Tony sat on the bench. He opened his newspaper and began reading the headlines. ‘The world is heading for major trouble!’ he thought. Just as his heart was beginning to sink into despair, he saw Kevin approaching the bench. Tony slid over to make room for his acquaintance.

“Another day, another dollar,” remarked Kevin.

“Yeah,” Tony replied with a chuckle. “Would you like some of my newspaper?” He offered with a smile; noting Kevin’s stare.

“Nah! It’s all bad news!”

“Yeah and getting worse by the day,” Tony replied, as he looked up from the pages of disparagement.

“Ya know, somehow I gotta feelin’ this can’t go on much longer. I mean, something’s gotta give!”

“Whadaya mean?” Tony inquired; his eyes widening.

“I mean, I think God is going to intervene, and soon! Have you heard about the Rapture of the Church?”

“Oh yeah! Isn’t that when God beams up all the believers just before catastrophe strikes?”

“Yeah, and the earth will be desecrated; nearly uninhabitable for those who are left here, and some will continue to reject God. They will have to endure a virtual hell on earth.”

“Yeah…….I think I’ll do some research after work tonight. I'll look up some Scripture and see what I can uncover.”

“Well do what you want, but just so you know, going in the Rapture isn’t like catching a bus,” Kevin replied with a wink.

“WHAT?”

“I mean like, when you catch a bus, you gotta know where to wait, what day and time it’s leaving and if you’re going on a long trip, you gotta make sure you’ve packed up everything you’ll be needing while you’re gone right?”

“YEAH,” Tony replied, with a silly smirk.

“Well, we don’t gotta do all that to go to Heaven! We don’t gotta know what day or time or where to wait and we don’t need to pack anything. The only thing we need to concentrate on is walkin’ the walk and talkin’ the talk man! All God requires is that we’re living right, repenting when we mess up, that we have a serious relationship with Christ, and putting others first; completely devoted to HIM,” Kevin replied; pointing upward toward Heaven. Oh, here comes the bus.

Tony stood up and began walking behind Kevin; still contemplating their heavy bus stop conversation and the obvious, solid condition of Kevin’s soul.

That night as he lay in bed, Tony was amazed by how many times that day he was reminded of his talk with his new friend and confidant that unusual morning.

“Thank You God that preparedness for going in the Rapture is about the preparation of the spirit, rather than the physical,” he prayed. Then he drifted off into a deep sleep and dreamt about the Mysteries of God and the awesome joy that awaits him in Heaven.