You know that awkward moment when you’ve just heard some famous person died and your first thought is, “Weren’t they already dead?”

That just happened to me again when this past weekend I saw on Facebook that Andy Griffith had died. Immediately I thought, “That must be an old post, because I’m sure he died a while ago.” I could have sworn that I’d already had the moment of sadness when I realized Opie’s dad wasn’t going to be around anymore, except through eternal re-runs. But no. Apparently Andy Griffith did just recently die. It’s sad to have lost another TV good guy, but his death is almost anticlimactic to me since I was so sure he was already gone.

I remember Mama saying she cried all day when Clark Gable died. It never entered her mind to think he was already dead. I miss that grieving process. I do remember getting sad over my heartthrob Paul Newman’s death. And Robert Redford’s – wait! No! He isn’t dead! Whew thank goodness – I just checked Google about him!

If  I live long enough, I’m sure  when I die there will be some who say, “Hey, I thought she was already dead!”

But at least in heaven the angel Michael won’t walk into God’s Throne Room and in somber tones say, “Did you hear? Varner Jo Holmes is dead.” Only to have God reply, “No! You’re kidding! I thought she died eons ago.”

He’s known every minute of my life from before the beginning, so although my death won’t come as a surprise to Him, He at least won’t think it happened at some other time and that it slipped His mind.

In fact I’m always on His mind, as all His children are. And just as  He knows each sparrow that falls, it’s comforting  that He’s  got it timed down to the smallest part of a second when we’ll come to live in our heavenly home with Him.

I don’t know if heaven works this way, but I wonder when I get there and see Mama, if she’ll say, “You’ll never guess who I just met…Clark Gable! You remember him. It seems like only yesterday he died.”

(NOTE:  I was right!! Andy Griffith already died July 3, 2012!  Facebook got it wrong!  But God didn’t!!)