seemed to be from all different races, living together in the greatest harmony, all reflecting the same beautiful light and gentle understanding that filled this entire city. How different this world was from mine! The best of times in the best of places on my world afforded only the tiniest glimpse of the joy and wonder that life could be. I was familiar with the fact that my world had once been a marvelous garden created by God and beautiful beyond belief. Seeing these happy people gave me hope that some day the Earth would be restored to its former glory and the Spirit of God would again fill the Earth.
Still a bit dazed at being here and not able to grasp all that was happening to me, I followed Jamal somewhat mechanically to the outer limits of the city. I noticed a certain quietness and peacefulness begin to fill the air. Evening was settling upon this place. There was a sweetness in the air, a certain coolness. A feeling of relaxation and restfulness began to fill my body. I can’t quite say that it was anything like the arrival of our evening or nighttime-although it never actually seemed to get dark like night on Earth. There was always a soft warm subdued lighting, quite like the glow that fills a room from an open fireplace. It seemed more like a time of great peacefulness came over all the land-though in the time I’d been there, I’d not noticed any signs of hard labor, intense work, or heavy construction going on. By outward appearances, there didn’t seem to be that much going on, yet I did sense that very much was going on all around me in ways and dimensions I was not yet aware of. Everything was quite different here, but I certainly understood this wonderful feeling of rest and peacefulness that was coming over me. It was like walking through a rose garden in the cool of the evening.
“In the cool of the evening”-my mind flashed back to Genesis. In the cool of the evening was a very special time of day in the Garden of Eden, for that was when Jesus would come and walk with Adam and Eve in the garden. That was a special time of day for them, walking in the cool of the evening with the Lord. What a restful, peaceful time of day this was! I found it pleasant to think of Jesus coming and tucking His first children, Adam and Eve, in at night-answering their questions, and listening to all the things they had learned that day.
I, too, had surely learned much in this day and much had happened to me. Earlier my mind had been a volcano of questions. There was much more here than I could even imagine or have ever thought to ask about. But now this restful spirit that stilled the land for the moment put my mind at ease and gave peace from questions, peace from the intensity of experiences. Oh, what a marvelous moment this was. Creation itself wrapped its arms around me as I walked, and filled me with as deep a peace as I had ever known. This was surely the time of day when the Lord took His stroll among us.
Jamal’s house was partly in the countryside at the edge of the city in a small, friendly town or cozy suburb. His home was humble and very simple compared to the tall, magnificent, symmetrical design and gleaming crystal architecture of the city’s center. It was actually more humble than I had expected for someone of such importance as Jamal’s father. He was the trainer and keeper of the Prince’s great white herd, the horses whose hooves sounded like thunder, the horses of the armies of God.
I very much wanted to go immediately and see those horses, but Jamal said we would go on the morrow. “All in good time! All in good time!” Patience seemed to be such a virtue here, and one I needed more of. Everything had its time; nothing was hurried or out of place.
We entered the grounds of Jamal’s house. It was a two-story white house with smooth curved walls. It didn’t seem to have any corners at all. The windows too were curved to match the contours of the walls. The upper floor was rounded, inset with tall, rounded windows, and a lovely round crystal window facing the sky capped the curved roof. Up close, the house was a very warm and friendly place, very homey and practical. Reflecting upon it for a moment, I realized that it was exactly right for a man of greatness in this world. For here, greatness was not measured in showy outward appearances as is the habit of those back on Earth. Greatness here was measured in love, humility, faithfulness, and all those deeper qualities of character and spirit that a man carries with him at all times. The likeness of a man’s soul to God’s very open, loving, humble, warm and approachable Spirit was the principal measure of one’s greatness here.
Jamal’s mother, Joyus, greeted us. She was one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen. Her figure and the whiteness of her long, flowing gown made her appear every bit like the most glorious goddess imaginable. She had such unimaginable beauty, yet here she was before my very eyes, warmly and humbly greeting me, and welcoming me as a friend.
Jamal introduced me, “This is my mother.” She smiled and seemed to know all about me. Jamal continued, “This is the one who came to us. I found him today on the upper ridge and have been telling him about this place and all that I could. It is very different for him here.”
“Very different,” I repeated, smiling.
“I hope you will enjoy your stay with us,” she said. “Come, Jamal will show you your room. We will eat when my husband arrives, which will be soon.”
It was as though they knew I was coming and they already knew me-friends that knew me but that I had not met. Then again, everyone here seemed to be a friend I hadn’t yet met. Being here was like being in a neighborhood I’d grown up in all my life, with the friendliest people I’d ever known. Of course, this was much better than any neighborhood on Earth! I couldn’t imagine any sort of crime ever happening here, or any problems, or even a cross word.
The room Jamal took me to was a front room on the upper floor. We went up a set of very cleverly made steps winding around the curved sides of the house. There was another set of similar stairs on the inner side of the house. All around one side of this upper room were full-length windows overlooking a lovely back yard. The walls were not straight either, but curved gently around like a French curve. The inner dividing walls, however, were straight-two flat walls that met at a right angle in one corner. In that corner was the bed, like a quarter-sized piece of cream-topped pie, or a large, soft marshmallow pressed into the corner. It looked as soft as a cloud to rest upon. The windows were more like crystal than glass, that caught the light and showered the room in color. The windows opened onto a balcony and the second set of stairs went from there down to the inner yard area.
There were so many mysteries and lovely differences about this house-in fact, this entire world to which I had suddenly been transported. So many things were different here, especially the people. They were all so very open-so open, in fact, that at times I couldn’t be sure if we were even talking or just exchanging thoughts, it was so easy to communicate. As when I first met Jamal, sometimes our thoughts and even our whole being just seemed to flow together.
After the initial shock of having so little inner privacy, I found it very easy to be around these people. There was nothing hidden, nor anything to hide. Everything was marvelously open, wonderfully shared, and completely understood. Life was a common joy that everyone shared and participated in. And as I said, sometimes I couldn’t really tell where or what I was. Was I there as a real individual, or there as a participating part of their thoughts and lives and feelings? At times I seemed to be a part of Jamal and his thoughts and feelings. Other times I seemed to be just me following my new friend around. Sometimes I seemed to be almost floating in and out of new places, spaces and dimensions, and experiencing the beginnings of a whole new life for me. Yes, I did say “floating,” because gravity was not as we know it. So moving around seemed different too. Many things were very different here.
“Do you like your room?” Jamal asked.
“It’s beautiful,” I replied, “so restful, so full of light, just the way I like it! It’s just the way I would have made my dream house.”
Jamal smiled, as if he knew so much more than what he spoke. He seemed to be gently waiting for me to begin to comprehend all the things that I could not yet understand. He was so patient.
Now it may seem odd to you, but I couldn’t rightly tell how old I was while there. Back on Earth I was many years old, but in this world I seemed to be a young boy, though age or appearance didn’t seem to really matter at all. How odd that age didn’t seem to matter or be an important difference between people. Everyone was just as loved and as respected and as wonderfully