When I Die What Happens After?

I would imagine every human being who thinks about the after life wonders what will happen to them when they die and where they will go. I know, I know,-there are some who say nothing happens. When you die that's it. I had a wonderful friend who was and still is an atheist who once told me this same thing; when you're done you're done. I then asked him, "What if you're wrong?" I didn't say, "Make sure you get your soul in order" because that'd be too condescending but I did give him food for thought.

I often think about the afterlife and now even moreso especially so since I am indeed in the check out generation. Everyone who believes in life after death must have their own thoughts on heaven and hell and, in my case because I'm Roman Catholic, Purgatory. If I go to Purgatory I wonder how long I'll have to endure torment. I can't imagine actual fires but maybe mental anguish would be the order of the day-----for possibly, centuries. Yuck!

I remember when I was teaching at Ottumwa High School in Iowa in 1972. One of the female instructors was in the teachers lounge one day telling us about her faith and what she knew would happen after death. Out loud she stated, only 100,000 people in the history of mankind would make it through the Pearly Gates.

 As soon as her words came out of her mouth I broke out in a cold sweat. As far as I was concerned there was no way in Hell(no pun intended) I would be one of these people. I mean, once when I was six years old I stole a nickel out of my grandma's purse to buy baseball cards. My dad was a railroad worker and many times he'd get calls from a guy in the middle of the night telling him it was time to go to work. I remember the words that came out of my dad's mouth and I use them today. Some of them start with G and J and even an F if ya' know what I mean. I try to keep The Queen from hearing these utterances but habits are hard to break. The way I figure those words are worth at least a thousand years of torment in the hereafter. Anyway, I told this Ottumwa teacher I figured I'd beat Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini to heaven but, gee whiz, there are a ton of folks more holy than I.

Instead of burning hell my idea of the place is more of mental anguish for whatever God deems appropriate unless He decides on eternity. OMG!  Anyway, think about people you've come across in life who absolutely make you cringe. They may not have this effect on others but when it comes to you it's katy bar the door. 

I can only think of a few of these but when push comes to shove 'Dear God, please don't let eternity be this.