By The Rev. Jeffrey Teeple

Getting older is not for the faint of heart! It can be tough to accept the changes in our bodies. Parts don’t work like they used to, and even with the best care and amazing medical advances, not everything gets better. The Bible reminds us that this is a part of life: 1 Peter 1:24 (NIV) says, “All people are like grass ... the grass withers and the flower falls.”

But, thanks be to God, that’s not the end of the story. The Bible also tells us that in heaven, we will be transformed, and everything will be healed.

St. Paul talks a bit about our bodies here and in heaven in 2 Corinthians 5. He calls them our “earthly tent” and our “heavenly dwelling.” The body in this life—which is a precious gift of God—is mortal. But the body we will have into eternity will be resurrected and made alive on the Last Day. “Therefore,” Paul says, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV).

I often think of these words when I attend funerals or recite the Creeds: “I believe in ... the resurrection of the body.” I look forward to the day when we will be reunited with loved ones, friends, and all the saints who have gone before us in heaven.

But as comforting as those words are, they can sometimes be hard to fully grasp. When we see the decline in our bodies, it can be difficult to imagine them being resurrected and restored.

In moments like these, I think of Helen, a dear member of our congregation who is now with Christ in heaven.

For years, Helen was a faithful servant of the congregation and community. She was a gentle woman, but at the same time Helen was an impressively strong lady even in her times of illness.

The first memory I have of Helen was from a meet-and-greet at our congregation in the early days of my ministry there. Some people introduce themselves, and their names quickly leave your head. Some people have unique names and that makes it a little easier to remember.

But Helen had a tracheotomy, which meant she had a tube in her throat to help her breathe. She also used a speaking device, called an electrolarynx, to help her talk. The device made her sound like a robot.

That night she looked me square in the eyes, put the device to her throat, and said in that mechanical voice, “My name is Helen. I’ll bet you won’t forget this. Will you?” I remembered Helen from that moment on!

In fact, she always introduced herself the same way: “This is Helen Miller calling ...” she would say on my voicemail. It always struck me as funny. Because of the electrolarynx device, there was no doubt or confusion who it was when Helen left her message. Even still, she always gave me her name: “Pastor, this is Helen.”

Helen was a child of God. In baptism, she was made alive in Christ and Christ in her. So, Helen has been given true life— Jesus’ eternal life. And that is life without sickness, injury, fear, confusion, concern, worry, regret, mistakes, sadness, or fatigue.

Like all Christians, when she died here on earth, Helen was given complete healing. That is the miracle of God’s healing!

But we go back to St. Paul’s words, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” Clearly, that verse speaks to our lives as baptized children of God here on earth. But it also gives us a glimpse of what life in heaven will be like.

When I think about what life in heaven will be like, Helen’s mechanical voice sticks in my head. You see, I can imagine pretty well what Helen must have been like before all this settled into her life—she was probably the same driving force behind projects and had the same nurturing, caring heart. But I can’t imagine what her voice sounded like. I didn’t know her before the surgery that forced her to use the device. Was her voice low or high? Sing-songy or a little monotone? Did she tend to speak quietly or loudly? Did she enjoy singing?

So, when I think about the miracle of God’s healing, I believe that Helen is fully restored. She has her voice back in heaven! She joins together with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!”

And that reality will be most remarkable to me when I see Helen in heaven someday. Because when Christ welcomes me home, I will hear a voice—clear and true—and it will say “Pastor, this is Helen. I bet you won’t forget this.”

The Rev. Jeff Teeple is the senior pastor at Peace Lutheran Church in Fremont, Ind.