CS Lewis had it wrong

I recently re-read "A Grief Observed" (because Marty, the greatest cat ever to live, the pinnacle of all creation, died on March 16).  If you don't know, CS Lewis wrote these musings in notebooks after the death of his wife, just to vent basically, and later decided they might be helpful to people, so published them.

Well, one of the things he talked about was loved ones meeting up again in heaven.  He referred to people having this idea of a "happy reunion on the other shore" and how it can't be right, because, it makes heaven about our loved ones instead of about God.  He made the point that if it were best for his wife - for himself - for all of us - that we not even know each other again - never see each other again - we should willingly assent to that.  And talked about how God should be our one desire.  I guess, you know, so we're not idolatrous - wanting to see our loved ones and not really caring about seeing God. (!)  Which is alright as far as it goes.  Ok, so he didn't maybe have it WRONG so much as maybe he wasn't seeing as much as he could at the time, and I wish I could have suggested the following to him then.

I think he had the wrong picture, and I sort of think he must have forgotten some of his own other writings (hello, The Last Battle) - which I'm wondering if God had him write because it was hard for him to remember sometimes and so it was good for him to have written them to look back on.  I think the picture of the "happy reunion" he had in mind when he was grieving and which he felt was wrong was like, lovers having been apart for a long time and seeing each other again.  So the focus is on what's over, kind of, and how hard it was, and themselves and their love.  But I've got a different picture.  Imagine instead a wedding of an old college friend.  You come into a town and you see so many of your old friends, people you haven't been absolutely aching for, maybe, but whom it's always pleasant to see again, and you're there for the wedding, and the pleasure of seeing your old friends and the joy of one of them getting married just enhance each other.  Or again, suppose my sister's family and I were to plan a trip to Disney together or something.  We see each other with reasonable frequency, but if we were to meet up at the airport, don't you think the pleasures of seeing each other and looking forward to the fun of the trip would make for a sum more than the parts?  I think it's like that - a reunion not for reunion's sake - but for a larger purpose.  I think we will be excited about this larger purpose, this big new thing that's starting - but that that joy will be enhanced by the reunions with those we haven't seen in awhile, by getting to embark on the new journey with those we love.  Hopefully, including the pets.  I think, yeah we shouldn't be grasping too hard at any one thing besides God, and that's not unimportant, but, after you get past that, I think... I think WE GET TO HAVE IT ALL, in the end.  I think He's That Good.