that there is a living God who wants His children to know His amazing love for them. That is one of God’s treasures. Claire recognized it in the shell. God’s Love often manifests as insights, wisdom, and experiences that are sprinkled like bread crumbs on the path ahead for us to find, like Claire’s sea shell. Whether you have walked the path of God for years or want to take the first step to having a conscious relationship here and now, the way has been prepared. God has marked the way home for His children; simple enough that a child of God, joyful and free, can follow it.

Written by Chris Comfort