Is it me that I see?

I know the grammar for the title is incorrect, but it wouldn't rhyme if I said "Is it I that I see?" If lyricists can take that liberty all the time, so can I. :)

My Bible Study group is about to start a study on Heaven, so I figured now would be a good time to talk about my most recent pondering about the celestial glories. :) To be honest, I don't think as much about Heaven as I do other topics, so I just have disjointed thoughts instead of well-developed ideas. The student that's forever in me is annoyed by that, but no big deal. You don't mind too much, do you? ;)

Have you ever thought about exactly how different a person you will be in Heaven? Sure, there will be no more sin, which will make us drastically different people. And we'll spend our time worshipping God, which will certainly (and unfortunately) mark a big change in my daily routine.

But what about things like personality? Will we have the same personality? The reason I ask is because I realized today that things like cynicism won't be in Heaven. Along with that, there will be no need for skepticism or pessimism, and even the notion of "realism" will be turned on its ear. My whole personality will be shot! ;) All these personality traits are mechanisms of carefulness--ways of protecting ourselves from various types of harm. And without the potential for harm, there's no need to be protected from it. In its place will be a freedom from concern, of sorts. I don't know about y'all, but having freedom from being concerned about what might happen will be a huge burden lifted from me. There won't be a need for figuring out people's true intentions or for developing contingency plans. It will all have the resemblance of innocence...but along with wisdom. What an amazing combination!

Alright, so, thank God that, in Heaven, the dark clouds from our personalities will be lifted. But, here's another mindbender. With no dark clouds, will there be a need for silver linings either? Like, take hope as an example. Hope is an emotion that connects the present and the future; it's the potential for improvement. Well, if the present is as good as it could be, then there's nothing to hope for, is there?

It's all a lot to think about, but I like the fact that I can't figure out Heaven. Its mystery makes it seem so much more "of God" in my mind, and when I think about spending eternity somewhere, I want it to be the most "of God" place I can envision.