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“Are we there yet?” my daughter asked excitedly for the umpteenth time.
“Almost,” I replied once again, “We’re getting closer.”
I have answered this question many times from each of =my children as we
used to travel the long distance from West Virginia to
Missouri. We were “going home” and Grandma and Grandpa would be there.
The children didn’t get to see them as often as we would like and they
were always in a hurry to get there. Even the stops along the way
didn’t distract them from their eagerness to arrive at our destination.
Who knew what great discoveries might lie ahead at Grandma’s house?
There were trees to climb and a pond to explore. Would Grandpa take
them fishing? Would they see a deer or a wild turkey in the woods?
Whether or not they did, the place was enchanting to the children. A
place filled with new and exciting activities. The children knew that
there were hugs, treats, and new adventures awaiting them but most of
all they knew we were going home and that love was waiting for them at
the end of the journey.
The journey home wasn’t always easy. Sometimes we ran into detours,
toll roads, and torn up highways; and we wished we had chosen a
different road. At other times there were storms, blizzards, floods,
and even wrecks. There were times when we were delayed but we pressed
on because we were going home.
Since the trip was so long, I began teaching my children to look for
certain landmarks as we traveled home. As we left West Virginia, we
looked for the archway over the highway that told us when we had arrived
in Ohio. In Indiana, we looked for the house that had its porch propped
up with long boards and each time we passed it, we speculated as to why
nobody ever finished that porch. In Illinois, we watched for the
capitol dome as we went through Springfield. The excitement mounted
when we got to the Mississippi River at Hannibal because we knew we had
crossed into Missouri. We were really a lot closer now. If anyone
happened to be sleeping, they would be awakened by, “Look, We’re
crossing the river!” No one had to ask what river it was because we all
knew. Different comments were expressed such as:
“Look how wide the river is!”
“There’s a barge!”
“How did people get across before the bridge was built?”
“I know we’re almost home now, it’s not much further.”
As we got closer to home, we could see St. Joseph’s church steeple,
which can be seen from several miles away because it is the tallest
building in the area. It sits high up on a hill pointing toward the
heavens, standing like a majestic marker telling us that we are nearing
the end of our journey. Although the children didn’t know how much
further it was they began putting their trinkets and toys away because
they knew we were close when they saw the church steeple. It was time
to think about important things like the excitement and anticipation of
seeing Grandma and Grandpa face to face. They knew there was more to
the journey than the ride; the best was yet to come.
Life seems to be much the same way. As we journey through life, we see
a lot of sights and pass a lot of landmarks along the way. There are
some roads we choose to travel that take us on detours and other roads
we wish we had never chosen to travel at all because of the storms we
encounter. Sometimes we wreck or find that the toll was too high, or
both. Yet, we learn from the storms, put the old roads behind us, and
press on toward home. We begin to learn to watch for the landmarks and
especially the ones that point upward. We know we should think about
what is important and put our trinkets and toys away and get prepared
for what lies ahead. Although we don’t know how much further we have to
go, we know there is more to the journey than the ride and the best is
yet to come. We are going home and love is waiting for us at the end of
our journey.
Many years have passed by since I traveled with my children and now my
children bring their children to see me and they pass many of those same
landmarks.
“Are we there yet?” My grandchildren now ask on their way to see us.
“Almost . . . we’re getting closer.” their parents reply.
By
Pamela
Perry Blaine
© May
2006
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`·-»Pamy
"Security is not
the absence of danger,
but the presence
of God"
My Website:
http://www.blaines.us/PamyPlace.htm
e-mail:
pamyblaine@blaines.us
"NO ONE IS USELESS IN THIS WORLD
WHO LIGHTENS
THE BURDEN OF ANYONE ELSE"
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