Living in Light of Eternity with Colleen Chao

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Living Heavenward

When Colleen customized the design on her hat, she looked to a favorite author for inspiration. She took the phrase, “Heaven works backward,” from C.S. Lewis’ book The Great Divorce, but Lewis’ idea was not new. His words were inspired by the apostle Paul:

For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. —2 Corinthians 4:17–18

Long before Colleen was diagnosed with cancer, she lived with forever in mind. As she told Nancy during a radio interview, “Eternity’s been wired into me—the thoughts and longings for it . . . for the last ten or fifteen years.”

Since then, her name has appeared in searches across the Revive Our Hearts website:

Colleen Chao, terminal cancer. Colleen Chao, testimony. Colleen Chao, updates.

If you’ve searched for Colleen’s name, you’ve likely come across her most recent interview on Grounded. In the episode’s cover photo, she’s instantly recognizable with her radiant smile and trademark gray baseball cap. Three letters cover the front of the hat: HWB.

Heaven works backward.

Colleen doesn’t just wear those words as an accessory. The Lord has written them across every corner of her life.

Evidence of that is seen in the posts Colleen has written for the Revive Our Hearts blog. Her archives illustrate what it looks like to live in light of eternity when it comes to singleness, marriage, motherhood, chronic illness, depression, and the ordinary struggles of life in a broken world. Each post gives insight as to how we can look past what is temporary and live with an eternal perspective:

March 27, 2014

In a post called “Motherhood or Singleness: Which Is More Sanctifying?” Colleen wrote that God’s “primary instrument is not our age or stage-of-life—it’s His Spirit and Word at work within us . . . And where there is desperate need for maturing (as there is in all of us), there is a faithful God who is working in love to complete the good work He began in the first place.”

June 7, 2017

In “My Undoing Was Your Beginning,” Colleen shared about taking the long view when it comes to dealing with frustrating setbacks: “It took me years to realize that ultimately it’s not about me and my perfection. It’s about living a life wholly surrendered to God. It’s about releasing my white-knuckled grip on my life’s plans. It’s about returning to the cross and the tomb, to remember where my worth and hope and strength are found. My life is His, to do with as He pleases.”

5 Ways to Live in Light of Eternity

Colleen Chao’s book In the Hands of a Fiercely Tender God overflows with the wisdom of a woman who has learned to live in light of eternity. Here are five quotes from Colleen to help you face even the darkest days with hope and purpose.

1. Nurture a spirit of gratitude: “No matter how small or meager, our thanksgiving will enlarge our hearts to trust Him more, to perceive the reality of God’s fiercely tender presence once again.” (p. 38)

April 28, 2022

In “Sacred Suffering and a Cancer Update,” Colleen said, “We’re so enamored with ease and comfort and health and beauty and longevity and financial security and influence and success . . . [But] to avoid suffering is to miss out on Christ’s life powerfully at work in us. It’s to miss out on caring deeply for others, in ways that will be felt into eternity.

“You, dear friends, have your own sacred sufferings, and I want to encourage you as I’m encouraging myself today: let’s wrap our arms around the cross we bear, the cross we bear with Him, the cross that leads to everlasting joy—not just for ourselves but also for all those our lives touch. Not one moment of our suffering is wasted. It is working miracles behind the scenes. It is ‘preparing for us an eternal weight of glory.’ There is so much purpose and hope to be had today.”

Colleen started wearing HWB in response to losing her hair as an effect of chemo, but she modeled how to live in light of eternity years before she ever heard a doctor say, “You have cancer.” She reminds us that we’re not to wait to adorn the teaching of God our Savior, but in everything—through all the days of our life, we are to fix our eyes on Jesus and live for the kingdom to come. Because soon, we’ll know the full and glorious meaning of Colleen’s message: Heaven works backward. —KL

2. Wait with wonder: “God is not in a mad dash to the finish line as we so often are. He knows exactly what should happen and when it should happen and how it should happen—so that we experience the absolute highest happiness in Him.” (pp. 74–75)

3. Smile big: “When I laugh now, it’s as if my heart is saying, ‘Pain, you haven’t won! Grief, get back in your place.’ God is writing a good story, and He wins in the end!” (pp. 93–94)

4. Lean into Jesus: “The mess is an invitation to lean into Him who is with us in all His power . . . It frees us from our miserable self-reliance and puts us into the arms of love.” (p. 135)

5. Remember heaven works backward: “And one day soon it will turn all this momentary agony into infinite glory.” (p. 161)

Want more of Colleen’s wisdom? Scan this QR code to request a copy of In the Hands of a Fiercely Tender God.