Which "me" will I be?

As Roscoe's 4th birthday arrived last week, I was reminded of a question that crossed my mind several times over the last few years. In the afterlife, which me will I be?

Roscoe died when he was 9.5 months old, but I don't think the Roscoe we'll find in heaven will be a little baby (with a healed heart and lungs). However, I don't know how much he'll have grown. Will Roscoe be a kid, a young adult, or will he look me straight in the eyes man-to-man?

My grandmother passed away when she was 87 years old. My tendency is to think that I'll see my grandmother in heaven still in her grandmother form (with healed bones and energized muscles). She lived a life as a single girl, then a young married woman, then a mom, then a grandmother. At the resurrection, which one of those people will she be?

If I die as a grandfather or great-grandfather, my grandchildren will expect to see an 80 year old Shaun in heaven, but I'd hope to be my 30 year old self.

What I'm asking is mainly a question around the imperishable body we'll receive at the resurrection. When we refer to a post-resurrection body, my tendency is to think of one of two things:

1. A human body, but with a glowing aura and feathery wings. In other words, a Hollywood angelic version of ourselves.
2. A formless glowing, hovering fog that's the visual representation of a spirit with no body.

It's not likely that either of these are what the bible refers to when discussing our new body. The two extended passages that discuss it are 1 Corinthians 15:42-57 and 2 Corinthians 5:1-10. The only details they give about this new body are that it will be different, heavenly, and eternal.

The transformation from old body to new body will occur at or before the resurrection, because we'll all have new bodies at the resurrection:

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed

1 Corinthians 15:51-52

Those who've already passed on have lost their current earthly bodies (decay), so they either already have their heavenly body or they're currently body-less until the resurrection. The wording in the verse above implies the latter, but then how could Moses and Elijah speak with Jesus (Luke 9:28-31) without bodies?

The bible says the following, perhaps referring our post-resurrection bodies being like Jesus':

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like him, because we will see Him just as He is.

1 John 3:2

After Jesus was raised his body was physical enough to be touched and eat fish, but non-physical enough to walk through walls and vanish from sight (Luke 24:31,36-43; John 20:19-29). On the road to Emmaus, disciples were actively prevented from recognizing post-resurrection Jesus (Luke 24:15-16) but at other times disciples just didn't recognize him right away (John 20:14-16; 21:4-7), so there was at least some visual similarities. In what way will our post-resurrection bodies resemble our current selves?

The point I'm slowly arriving at is that I don't know. I'm not sure what factor age or visual identification plays in our resurrected transformation. I don't know how I'll recognize Roscoe, but I know I will recognize him and that he'll remember me (Luke 16:19-31).

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which do choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better ...

Philippians 1:21-23

More Home Renovation

Our past few months have been full of home renovations. We've been starting from "home base" (our room) and working outwards. After moving some walls, plumbing, and electrical we've now got an almost fully-functional master suite with carpet on the floors, closet storage for clothes, and even a bathroom! Next week hopefully complete the shower installation and our bedroom windows will be installed.

Since it's now taken us 4 months to get an almost complete bedroom, we got some references for interior work (drywall finishing, demolition) for the things that take up the most time and are the hardest for us to coordinate. I have a difficult combination of being thrifty (cheap) and picky (in terms of work quality), so that often leaves me doing the work myself. Perhaps this bedroom was a lesson to teach me that sometimes it's just better to stick with what you're good at (computer code) and leave the actual work to an expert who does it more efficiently. My barrier for cost (cheapness) has been sufficiently worn down, so now I'm finally willing to pay to make quicker progress.

This week, along with getting our windows installed (which we arranged back in November) we've hired help for demolishing another bathroom and finishing drywall in 3 large rooms. Here are some pictures of the progress.

Downstairs guest room.
The blue cinder blocks will be covered with wainscoting.

Upper sunroom.
We'll likely cover the floor with tile.

I also tackled a "honey-do" item in the meantime, building a matching pair of nightstands for beside our bed. Previously, we used an old radio for my side (shown below) and a stack of vintage luggage for Alisha's side.

Our prior bedroom setup

This worked well, until the luggage stack didn't line up with a window on her side in our new house. Below is a picture of one of the new nightstands, which Alisha patterned after something she saw on pinterest. I'm starting to think that pinterest is a place where women get decorating ideas and where men confront unrealistic expectations of how a finished house should look. I built our nightstands out of double-thick plywood, finished on the front with strips of wood to cover the plywood layers. Alisha stained and finished them (then promptly decorated the inside).

We'll post more pictures of our progress in upcoming months as the rest of the house comes together.