This topic has brought up a thought process that I was taught as a child and have revisited several times as an adult. Pergatory, an idea found in the Roman Catholic doctrine, is a place where souls of those who die in God's grace may make satisfaction for past sins and so become fit for heaven. It is most often thought of to be a place of misery and suffering.
I have attended funerals where this idea is preached and those in attendance are encourage to pray for the souls in pergatory. Where the priest suggests monetary donations for masses to be held specifically for those in pergatory. I have held the hand of my dying grandmother as she worried begged me to pray for her in this place, and felt her worry that her family would not do their part for her while she was in pergatory.
I wonder if this doctrine found it's roots in what Dr. Bounds describes as the Intermediate State? I am excited to research this more, and I am thankful for the orthodox teaching. I have also held the hand of my dying grandmother, who believed upon death she would be in heaven with Jesus. As I cling to the hope found in the resurrection, I appreciate the way that Felker-Jones writes about it under her 'Meaty, Meaningful Hope' section of the chapter.
I feel cautious about the comfort we give in statments like "you'll see them again soon" as I desire my own heart to hold fast only to the eternity promised by God. The truth the becaue of Jesus, I have been given the gift of forgiveness and the opportunity to be right with God, living with Him in eternity. Whatever that looks like, that is the hope I want to cling to. I have seen my own kids desire to go to heaven now, because that is where their daddy is, and I can see how that even, can become an idol. How do I teach them to cling to the hope of heaven without specific expecatations?