Heading Home

Good afternoon! I'm a few days off from my regular Friday postings. My excuse: V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N. I took the chance to spend a couple of days in Federal Way, Washington visiting with Ilene. It was a wonderful get away and I enjoyed seeing Ilene's home, meeting her friends, and almost non-stop talking. She was a very gracious hostess and I appreciated her letting me sub-lease. We had a great time and the three days of vacationing ended too soon.

On Saturday morning, as she was driving me to the airport, we were both carefully watching for road signs to indicate the appropriate lanes of traffic. Ilene reported we didn't want to be in the terminal parking lane. Almost automatically, I confirmed her comment. I had already been there, done that. For about six months, from October 2008 to March 2009, I stalled my emotional Toyota in "terminal parking". I didn't have much hope of survival. Even though Dr. Hansen said, "we're going to beat this," I didn't believe him. I stayed in "terminal" mode for quote some time. So I agreed with Ilene, we didn't want to be in that lane.

Ilene maneuvered her car like a pro and we found ourselves in the drop-off lanes. We exchanged hugs...and she left me there!!!!! My next steps would take me to the electronic "Departures" board. Sadly, I was scheduled to depart from a vacation world of eating out in restaurants, visiting tourist spots, enjoying the sociability of family...basically a time of little concern or worry. So, understandably, there was sadness in departing from such conditions. But I dutifully found my specified gate, waited with other "departees", secured a place in line, and eventually got on board, heading for home.

The symbolism caught hold in my mind. Do you realize the excitement to be found in "departing"? For every flight leaving the Sea-Tac Airport, there is a corresponding "arrival" flight to somewhere. There is NEVER a departure without an arrival at another place. For me, Salt Lake City meant my home, a place of comfort, security and familiarity. Is our departure from mortality any different? We are all in "departure" mode. We will take the flight...some sooner, others later. But there is an "arrival" board on the spirit side where family and friends are anxiously waiting at the gate to welcome us HOME. What a wonderful thought.

Even the airport security experience is symbolic. We check our excess baggage...none allowed. We discard everything that may be harmful to ourselves and to others. We lay it all out for inspection. And in reality, we can only take our bodies and our souls through that magnetic portal. At the airport, there is a fairly good chance you can retrieve the same sneakers at the end of the line as you walked in with. But with the resurrection, it is 100% guaranteed we will be reunited with the same (only perfected) feet.

This is from "Story Teller's Scrapbook:

"I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength and I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other. Then someone at my side says, 'There, she's gone.'

Gone where? Gone from my sight, that is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side, and just as able to bear her load of living to the place of destination. Her diminished size is in me, not in her; and just at that moment when someone at my side said, 'There, she's gone', there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices to take the glad shout, 'There, she's coming!' And such is dying."

This last year I was so very grateful for the knowledge I have of "arrivals" and "departures". I know we lived before we came to this earth. I know I have much more to learn here. But I also know there is a place for us beyond mortality. This knowledge was a great source of strength when I was parked at the terminal for so many months. As Ilene and I cried at the end of my vacation, I asked her why it had to be so hard to say goodbye when we both knew we needed to move on. Her answer was perfect. "It's because of love." And a famous man said...(Okay, it was Patrick Swayze in the movie Ghost)..."it's true, Molly. The love we have, we take it with us." No wonder it is called the Great Plan of Happiness.