Heaven Is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back (13 page)

See, as parents we were concerned about Colton. A lot of people love his story because of all the details about heaven. We like that too. But then theres that hospital part when we all walked through terror and misery for what seemed an eternity. That was still tender territory and we werent sure how reliving it all would affect Colton. Also, how would he handle the attention? We were concerned about that. Were still concerned. Were from small towns, small schools, small churches. Small is something Colton knows, but the spotlight? Were not so sure.

But now, of course, the book is written. Sonja said to me the other day, laughing, Well, I guess well have to write become author on our bucket lists just so we can cross it off.

People have asked us other questions as well. Kids, especially, want to know whether Colton saw any animals in heaven. The answer is yes! Besides Jesus horse, he told us he saw dogs, birds, even a lionand the lion was friendly, not fierce.

A lot of our Catholic friends have asked whether Colton saw Mary, the mother of Jesus. The answer to that is also yes. He saw Mary kneeling before the throne of God and at other times, standing beside Jesus. She still loves him like a mom, Colton said.

Another question people ask all the time is how Coltons experience has changed us. The first thing Sonja will tell you is that it absolutely broke us. See, pastors and their families are usually most comfortable in the role of helper, not helpee. Sonja and I had always been the ones who visited the sick, brought the meals, cared for others kids, in times of need. We were adamantly self-reliantmaybe, in retrospect, to the point of being prideful. But that grueling stint in the hospital snapped our pride like a dry twig and taught us how to be humble enough to accept help from other people, physically, emotionally, and financially.

Its good to be strong and able to bless others, yes. But we learned the value of being vulnerable enough to let others be strong for us, to let others bless us. That, it turned out, was a blessing to them as well.

Another way Coltons story has changed us is this: we are bolder. We live in a day and time when people question the existence of God. As a pastor, I was always comfortable talking about my faith, but now, in addition, I talk about what happened to my son. Its the truth and I talk about it, no apologies.

Meanwhile, here in Imperial, the business of living goes on just the same as it does for families all across small-town America. Cassie is thirteen and headed for high school in the fall. Last night was a big night for her: she tried out for the high school show choir. Our youngest, Colby, is also reaching a milestone: Hes starting kindergarten this year, which is a good thing because he was starting to drive his preschool teacher nuts.

As for Colton, hell turn eleven this month and in September will enter the sixth grade. Hes a regular kid in every way. He wrestles and plays baseball. He plays the piano and the trumpet, but isnt too wild about school and says his favorite subject is recess. He still talks about heaven occasionally, but he hasnt claimed to have gone on any more trips or to have any kind of special, ongoing connection with eternity. And despite his supernatural journey, his relationships with his siblings are as natural as can be. Colby follows Colton around little-brother-style, and they fight over who stole whose action figures. Cassie, meanwhile, is the long-suffering older sister. This was demonstrated perfectly when we were all trying to think up a good title for this book.

I suggested Heaven by Four.

Sonja suggested Heaven, According to Colton.

Cassie suggested Hes Back, but Hes No Angel.

In the end, though, it was Colton who inadvertently came up with the title. Around Christmastime in 2009, we had taken a family trip down to Texas and were sitting with our editor at a Starbucks in Dallas, discussing the book. She looked across the table at our oldest son and said, Colton, what do you want people to know from your story?

Without hesitation, he looked her in the eye and said, I want them to know that heaven is for real.

Todd Burpo Imperial, Nebraska May 2010

TIMELINE OF EVENTS

July 1976Todd Burpos grandpa, whom he calls Pop (Lawrence Edelbert Barber), dies in a car accident between Ulysses and Liberal, Kansas.

1982Todd as a thirteen-year-old hears and accepts Christs call into ministry as a preacher of the gospel.

December 29, 1990Todd and Sonja Burpo are married.

July 1997Pastor Todd and Sonja Burpo accept a call to the Crossroads Wesleyan Church in Imperial, Nebraska.

June 20, 1998Sonja Burpo miscarries their second child. She is two months along.

May 19, 1999Colton Burpo is born.

August 2002Todd shatters his leg in a coed softball tournament game.

October 2002Todd develops kidney stones.

November 2002Todd feels a lump in his chest that is diagnosed as hyperplasia.

February 27, 2003Colton complains of stomach pain and has a high fever that is misdiagnosed as stomach flu.

February 28, 2003Coltons fever breaks. His parents rejoice, thinking that Colton is well, when in fact this is a sign of the rupturing of his appendix.

March 1, 2003The Burpo family visits the Denver Butterfly Pavilion to celebrate Todds recovery. That night Colton begins vomiting uncontrollably.

March 3, 2003Colton is examined by a doctor in Imperial, Nebraska, who dismisses suggestions of appendicitis.

March 5, 2003Todd and Sonja personally check Colton out of the Imperial, Nebraska, hospital and take their son by car to North Platte, Nebraskas Great Plains Regional Medical Center. Dr. Timothy OHolleran prepares for surgery.

March 5, 2003Colton undergoes his first surgery, an appendectomy. He has both a ruptured appendix and an abscess.

March 13, 2003Colton is discharged from the hospital. But as Todd and Sonja wheel him into the elevator, Dr. OHolleran shouts down the hallway for them to return. Blood tests reveal Coltons white blood cell count has spiked. A CT scan reveals two more abscesses in his abdomen.

March 13, 2003Colton undergoes a second surgerya celiotomyto drain the abscess. During surgery a total of three abscesses are found.

March 17, 2003Dr. OHolleran advises Todd and Sonja that there is nothing more he can do for Colton. He recommends that Colton be transferred to the Denver Childrens Hospital. A blizzard blocks all exits with two feet of snow. Back home in Imperial, their congregation gathers for a prayer meeting.

March 18, 2003The next morning, Colton shows amazing signs of recovery and is soon playing like a normal kid. He skips to his CT scan, which shows no more obstruction.

March 19, 2003After seventeen harrowing days, Coltons family returns to Imperial.

July 3, 2003While en route to visit his cousin in South Dakota, Colton tells the first of many accounts of heaven while parked in an Arbys parking lot in North Platte, Nebraska. Colton progressively tells more stories of his adventures in heaven.

October 4, 2004Colby Burpo, Coltons younger brother, is born.

NOTES

Chapter 2: Pastor Job

1. Matthew 10:24.

Chapter 6: North Platte

1. 2 Samuel 12:1314, paraphrased.

2. 2 Samuel 12:2123, paraphrased.

Chapter 9: Minutes Like Glaciers

1. Matthew 9:6.

Chapter 12: Eyewitness to Heaven

1. Mark 9:3.

2. Revelation 21:1920.

Chapter 13: Lights and Wings

1. Acts 1:911.

2. Matthew 28:3.

3. Acts 6:15 NLT.

4. Revelation 10:1 NLT.

5. Matthew 18:34.

6. Daniel 10:46.

Chapter 14: On Heaven Time

2. 2 Corinthians 12:24.

3. Revelation 4:13.

Chapter 18: The Throne Room of God

1. Hebrews 4:16.

2. Hebrews 12:2.

3. Revelation 21:25a, 2223.

4. Hebrews 12:2.

5. Luke 1:1315a, 1819.

6. Hebrews 12:1.

7. Revelation 21:23.

Chapter 19: Jesus Really Loves the Children

1. Revelation 4:3.

2. Revelation 21:1820 ESV.

3. Matthew 7:7, 911.

Chapter 25: Swords of the Angels

1. Luke 10:18.

2. Daniel 10:13.

Chapter 26: The Coming War

1. Revelation 9:610 NKJV.

Chapter 27: Someday Well See

1. John 20:2429.

2. Akiane Kramarik, Akiane: Her Life, Her Art, Her Poetry (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2006).

3. Mark 10:14.

ABOUT THE BURPOS

TODD BURPO is the pastor of Crossroads Wesleyan Church in Imperial, Nebraska (Population: 1,762 in 2008), where his sermons are broadcast locally every Sunday via the local radio station. He also works at Chase County Public Schools as a wrestling coach for junior and high school students, as well as serving as a member of the school board. In emergencies Todd can be found working shoulder-to-shoulder with the Imperial Volunteer Fire Department as a fire fighter. He is also the chaplain for the Nebraska State Volunteer Firefighters Association. To support his family, Todd also operates a company called Overhead Door Specialists. Todd graduated from Oklahoma Wesleyan University in 1991 summa cum laude with a BA in Theology. He was ordained in 1994.

SONJA BURPO is a busy mom to Cassie, Colton, and Colby and works at Moreland Realty as Office Manager. With a BS in Elementary Education from Oklahoma Wesleyan University and a Masters in Library and Information Science, Sonja is a certified teacher in the state of Nebraska. She has taught in the public school system both in Oklahoma as well as in Imperial. Sonja is passionate about childrens ministry and also works side by side with Todd as administrator for his garage door company.

ABOUT LYNN VINCENT

LYNN VINCENT is the New York Times best-selling writer of Same Kind of Different as Me, the story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy white art dealer and a homeless African-American man; and Going Rogue: An American Life, the memoir of former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

The author or coauthor of nine books, Vincent worked for eleven years as senior writer, then features editor, at the national news biweekly WORLD Magazine where she covered politics, culture, and current events. A U. S. Navy veteran, Lynn is also a lecturer in writing at the World Journalism Institute and at The Kings College in New York City. She lives in San Diego, California.

Coltons three-year-old preschool photo, October 2002

Docs Dodgers, Todd and Sonjas coed softball team

Todd, Sonja, and Colton at the Denver Butterfly Pavilion, March 1, 2003

Colton holding Rosie the tarantula with older sister Cassie watching

Photo from the Imperial Republican newspaper, Colton and Todd one week after Coltons hospital release

Coltons 4th birthday party, a real celebration! May 19, 2003

Colton, Todd, Sonja, and Cassie at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, July 2003

Coltons first day of second year preschool, September 2003

Todd and Colton, November 2003

Colton, aka The Flash, October 2007

Lawrence Barber, Pop, at age 29 with Grandma Ellen, Uncle Bill, and Todds mom, Kay, 1943

Lawrence Barber, Pop, at age 61

Prince of Peace by Akiane Kramarik

Cassie, Todd, Colby, Sonja, and Colton at Todds cowboy-themed 40th birthday party, August 2008

FOR MORE INFORMATION

ON THE BURPO FAMILY,

COLTON'S STORY,

AND THE LATEST NEWS

AND EVENTS,

VISIT THEM ON THE WEB AT

WWW.HEAVENISFORREAL.NET