Yes, well, speaking of getting sidetracked ... while I was browsing and thinking about languages, and how much I enjoyed my time at university when I was learning the intricacies of Middle High German, for instance, or Old English, or even Old Icelandic, I began to wonder about the eternities, and more specifically, my place there. I mean, God is eternal, right, and because He is unchanging, is it too much of a stretch to think that His divine language is unchanging, too? Why would it need to change if it's perfect, like He is? So ... what use is there, in the eternities, for people who have a talent for linguistics, who like studying sound shifts or the ways in which word meanings have changed over the centuries on this earth? Or what about those people who have the talent of picking up new languages, when there's only one unchanging language for the entire universe, and nothing else will ever be needed?
It's easy to imagine what musical people will be doing for all eternity -- making music. The scriptures are full of references to singing angels and heavenly choirs. And I'm sure all those people who love the natural sciences will be needed, or at least included, in the creation of new worlds. But linguists? And *gulp* writers? I have heard of angels writing books in heaven, mostly reports of what people on earth are doing. You know, whatever is recorded on earth will be recorded in heaven, and all that. I won't say boring, but I will say that this is all fact, and no fiction, and it just doesn't sound all that attractive to me. And quite frankly, it does sound a bit unlikely that angels will be putting out newsletters or little brochures such as "What's New in This Corner of the Universe?" or "Asteroid Belts -- From Rubble to Riches in Your Solar System."
But if, as they say, all God's creatures got a place in the choir, where will the place for us writers be? Will we still be producing works of fiction in the eternities? (Will people even still have time to read and enjoy such works, or will they be too busy helping in the great work of Creation?) Or could it be that, here on this earth, we have smaller, more manageable portions of some great Übertalent of Divine Creativity, which manifests itself in our particular cases as the talent to write? We know that we humans can only see a small portion of the colour spectrum, and only hear a small portion of sounds, so why should it not be that we can only access a certain amount of Creativity while here in our mortal bodies? Perhaps in the eternities, we will be able to access the entire spectrum of Divine Creativity and do so much more with it, things we cannot even dream of to-day.
I don't have all the answers. I don't even know all the questions! I wish I did. I do hope with all my heart that there is indeed a good place for me in the eternal scheme of things, and that I can magnify my little talent of creativity there, and maybe even gain some new talents. In the meantime, though, I still want to get published before I die. Just in case.