Great stories in heaven

I read this earlier today and it filled me with anticipation for what we have to look forward to in heaven. It filled me with hope that Alivia's short life and all this pain was and is not in vain. Yesterday I was laying on the couch, looking up at all her pictures. I was brought back to my last days with my little one and was recounting even the last time I held her...my eyes welled with tears. It was one of those hard moments. So, as I read this quote this morning, it made me wonder if one day we'll find out about how Alivia's life and death has effected others in ways we never knew about here on earth.

Randy Alcorn tells this story in his book, Heaven:

"Occasionally we hear stories that provide a small taste of what we'll learn in eternity. One morning when I was speaking at a church, a young woman came up to me and said, 'Do you remember a young man headed to college sitting next to you on a plane? You gave him your novel Deadline.'

I give away a lot of books on planes, but after some prompting, I remembered him. He was an unbeliever. We talked about Jesus, and I gave him the book and prayed for him as we got off the plane.

I was amazed when the young woman said, 'He told me he never contacted you, so you wouldn't know what happened. He got to college, checked into the dorm, sat down, and read your book. When he was done, he confessed his sins and gave his life to Jesus. And I can honestly tell you, he's the most dynamic Christian I've ever met.'

All I did was talk to a college student on an airplane, give him a book, and pray for him. But if the young woman hadn't told me what happened later, I wouldn't have had a clue. This made me think about how many great stories await us in Heaven, and how many we may not hear until we've been there a long time. "