I wouldn't have let myself die if I had known there was work beyond the grave.
After I toured Heaven, I met with Saint Kevin.
"Your job will be to control the weather around…"
"Job?" I blurted out. "This is Heaven. Where are my harp and wings?"
"That is not how Heaven works. Earth takes lots of work to keep running."
"But a job? I didn't die so I could work."
Saint Kevin looked at me with aquamarine eyes that pierced my soul. Get it. -pierced my soul! He gave me a sympathetic smile but did not laugh. "You will direct the weather at Firebird Region."
"Firebird Region! Why that is where I lived before I died."
"Yes, I know. We employ spirits in the areas they come from. We have found they tend to put more attention and care where they know people and have ties."
"What does it mean to direct the weather? Like, I am a traffic guard, holding up stop-and-go signs for the storms." I chuckled at my wit, but it seemed lost on the oh-so-holy Saint Kevin. Saint Kevin. What a stiff. -ha, I slay myself. Can one slay a spirit?
I said, "I imagined Heaven full of happy, bubbly angels with only love to share."
"And yet, here you are."
I laughed. "Oh, burn. See, saintly angel. You have a sense of humor."
Saint Kevin said, "Hmph."
He placed his hands on my head, and surprisingly I felt them. "I have infused you with the knowledge you need to control the weather. It is complicated because you will work with the weather pressures from the surrounding regions. Take the time to review everything and understand your vital position."
"I hold weather. I am like a God. Like Thor, the God of thunder!"
"Humble yourself, Trevor."
"Saint Trevor, to you."
"You have not earned sainthood. You barely skimmed the test and should feel grateful you didn't end up in Hell.
"At least there, I wouldn't have been given a job."
I hated work. While living, I did everything to avoid working, and I mean everything. People called me lazy. I preferred to think of myself as labor-challenged. I hadn't even gotten out of bed during the last five years of my life. Not once. I annoyed my family, who cared for me, but look at the goal I accomplished! -having my family wait on my every need. See, I knew what I was doing. My weight escalated to probably 800 pounds. How many people can say they achieved that weight and had personal servants? So, I think I died successfully.
I took on the job of Weather Master over the Firebird Region, and yes, I crafted my title. I gave it the same attention I afforded everything I had done while living. Which means I did nothing. What can you expect? Heaven was supposed to be the ultimate retirement, not an eternal shackle to a job.
One day Saint Kevin met with me. "The last two years flew by since you died, don't you agree?"
"Sure."
"The people are suffering in the Firebird Region. There has been a debilitating drought. Trevor, you need to take your assignment seriously. Everyone there depends on you. Your family depends on you."
"Oh, for flying out loud! Get it. Two years have flown by. Flying out loud!"
Saint Kevin crossed his spiritual arms. One day I would crack a smile on his illuminated face.
"Well, Saint Kevin, you should have known what you were getting with me. What made you believe I would be anything other than the earthly Kevin?"
"I know you have it in you."
"Saintly, I heard through the heavenly channels that Mayor Washington just died. He would be perfect for this job. Let him care for the people of the Firebird Region. He had done such an excellent job on earth."
"Ah, you must know little about politicians. Most of them don't make it to Heaven."
"Oh! Did Mayor Washington go to Hell?"
Saint Kevin nodded.
"Lucky soul. He gets to spend his heavenly retirement in the saunas of fire and brimstone, not being forced into a job."
Saint Kevin put his hands on my head, and instantly the last two years of life in the Firebird Region opened up to me. I saw how the drought impacted every single person that lived there. The terrible part was that my earthly parents had to sell half of their farm to keep from losing it. That farm was their life. Their world!
Guilt entered me. I knew that everything terrible from the drought was my fault.
"How about you demote me and just send me to Hell right now? I don't deserve Heaven."
"Trevor. You have greatness in you. You always have. Shake that idle tendency from you and bless the people of the Firebird Region." With that, Saint Kevin disappeared.
He was right. I needed to bless all those who had cared for me. I owed them that much.
And so, with a new outlook, I did my duties as the Weather-Master of the Firebird Region. Trevor, the lazy, died on earth. I would spend my Heavenly retirement working for the good of others.
And so far, I have.
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I Didn't Die Just to Work
by Stephanie Daich
