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Faith In The Great Beyond

She sat upright in the seat beside her husband in the Delta terminal in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her daughter and grandsons were sitting a little ways away, charging their phones for the long night flight ahead. She had just taken her first ever flight from Kansas City to here, and now they were all checked in and waiting for the final hours. She was 65 years old and just about to experience the joy of the great blue beyond. She had no idea the mystery and beauty that awaited her from the window of that great silver bird, that will take her to beauties beyond words.

So she sits there, upright in her chair, her back pack on the floor between her feet. There are people everywhere. They are walking, running, eating. The lady sitting across from her, puts her back pack on the chair beside her, opens a novel and starts to read, one page after the other. One man is laying across the seats, cap over his eyes, trying to get in a wink of sleep. There are voices over the intercom everywhere. Voices telling people that their flight is boarding now. Telling people to start boarding for their flight at gate 32. So she sits, waiting. As she sits there, beside her husband, she wonders how many sweethearts have said good bye in a place like this? She wonders how many sweethearts have stood beside their soldier as long as they could, then turned and walked slowly away as he boarded at gate 32?  She wonders how many happy reunions have taken place here in this busy room full of people? How many kisses have been thrown from this big window into the small one of the Delta 757?

Just outside the huge terminal window sets her Delta 757. With the help of lights, men and women are busy filling it with gas, luggage, supplies, cleaning it, and checking it over.  A big white passageway has been rolled to the door and secured. Now the men are moving the vehicles away. The time has arrived.

She hears "We are now boarding at Gate 37 for Anchorage. All persons go to Gate 37 please."

She stands, picks up her back pack and throws it over one shoulder and follows her husband and family to the back of the line. For some reason, unknown to the others around her, her eyes fill with tears for just a minute. She just has this feeling deep inside that when she walks up that enclosed ramp and into that beautiful Delta aircraft, just outside these windows, that it is going to take her heart, her very being, to a place where it hasn't been before. She knows that this trip has been planned just for her. She knows that she will learn a lot about herself that she never realized was inside her heart. She just knows that when she walks off the United, a week from now, she will be a totally different girl. Her very being will have changed. So she starts moving up the line to the opening of that big white passageway, ticket in hand.

"Welcome aboard" the smiling hostess tell her at the door of the Delta. She grabs onto the hand rail, hanging there on the side of the plane and makes the final step inside the door and follows her husband single file down the aisle. They look for seats B 27, 28 and 29. They will be sharing this group of seats with their grandson. She slips into the middle seat, puts her back pack on the floor and fastens her seat belt, as her husband puts his back pack in the luggage compartment above. She looks over at her daughter and grandson and settles back for the flight of her life.

The passage way is rolled away and she watches as the large bird slowly backs away from the terminal and makes its way down the runway. Her heart is singing so load and she wonders if its loud enough for others to hear. Its singing just for her. But they don't notice, because they are all sitting there around her in their own little worlds. That's OK, because she wants this to be a personal experience. She wants to share that great beyond with no one but the Creator of the universe. She hopes that's not selfish. She can't help it.

They set at the end of the runway...waiting. All around them are the lights of the airport, and out her window she sees nothing but lighted runways and other planes.

The engine starts to roar. They are moving! They go faster and faster. She sits there, and she puts all her faith in that pilot who she admires. He and his co-pilot will take her safety into the skies and to a land of pure beauty. She just knows it.

They are moving faster now and she looks out that little window and slowly, so slowly she is being lifted up and up and up. The man made lights disappear. The trees, the houses, the huge building, they all disappear. She feels like she is floating up there somewhere among the darkness of the sky. The plane tips a little to her left, straightens out and then curves to the right, as it continues to climb. The engine is humming somewhere under that big wing reaching out into nowhere.

"We are now in flight.You can now unfasten your seat belts and feel free to use the restrooms.We will be turning out the lights but if you care to read you can turn on the little light above your seat. We will be serving you complimentary drinks and snacks soon. Sit back and enjoy your flight with Delta." comes the voice of the hostess over the intercom.

Passengers around her started to check their phones, check their internet, some leaned back in their seats and started a long night of sleeping. Some turned on the little light above them and open a book, or newspaper. Her grandson looked out the little window, and she pushed her back pack under the seat ahead of her and turned to her husband and took his hand. They were off, up into the dark black skies. Floating there like a eagle. Free to let their hearts and minds travel to wherever they will. They would be up there for five hours.

She didn't want to sleep. She didn't even want to push her seat back. She wanted only to look out that little window to the blackness around her. She wanted to feel the floating sensation as she glided up there among the stars and the moon. She wanted to imagine. She wanted to dream. She wanted to think about God who made all this mysterious sky, earth and...yes her. So after a little while her husband went to sleep, and her grandson started listening to his book, and she was left to herself.  So she plugged in her soft quiet music and let her heart fly out the window and dance among the clouds, the stars, the great beyond.

All was dark and quiet inside the plane. All you could hear was the hum of the engine, and once in a while a beep from somewhere up above. The hostess started to make their way down the dark aisle with a cart full of drinks and snacks, stopping at each row of seats. After they completed that, all was quiet once again and she sat there listening and looking and dreaming.

Then out of nowhere she saw a flesh out there in the darkness. "I think that was lightening." her grandson said to her.

"Oh my! It looked like it was under us." She said, "Oh there it is again."

The beep went off and the sign to fasten your seat belts fleshed ahead of her. As she fastened hers the pilots voice came over the intercom. "We are flying over a small rain storm so please fasten your seat belts for your safety. You may experience some turbulence ahead."

You could hear the click of seat belts, but only she was sitting up noticing. The other passengers, just clicked and then went back to doing whatever they were busy at. She sat there watching those flashes outside her window. They would  light up those dark black looking clouds below. It was amazing. Then it felt like someone was walking by you causing a movement around you. Sometimes it was strong, sometimes you could hardly feel it. It was the turbulence she was warned about. It just added to the mystery of it all. How could they be flying above that storm? What caused the turbulence? Well, she would just have to "google" that when they got home.  There was about a half hour of this excitement and then it passed over and the seat belt warning lights turned off and once again she was gliding out there above everything and everyone.

As they neared Alaska, she looked across the isle and out the window of her daughters row of seats. Just outside the window she saw a sight to behold. Just at the edge of the dark horizon lay the beautiful colors of soft orange, yellow and golds. She watched as the darkness turned into an Alaskan dawn. It was gorgeous! She turned to her own little window and looked down. Down there was a soft dark cotton like floor, and she could make out darker mountain peaks popping their magnificent tops out among those clouds. She looked back and she could just see the end of the plane wing with its little red light gliding there in the dawn. Once again those tears of pure happiness came to her eyes. She sure was glad everyone was asleep. Sometimes you just have to let the tears flow.

"We are now coming into Anchorage. Please fasten your seat belts for landing, and thank you for flying Delta." The voice of the pilot came over the intercom.

She fastens her belt, wakes up her husband and grandson and tells them. "We are here guys. Fasten up."

The landing is breathtaking. She loves the feel of descending slowly. She looks out the window as the plane makes a turn to the right, pointing its wing down and giving her a complete look at the ground below, then straightens up and slowly gets lower and lower. Soon she hears the wheels go down and still they fly. Then bump....they are down. She is just about to step out into a world that will change her heart forever.







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