The Ladder

    In the land where dreams are formed I wandered.  In all my wanderings I didn’t find anything that wasn’t supposed to be there.  Well, at least until I found IT.
    I’m talking about the ladder.  Not just any ordinary ladder lying around in the grass, but the ladder.  I found it standing in the middle of a large, green meadow.  It grew up into the sky and seemed to never end.  Its base was at least 20 feet wide and each rung seemed to be made out of solid gold.  It shone though there wasn’t any sun to make it shine.
    I stared at the amazing ladder for a very long time.  I couldn’t figure out where it was going or even why it was there.  Nothing seemed to happen around it.  After a few days of just sitting and watching it, something finally happened.
    A man dressed in ripped blue jeans, a red plaid button-up shirt, and sandals walked off the ladder shaking wood shavings off his clothes.  At first he didn’t seem to notice me.  I thought he would just keep walking and take no notice of a small sunburnt boy dressed in rags sitting in the deep grass.
    To my great surprise, he turned and looked straight at me.  I was expecting him to speak first, so I kept my mouth shut and stared at his face.  His brown eyes stared at me lovingly and his mouth, partially hidden by his thick black beard, was smiling.
    I sat there staring at him, expecting him to say the first words.  Finally, I screwed up my courage and said, “Hi.”
    “Hi.”  He answered.
    Proud with my little progress I asked, “Who are you?”
    “I’m the maker and owner of the ladder.”  He said matter-of-factly.
    “How big is it?” I asked surprised that a single man could build something so big.
    “It goes on forever.”  He answered seriously.
    Wide-eyed I said, “Really?”
    “Yes.”  He chuckled.
    “Where does it go?”
    “To my house.”
    “Where’s that?”
    “In the best place ever.”
    Having satisfied my simple curiosity, I stood up to leave.  When I got to my feet, I noticed that the man was still staring at me. I looked at him for a little while until I felt uncomfortable and sat down again.
    He spoke, breaking the silence, “Do you want to climb it?”
    I stared, if possible, with a mixed expression of extreme excitement and horrible terror.  I nodded and walked very slowly to the bottom of the ladder.  I still wasn’t sure if I really wanted to.
    The man walked right up next to me.  Unconsciously I stretched out my right hand and gripped his left hand.  Then I reached up and took the first step onto the ladder.  The man took the step at the same time, still holding onto my hand.  Each step that followed the first got easier and easier.  I kept my focus on the rung right in front of me...for a while, at least.  Then I decided to look up.
    The ladder stretched endlessly into the blackness above.  I still couldn’t see the end.  I started to lose heart and almost wanted to quit.  I wasn’t expecting the ladder to be this big.  Then I looked down.  The meadow that the ladder had started on was just a little speck of green on the earth.  I had made progress!  Instead of being frightened by the height, I was elated I had climbed so far.  I looked to my right and saw the man still there, holding my hand.
    I started to climb again, feeling renewed.  A little later, the rungs began to separate some.  They got farther and farther from each other, making each step a stretch and a hardship.  I still remembered the progress I had made, though, and I never gave up.  The man stayed right next to me urging me on and holding my hand.
    After a while, the rungs on the ladder finally got closer together again and I stopped to catch my breath.  I glanced up and saw the ladder still going on forever into the blackness.  I looked down and saw the same thing.  I was suspended in space, alone and frightened.  I felt someone squeeze my right hand and a calm voice singing reassuringly to me.  I turned and saw the man still there, singing and holding my hand.
    I started to climb again, and, before long, I began to see something at the end of the ladder.  At first it was just a bright, bright star, but as I kept climbing I noticed it was a new world.
    “Is that where you live?”  I asked the man right next to me.
    “Yes.”  He answered with a smile.  “You can live there with me.”
    I smiled my biggest joyous smile and began to climb even faster, trying to reach that glorious world.  I finally reached the end of the ladder and saw the splendor surrounding me.  I couldn’t believe I was supposed to live here.  I wasn’t worthy of it, but somehow I felt comfortable as if I was meant to live there.  I fell on my knees still staring at everything surrounding me.  The man walked up, now dressed in a billowing white robe, picked me up and hugged me.
    “Well done,”  He said happily.  “Enter into the joy of your Lord.”