I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Heaven ' s door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.

But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp--
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics, the trash...

There stood the kid from seventh grade
Who swiped my lunch money--twice.

Next to him was my old neighbor
Who never said anything nice.

Jack, whom I always thought
Was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.

I nudged Jesus, "What ' s the deal?
I would love to hear Your take.
How ' d all these sinners get up here?
God must ' ve made a mistake.

"And why ' s everyone so quiet,
So somber? Give me a clue."
"Hush, child," said He, "They ' re all in shock.
No one thought they ' d be seeing you!"

(author unknown... my sister sent emailed it to me... and i like it enough to share with you here...)